Apparently Blizzard isn't the only game developer that had a burst of inspiration after a late-night cable viewing of Kung Fu Panda. Taichi Panda is the first game from the American arm of Chinese publisher Snail Games. This dungeon crawler won't break the mold in any particular way, but it's a solid top-down action game with online multiplayer baked into its core mechanics. Oh, and there are fighting pandas in it.

[EMBED_YT]https://youtu.be/BputCR6wHXk

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One panda, to be precise. You choose from one of four pre-made characters to begin your battles: the titular Taichi Panda, a brawny monk-type who likes to fight with his hands, the Treasure Hunter, a pink-haired sneaky rogue, the Fox Mage, a pixie magic-wielder, and the Glorious Warrior, who is The Guy With The Sword. Naturally you can upgrade your skills and equipment as you go, defeating a surprising mix of enemies with timing-based standard attacks and special skills. The game is online only, but not without reason: you can switch between the various servers to try and find co-op adventures.

Graphics are decent, even if the art style is about as generic as eastern-style fantasy gets. But the real draw is the combat. Even with touch controls, the fast-paced action never feels sloppy, and a variety of special skills for each character keeps things interesting. Taichi Panda is free-to-play with the usual grind (and $99 in-app purchases) that this implies, but since the focus is on co-op it's easier to stomach. Guilds and PVP are there for those who want them.