I’ve played enough low-poly “friendslop” extraction games to fill a landfill. Usually, they’re lazy cash grabs designed for streamers to scream at. But after spending some time with Maison Bap’s YAPYAP, I realized that swapping the usual “loot the trash” loop for magical property damage is exactly the shake-up this genre needed.
In most extraction games, you’re a victim. You hide and pray the monster doesn’t see you. In YAPYAP, you are the problem. As a minion to a moon-faced wizard, your goal is to cause massive property damage. You smash vases, burn books, and use the Grotesque Wand to cause absolute mayhem. There’s a primal satisfaction in watching your “Chaos Quota” tick up just because you turned a dining table into a pile of fish.
The real hook is the voice-recognition spellcasting. To cast spells, you actually have to say the incantations into your mic: “AERO” pushes enemies back, “IGNIS” sets things on fire, “UP-DOG” is the levitation spell, and so on.
Yes, I actually had to scream “UP-DOG” into my headset just to reach a high ledge. When it works, you feel like a wizard; when it doesn’t, listening to a teammate scream “BLINK!” while a giant armchair beats them to death is pure comedy.
The Verdict: 7.8/10
YAPYAP is a jagged, buggy, hilarious mess. For $8 (depending where you are from), it’s a steal for co-op groups, though the lack of public matchmaking is a major sin. If you have a squad, buy it. If you’re solo, steer clear.
