We got our first look at the new Battletoads at E3 this year and reaction has been mixed, to say the least. Many were put off by the visual look and are deriding it as a flash game with little effort. I disagree with these statements though and feel people overacted at first.
To be fair, the new art style is not what I expected either. I had expected the game to look akin to how Rash appears in Killer Instinct and was taken aback when the cartoonish style appeared. The thing is though, I can understand where the developers are coming from. Far from looking like a flash game ( and seriously, what flash games have you guys been playing that look like this), the game resembles beat em ups from the current era that have a cartoonish style. Games like Scott Pilgrim vs The World, 99Vdas, Double Dragon Neon and more all use very unique art styles and yet the gameplay was fantastic in them.
In fact, this looks like the cartoonish visuals were based on the original NES entry. I feel people may not make the connection right away, but I looked at the trailer a few times and then compared it to the NES entry and it clicked. It may not be what we wanted but to say it doesn’t fit, is wrong. It may not be what I wanted but the art style does work.
The thing that has me interested in the game however, is the gameplay showed in the trailers. It is the beat em up action we all wanted, and there look to be refinements. Its quite possible the cartoon visuals were chosen specifically to emphasize the over the top nature of the brawler action. The turbo tunnel is also back but now has a new playstyle to it as well that will no doubt excite players.
I think when people finally get their hands on the game, they will come around to it. If nothing else, the fact that it will be available on Xbox Gamespass should give reason to check it out. It might very well turn out to be better than you thought.