Bandit Trap Hands-on preview: Home Alone meets Fall Guys in this 3v1 multiplayer gem

There's something deeply satisfying about watching your mate get launched through three floors by a rocket hidden in a sofa, regardless of how ridiculous that sounds. Bandit Trap, a 3v1 multiplayer physics romp, understands this fundamental truth and builds an entire game around it. After an hour of setting elaborate death traps and subsequently falling victim to them, I can confirm it's exactly as chaotic as it sounds.

One Trapper, Three Very Unlucky Bandits

The setup is straightforward. One player takes the role of the trapper, tasked with protecting ten pieces of treasure hidden throughout a house. The other three play as bandits attempting to nick said treasure before getting turned into pancakes. It's Home Alone meets Fall Guys, with a healthy dose of slapstick violence thrown in for good measure and laughs.

Steam

Bandits must collect ten treasures whilst avoiding an arsenal of hidden traps scattered throughout each level

Trappers get roughly two minutes before the match kicks off to rig the house with an absurd variety of bobby traps. We're talking boxing gloves that punch you into next week, flamethrowers, rockets that'll send you skyward, and massive hammers that flatten you proper. The intuitive controls make placing these instruments of chaos surprisingly smooth. Playing on a DualSense, I could switch between trap types and furniture pieces without fumbling, which is crucial when you're racing against the clock.

The Trapper Towers system is genuinely clever. These observation points let you monitor the action and strategically place traps in furniture throughout the house. You can hop between towers with a single button press, activate traps remotely, or dive directly into a trapped piece of furniture for a hands-on approach that deals more damage. Your goal is simple: knock each bandit to 100% damage before they escape with your loot.

Tools of the Trade (and How to Break Them)

Steam

Destructible environments and interactive furniture create endless opportunities for trap placement and creative heists

Playing as a bandit is equally engaging, if considerably more dangerous. You'll choose from various tools before the match starts, which include drills, crowbars, and the like. Each also comes with its own mini-game for breaking down furniture. You might be balancing a meter, timing button presses, or keeping a cursor in the green zone whilst prying open a wardrobe. Mess it up, and you're treated to brilliant failure animations. My personal favourite involved my character losing complete control of a jackhammer and bouncing around like a pogo stick.

Bandits aren't completely defenceless. Scanners and drones help identify which furniture is harbouring nasty surprises. The environmental destruction adds another layer of chaos since you can blast holes in walls, flood rooms with water that seeps through cracks, or turn entire floors into ice rinks. And the best thing? The physics engine handles it all with surprising grace.

Proper Laugh Material

Steam

Maps range from European cityscapes to suburban neighbourhoods, each offering unique layout challenges for both trappers and bandits

The map variety impressed me, even though the preview event only offered a limited selection. Suburban houses, multi-storey buildings, and biomes inspired by Italy, Amsterdam, and jungle settings all make appearances. Each one flows well, giving bandits just enough room to dodge traps if they're quick but allowing trappers to set up devastating gauntlets if they're clever.

What makes Bandit Trap work isn't just the mechanics; it's the moments those mechanics create. Playing with fellow journalists and content creators at the preview event produced constant eruptions of laughter. "Oh, the pool table slingshot got me!" and "Barely survived that cactus rocket!" became our rallying cries. The victory and defeat screens, complete with cartoon-level burns, zaps, and torn trousers, had me properly chuckling.

This is family-friendly multiplayer mayhem at its finest. Kids and adults will find equal entertainment in either hunting treasure or protecting it, and the colourful art style keeps things light even when you're getting absolutely battered by a hidden hammer. It's one of the more unique multiplayer experiences I've encountered recently, and if you've got mates willing to dive in, there's genuine potential here for memorable sessions filled with elaborate traps and even more elaborate swearing when they work perfectly.

Bandit Trap is coming to PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch 2.