Developer Toys For Bob has officially revealed new information on Catbat, a brand new character coming to Crash Team Rumble. Catbat is noteworthy for being the first non-binary character in the Crash Bandicoot series.
Toys For Bob has revealed extensive information on the history, conception, and significance of the character in a recent interview with Kotaku. The interview also gave new details about what fans can expect from the story of the game.
Who Is Catbat In Crash Team Rumble: History, Backstory, Gameplay, and Role
Toys For Bob creative director Dan Neil and co-studio head Paul Yan both sat down to discuss the history of Catbat and the reason for designing the Crash Bandicoot series’ first non-binary character for Crash Team Rumble.
Crash Team Rumble is a multiplayer game with various characters, each with their own gameplay styles and abilities. As a result, all characters have standout features and a concept to distinguish them from others. Catbat was conceived as a “David Bowie-like” character, a rock star with a confident and flamboyant flair to them.
The origin of the character, as detailed in the official comic, is parallel to that of Crash Bandicoot himself — originally the result of a genetic experiment conducted by the evil Dr. Neo Cortex. Catbat themself is a combination of two animals who were male and female respectively, and when cast out in the world after escaping Cortex, struggled to find their identity, as seen in the comic.
Yan went on to explain that the comic is one part of an initiative to expand on the story of Crash Team Rumble through external media. It is designed to give players a glimpse into the individual motivations of characters within the Crash universe, and their relationships with one another, as opposed to telling an overarching narrative. The team also designed the character around a concept and gameplay that emphasizes aerial and vertical movement.
Crash Team Rumble is set to be released for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One on June 20, 2023, and is available to pre-order now.
