Smash ‘N Grab’s first demo is out this week

Show me a game with a bit of style to it, and chances are you’ve gotten on my wishlist faster than my feet hit the floor in the morning. I got an email about a game the other day, and if you haven’t guessed it, the style alone has practically sold me on it before anyone has had a chance to play the first demo. The first game from SLAP-BANG! Digital, Smash ‘N Grab is a high-speed beat ’em up heist sim where you play as a robot and his raccoon pal. Sorry, did I forget to mention that you smash through walls and throw people across the room?

Indeed, my erection is also massive at that thought. However, you don’t have to wait too long to get hands-on (with the game, not the erection) as Smash ‘N Grab is part of this coming week’s Games from Ireland thing on Steam. Here is what the press release notes:

“Smash ‘N Grab[,] the destructive, speedrunning beat ’em up from SLAP-BANG! Digital is explosively launching their first public demo onto Steam as part of Games from Ireland from Friday, 13 March through [Thursday], 19 March, 2026.

Take control of Smash, a hulking robot drummer, and Grab, his cunning raccoon accomplice, as they tear a tethered trail of thievery through retro-futuristic environments inspired by the graphic style of Saul Bass, Samurai Jack, and Batman: The Animated Series. Players will demolish everything in their path as they race against the clock to secure the fastest escape, bagging the score of a lifetime. With each attempt, players and speedrunners alike will shave precious seconds off their time in their pursuit of the coveted S-ranked chaotic caper.”

Director at SLAP-BANG! Digital, Mark Skelton, said of the game: “Smash ‘N Grab pulls double-duty as an ode to the Saturday morning cartoons we grew up watching and the high-scoring games we grew up playing. With our first demo[,] we want to introduce players to the frenetic duo of Smash and Grab, as they dive headfirst into a high-stakes art gallery heist.”

The demo releasing tomorrow at the time of writing isn’t massive, as the press release notes, it is only a single level, but it also calls it “highly replayable.” Though we are talking about a single level and it being replayable, I find it interesting that the press release calls it a limited-time demo. There are people who will be criminally insane enough to shave every imperfection off of their runs on single levels, even with a demo.

No release date or window just yet, as you might guess, but as I’ve said throughout, Smash ‘N Grab certainly will go on a lot of wishlists when first seen. If not for the speedrunners who value optimizing time with games more than they value family, most certainly it would be sold on the stunning visual style of Saturday morning cartoons of yesteryear.