Cake Bash

Cake Bash is a party video game released in 2020, developed by the Gateshead-based indie studio High Tea Frog and published by Coatsink. The game launched on October 15, 2020, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Google Stadia, with a Nintendo Switch version following on November 19. Players take control of cakes that compete against each other to be selected by a customer.

High Tea Frog was founded by three former Ubisoft employees. The developers drew inspiration for Cake Bash from games such as Crash Bash, Power Stone, and Rayman Raving Rabbids. The game received generally favorable reviews from critics.

In Cake Bash, up to four players can compete locally or online, with bots available to fill empty slots. The game features 13 different minigames, some involving melee combat between cakes and others focusing on survival. The main mode, Get Tasty, has players compete through a randomized selection of minigames, which are permanently unlocked as they are played. Before each minigame, players vote on the next game or location. Winning rounds earns chocolate coins, which can be spent on toppings for a player’s cake. These toppings grant a score bonus, and the cake with the most toppings at the end wins. Players can also unlock new skins, called flavors, for their cake.

Cake Bash was first shown at the 2019 Game Developers Conference, where the studio had recently signed a publishing deal with Coatsink. It was also featured at BitSummit 7 in Kyoto, Japan. A playable demo appeared at the Indie Megabooth of PAX West 2019, and free demos were made available during the Steam Game Festival: Summer Edition, the Xbox Summer Game Fest, and later for the Nintendo Switch in September. Another free demo ran during the Steam Game Festival: Autumn Edition in October. The game was also included in IGN Japan's Indie Game Week 2020.

Review aggregator Metacritic rated the game as “generally favorable,” while OpenCritic noted strong approval, with 61% of critics recommending it. Famitsu gave it a score of 29 out of 40. Gamezebo’s Maria Alexander awarded it 4 out of 5 stars, praising its presentation and minigame variety, though she felt it was slightly overpriced and lacked content for solo players. Push Square’s Stephen Tailby liked the concept, presentation, minigames, and controls but thought the appeal was short-lived and the content light.