Zootopia’s Russian Roulette game is kind of gross to play, but fun to watch

Liar’s Bar is a social deception game aimed at Twitch streamers or groups of friends who like party games that end with a table of dead Zootopia rejects. It’s basically Dogs Playing Poker as a video game and not much else. Most of the appeal seems to be watching other people play it rather than playing it yourself, and even then I think it’s a bit too early access is more than just a novelty at this point.

The game dropped earlier this month and has been a hit with tons of YouTubers and streamers, who apparently set it up to hit over 100,000 simultaneous Steam players when the latest update went live this week. It’s since dropped back to around 15,000, but if you do a quick search on YouTube, there are pages of people playing it. After checking it out myself, I can see why it fell so quickly.

You’re halfway through Liar’s Bar by the time you load it up and see an overhead shot of a poker table sitting in the middle of a bar with dice coming out of a cup, a loose deck of cards and a revolver a pool of blood dripping onto the wooden floor. Controlling the game doesn’t really reveal much more than the vibe of the menu screen. It’s a cheeky table simulator for people who think Russian roulette is like, so crazyman

Even the characters are pretty much the kind of stereotypes you’d expect from something like this. There’s a Doberman in a black shirt and gold chain, a big rhinoceros man in a Hawaiian shirt, and Jessica Rabbit as a real rabbit. Each has the hint of backstories told through a few comic panels on a menu, but at the table they speak like animatronics. Liar’s Bar uses AI-generated voices that literally sound robotic or personalityless. And despite using AI, they don’t have much to say. Once you’ve heard the bunny, Cupcake, repeat “Damn, I’ve got tricks, and not just up my sleeve” for the twentieth time, you’ll wish there were real voice actors to give these animals some personality.

None of that seems to be the point, though. Liar’s Bar is really just a stage for playing two bluff games: Liar’s Dice and Liar’s Deck, with three other people in voice chat. You can jump right into an open lobby or find one in a list, but due to the simplicity of the game, it’s best to play with people you know. The problem is that Liar’s Bar doesn’t have many ways to “read” other players. All you have is a head to nod up and down from your first person view. It’s not like Among Us where just doing your tasks and moving your character can reveal your intentions. The rules of the game have to ask you to accuse each other of things, and Liar’s Bar isn’t quite there yet.

A bunny character wearing a red outfit named Cupcake with comic panels on her side

(Image credit: Curve Animation)

Liar’s Bar isn’t crazy enough or chaotic enough to go back to.

The two games you can play are pretty simple to understand. Liar’s Dice, which is based on the actual game, gives everyone a set of dice to help them declare how many of each are in play. The stakes increase each turn as each player must declare a larger number of dice (eg three threes) or a higher face of dice (three fours). When someone calls a liar, the dice are revealed and if they don’t add up, the bluff player must drink poison.

Liar’s Deck is similar: players take turns announcing the cards they’re playing (eg two kings) and if they’re left lying, they’re forced to reach for their weapon and pray the chamber is empty.

It’s all pretty macabre for a game made to be played with friends, especially when someone dies and you’re left staring into their lifeless eyes for the rest of the game. If the tone wasn’t so obnoxious, I might have liked the recently added devil card that forces everyone else to pull the trigger if someone calls a bluff. But Liar’s Bar isn’t crazy enough or chaotic enough to go back to; it lives and dies by your group of friends or your willingness to play with strangers.

【LIAR’S BAR】jk we swapped games LMAO【Dokibird】 – YouTube
【LIAR'S BAR】jk we swapped games LMAO【Dokibird】 - YouTube

Watch on the go

Developer Curve Animation says it’s working on new characters, modes and rules for the games that could keep it interesting for more than a few hours. Right now, it’s entertaining fodder for your favorite YouTubers and streamers to be entertained. For me, this is the ideal way to experience this game. You need a group of people willing to play with the absurd to lighten the mood. Otherwise, it looks like it’s going to need the six months it’s supposed to be in early access for it to become something worth trying to play yourself.

Liar’s Bar is available right now on Steam for $6.99.

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