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Join the free RAWMEN playtest June 20-24
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Dave Tach
All players need to do is download RAWMEN from the Epic Games Store and they’ll be able to play for free.
RAWMEN’s premise is delightfully lighthearted. It replaces the blood and guts of multiplayer shooters with the slop and ingredients of kitchens. Players trade an arsenal of guns for a quiver of culinary creations, including the Bratling Gun (a meat grinder that fires sausages) as well as Cream Pies to throw, Hot Potatoes to chuck, and the Smackeral Mackerel—for those moments when the best course of action is whacking someone with a fish.
But of all the creative weapons, none is more fundamental than the ladle. Sure, players can dip their ladle into a pot of soup and hurl wet, noodly ordinance at their opponents instead of bullets. But that’s just the obvious move. They can also use their pot as a shield (by putting it onto their cartoony heads like a giant hat) or even spill some soup on the ground for a slick boost that gets them into or out of a sticky situation. It’s all fair game in this deliciously absurd world.
The multiplayer slapfest playtest will focus on 4v4 battles where players can team up with friends or rely on matchmaking. When a team wins, players can be kind and split the spoils of victory, or they can vote to enter a sudden death round and potentially earn more at the end.
The RAWMEN playtest will include three game modes:
- Broth Battle, a Team Deathmatch mode full of food-based weapons
- Claim Chowder, a King of the Hill mode where players slurp up soup in the zone and try to claim the chowder pot
- Meatball, a Capture the Flag mode where players fend off competitors while rolling a giant meatball to a goal
The final version of RAWMEN will be full of customization options like these to turn your character into everything from a hairy, tattooed brawler with mutton chops and a prodigious beer belly to a rainbow-wearing glam superstar wearing an overstuffed oven mitt shaped like a dragon. The sillier, the better.
The playtest also gives players the opportunity to shape RAWMEN, and developers at ANIMAL want feedback.
“By participating in this playtest,” they said, “you won’t only be helping out our small team, but we’re certain you’ll have a blast doing so! Maybe you’ll spot a game dev or make new friends during matches! We want to test the limits of our matchmaker with as many cooks as possible, so make sure to tell all your friends, family, and pet rats to join in the food fest! And most of all, send us your feedback!”
Players will be able to submit feedback through the game. The RAWMEN Discord is also a great place for players to ask questions, report bugs, and share your thoughts.
Progress won’t carry over to the full game, but playtesters will get a free Legendary mitt exclusive which ANIMAL says won’t be available later in the store or through the RAWMEN battle pass.
The story behind RAWMEN is just as irreverent as the game in many ways. Its independent developers have spent more than five years creating a feel-good and welcoming competitive game that supports players with both controllers and mouse-and-keyboard controls.
“We had this moment where I was like, ‘Man, I hate feeling like s*** when I play a tournament game or a very competitive game,'” ANIMAL co-founder Dustin Mattock told the Epic Games Store. “I played Dota 2 with Eric [Keshishian, the other ANIMAL co-founder], and I played Overwatch with him, and I got cussed out for not knowing how to play Mercy. We were like, ‘Man, we should make a game that is not that environment. We can make a game where you don’t have that at all.’”
Check out our exclusive interview with RAWMEN’s developers to learn more about the game’s roots and the people making it.
RAWMEN is scheduled for a July 23, 2024 release as a PC exclusive on the Epic Games Store. Wishlist it today!