BOMBANANA! Troubleshooting

Most BOMBANANA! problems fall into four buckets: voice, lobby, input, and launch. Work through them in that order and change one thing at a time — BOMBANANA!'s history of voice and lobby hotfixes means a fix that worked in the demo build may or may not apply to the current build.

Start Here

1. Restart the game and Steam. A cold restart clears most one-off input and voice states.
2. Verify game files on Steam (Properties → Installed Files → Verify integrity).
3. Check for updates — the game is actively patched; a known bug may already be fixed.
4. Test in a private lobby first before blaming the game for a three-player issue.

Voice Chat and Mic Not Working

Voice is role-restricted by design in BOMBANANA!, so first confirm the issue is technical, not intentional:

• The Deaf cannot hear anyone — that is the role's rule, not a bug.
• The Mute cannot speak — also by design. The Mute communicates with gestures/emotes.
• The Blind or Deaf mic is not transmitting — that is a real issue. Try:
  • Set the correct input device in Windows/macOS sound settings and in the game's Options menu.
  • Rebind push-to-talk if the current key conflicts or is unmapped.
  • Give the Steam client mic permissions (especially on macOS).
  • Test the mic in a normal voice app first — if it works there, the problem is in-game settings, not hardware.

Lobby Join and Disconnects

• Make sure everyone is on the same product. The demo and the full game have separate Steam listings — a demo player cannot join a full-game lobby.
• Everyone must be Steam friends with the host and have the correct build installed.
• If someone disconnects, the round ends. BOMBANANA! cannot continue with a missing or AFK player because all three roles are essential. Re-invite and start a new round.
• Lobby join failures: restart the host's lobby, check network/region settings, and have players re-invite. The official hotfix history shows lobby join issues were patched multiple times in the demo — keep the game updated.

Controller Not Detected

• Enable Steam Input: Steam → game Properties → Controller → set Steam Input to Enabled.
• If an Xbox controller behaves strangely, the game may already read it natively — try disabling Steam Input.
• Apply a Gamepad template if the layout loads empty or broken.
• Disconnect everything except one controller (and your keyboard/mouse). Extra pads, wheels or virtual controllers (vJoy, DS4Windows, JoyToKey) can steal primary input.
• Reset local configuration if nothing else works.

Game Won't Launch

• Demo-specific: the demo had reports of failing to launch after install — verify the install, restart Steam, and check the demo's own store page for a known-issues note.
• Antivirus/overlay conflicts: temporarily disable third-party overlays (Discord, MSI Afterburner) and re-test.
• Missing VC++ / drivers: if the game crashes on start, install the latest graphics drivers; BOMBANANA!'s minimum is light, so this is rarely a hardware problem.
• Check the Steam error dialog — it usually names the actual cause better than guessing.

Frame Rates and Performance

• BOMBANANA!'s minimum is a mid-2010s PC — see the system requirements. If you are near the floor, drop resolution before giving up.
• Close background apps and use a stable network connection for co-op — network latency hurts the relay more than a slightly lower frame rate.
• Mic and audio devices can cause stutter on some machines; unplug unused audio hardware and re-test.

Sources

• bombanana.online — Troubleshooting
• bombanana.wiki — Controls & Mic Fix
• PixelNitro — Controller not working fix
• Whisper of the House — BOMBANANA guide hub (hotfix history)