Review ArmFallOffBoy 4/5 · Apr 26, 2021
7.5/10
Now, I am not one who actively seeks out indie games, I barely even play indie games aside from the obvious big ones. But, I discovered this game while looking through the trash dump that is the Switch e-shop and was pretty intrigued. It was a Zelda-like game, but I just instantly fell in love with the art style and …
Now, I am not one who actively seeks out indie games, I barely even play indie games aside from the obvious big ones. But, I discovered this game while looking through the trash dump that is the Switch e-shop and was pretty intrigued. It was a Zelda-like game, but I just instantly fell in love with the art style and I kept it in mind, at least until I bought it while it was on sale for about 4 dollars.
After reading the general score for this game, I thought, "this game will be fine, but nothing special." And I was wrong. I adored this game. Yes it's not the best, but damn it's memorable. It hit me with this rush and wave of nostalgia. It's gleeful, everything about it oozes charm in that 90s Nintendo type of way.
It is admittedly short, but I'm glad the game doesn't drag itself out and eventually fall. It's a bit linear but I like that, and it needs to be to become a wonderful experience. The art style is definitely referencing Earthbound but it's a bit more defined with its lines, to a point where it's recognizable by its own.
But it's not only the art style that mimics Earthbound, the witty dialogue, and remarks that are so memorable, maybe not to that extent, but it pokes fun at stuff and doesn't fail to make you at least chuckle or smile.
The gameplay is fairly solid, because, well it's basically just 2D Zelda at its core. It falls down the pitfall though that most Zelda clones that I've played go down through and that's inventory management. It's so tedious, and it's something that indie developers really can't seem to get right.
Even though I praised it for not overstaying it's welcome, the story is also incredibly simple, and it does leave a bit of a sour taste in your mouth during the end. There is no time for a fully fledged story but the end is a bit underwhelming.
And that leads to my final individual remark, something that I only noticed while skimming over reviews, and that is that the "dungeons'"" basic designs are mostly taken from Zelda game and some small areas are straight copied and that does take away a bit of it's score.
I highly recommend you pick this game up though, at the point of writing this I believe it's on sale on the e-shop. It has so much charm personality-wise, even if the gameplay and dungeons don't do much to help with that.
7.5/10.
