Category: Nintendo News

It has been said that the essence of comedy is tragedy plus time. A good-natured pratfall here and there is enough to brighten up anyone’s day, but when you play the role of both the audience and the victim of said pratfall, things get a little more complicated. Developer No Brakes has created an experience where physical comedy is inevitable, where a bumbling idiot is forced to solve complex physics puzzles, and trying to keep control of it all is the real challenge. Human Fall Flat throws away the classic banana peel, insisting on the comedic virtues of cargo ships, wrecking balls, and coal furnaces in its place.

You play as a vaguely human-shaped lump of clay named Bob, who must navigate a variety of open environments with the simple goal of reaching the exit by any means necessary. Each broader level is broken down into a handful of smaller areas that all fit into an overarching theme. One medieval level for example tasks you with breaching the walls of a castle, before venturing through a small village and eventually diving into an underground network of caves. It’s a seemingly straightforward journey from A to B, but that journey is entirely what you make of it.

Your sense of control over Bob is constantly and purposefully undermined by his wobbly movement, clumsy jumping, and awkward arm-flailing. While the world might seem fit for a 3D platforming hero, you’ll quickly find it’s a struggle to even open doors sometimes given the limited moveset on offer. The game’s introductory level acts as a tutorial, teaching the basics of movement and the importance of using those jelly-like limbs. By pressing the left and right shoulder buttons respectively, Bob can lift his arms to pick up items, grab on to different surfaces, and even clamber up ledges. There’s an instant, magnetic attachment to anything his hands come into contact with, so all you really need to do is aim your wild flailing by looking towards whatever your target might be. A key on the floor? Look downwards and Bob will bend over to pick it up. A wire hanging from the ceiling? Gaze upwards and hold your arms aloft to try and snag it.

If this kind of movement sounds a little messy. well that’s because it definitely is. Initial puzzles might involve simply crossing from one side of a canyon to another, swiftly introducing the finicky mechanic of throwing your arms up onto the ledge and hauling yourself to safety without losing your grip. There are times where this kind of clambering is absolutely necessary, so you’re given plenty of opportunities to test it out, and if you’re truly stuck then a remote control will spawn in to offer optional tips or reminders. You need to maintain awareness of the weight of your character, and how he’ll bump and nudge against every surface like a pudgy ragdoll. Aside from the physicality of drunken parkour, later areas also introduce vehicles, electrical circuitry and other gizmos to keep things interesting.  

While the game is eager to set you loose in these large, chaotic playgrounds, the look and feel of the environments are actually quite restrained. Everything is rendered in a minimalist style, with stark, untextured surfaces cast against silent backdrops devoid of other life. Red doors, green fields, and solemn stone towers do stand out nicely against these environments, which helps keep things on track given the amount of distractions strewn about. Somber classical music sets a serious tone even in the silliest of circumstances, and it lends a bizarre sense of loneliness to proceedings. Even in wild feats of idiotic brilliance we were slightly numb to it all, which was pretty unsatisfying as a result, but then we tried out co-op play…

Without exaggeration, this co-operative play was a total game changer. Bringing another person on board with their own Bob and their own dumb ideas is a recipe for insanity of the best kind. Suddenly, every movement was sillier, every plan got more abstract, and every action just seemed so much funnier. Playing solo is fine, but we would strongly encourage inviting a friend to experience as much of the game as possible. What’s meant to be a 30 minute test session ends up stretching on for hours once we give it a go, as the bumbling duo create makeshift slides out of bits of wood, launch each other out of catapults and repeatedly fail at any form of teamwork whatsoever. It could be argued that the game is sometimes more fun to watch than it is to play, but tackling the challenges with a friend gives you the best of both worlds. You can laugh at them, they can laugh at you.

In practical terms, many puzzles are a lot more manageable with two people as well. Larger items are easier to lift, machinery can be used without having to juggle different control panels; it’s far more efficient overall. This is almost problematic given how many areas rely on weight-activated buttons, which are meant to be solved by finding a box and dragging it back. If you’re feeling lazy, just have another player sit on the button while you head for the door – works a charm. We’d say that mischievous solutions such as this were always intended to be possible, but it still feels a little too exploitative. Even so, we feel as though this is the way that Human Fall Flat is meant to be played, and with the recent patch allowing for a single Joy-Con to be used per player, it’s easier than ever to make this happen.

Co-op play is unfortunately split-screen only, as the possibility for online multiplayer has been omitted from this version of the game. Even having three or four players share a single screen isn’t possible, two being the absolute maximum. We wonder if this has to do with the performance in multiplayer, as the framerate takes a definite hit in busier areas with multiple items or bits of debris. Add this to a temperamental camera you’ll be fighting with more than a few times, and it’s not always a laughing matter. We know that the visuals have a purposefully ‘unfinished’ feeling to them, but there were also points where sound effects seemed to be incorrect or outright missing. It isn’t a sloppy port in every aspect, but it does feel quite limited even with the additional Aztec level that’s included. Bob’s customisation options took a hit too, losing the ability to draw on his person to add in facial features or otherwise. 

While you’re free to take your time in navigating the game’s open areas at your own pace, we would wager it takes about six hours at most for an average playthrough. Replaying older levels is easy thanks to a level select screen, so it might be worthwhile to go back and try out different techniques or let friends have a go. We reckon there’s a potential (and thematically appropriate) drinking game possible, though of course we wouldn’t condone that sort of silliness… Stick to operating the wrecking ball and trying to crush your buddy, it’s much safer. 

Conclusion

Human Fall Flat recognises a simple truth – People falling down is hilarious, and when they’re seemingly impervious to damage that’s just an added guilt-free bonus. Playing as a wobbly, awkward avatar takes a lot of getting used to, and perhaps you never really get used to it at all, but the game leaves each level wide open to a variety of solutions to suit your own personal style. Tackling the five-to-six hour long adventure solo isn’t entirely recommended, so if possible we’d definitely encourage getting a second player to join in on the fun, even if the game’s performance takes a hit. While online multiplayer is sadly missing, we reckon that you and a fellow human might really fall for this little puzzler. Over and over and over again.

The holidays are fast approaching and, if you’re anything like us, you’ll likely end up being thrown into some form of endearingly awkward family gathering wishing that there was something fun to do as everyone starts to fall asleep. Party Planet aims to shine in this very situation; a collection of mini-games that can be played by up to four players is the sort of thing that could well tick all the boxes. Is it worth picking up, then? Let’s find out.

Upon loading the game, you’ll be presented with a handful of the 30 mini-games that this collection offers. Each time you play a game you’ll increase what is effectively an experience meter, eventually seeing it rise through levels to unlock the next group of games until you end up having all of them ready to play. Each player can use either a full controller or a single Joy-Con on its side, and swapping between these different combinations is easily done on the game’s main menu.

Most of the games included can be played by anywhere from one to four players, although there are a few which are single-player only. There are a decent variety of game types available; you’ll be playing co-operatively for some, competitively in others, and – as is usually the case for games of this genre – you’ll likely get the most fun out of each game if you can recruit a full roster of players.

The great thing about the majority of the games is that their concepts are nice and simple to instantly pick up (especially thanks to descriptions and controls being shown each time you jump into one). It really could work nicely for families with differing levels of gaming ability – you may find that some players grasp the controls quicker than others, but none of the games are so tough that more reserved players will feel intimidated to have a quick go.

Unfortunately, though, the designs of the games themselves (which are, of course, the most important part) are sadly lacking in imagination. Whilst this doesn’t apply to all of them, many of the games you’ll see are simply re-made versions of other, classic games with a fresh lick of paint. You’ll find yourself playing Snake, Pairs, Zuma, and a Pong-like hockey game, as well as various others that are simple ideas often seen elsewhere. Whilst the number thirty gives the impression that you’ll have a lot to do, you’ll likely have already done most of it before.

Also, while many of the games are good fun initially (there are some that use interesting mechanics or offer addictive levels of challenge), we can’t imagine Party Planet being the sort of game that you’ll play for a particularly long time. Once you’ve played most of the games a couple of times there isn’t really any urge to go back to them again. You can work towards high-scores and getting a gold star rating on each game if you like, which is definitely something that any solo players will want to do, but realistically it seems unlikely that entire families will be so riveted that they’ll want to keep playing.

In all other areas, Party Planet is really nicely put together; everything is charmingly presented with bright and colourful artwork throughout, the music is upbeat and fun, and the games all control really well for the most part. Likewise, in an area where some other party games have fallen flat on Switch, Party Planet manages to make the process of altering each individual’s controller set-up nice and easy, adding to the sleek and smooth performance of the package as a whole. If all of the games were more interesting and gripping in their own right, rather than just having a couple that stand out from the rest, we could have had a great release on our hands that may have truly justified the game’s cost.

Conclusion

Party Planet looks wonderful on the surface with a bright, colourful, and slick interface that suggests you have a top-quality game in your hands. Unfortunately, though, a series of mini-games that vary from being good to disappointing may well start to feel rather stale after a short time; everything is nice and interesting at first, but there’s little reason to keep playing once you’ve seen each game a couple of times.

If you’re looking for a game that can successfully get the family gathered around the TV to play together, Party Planet will definitely be able to do that – how long for is another matter, however. We fear that this particular title isn’t for life, it might just be for Christmas.

Nintendo Switch received one of the finest roguelike indie games in the business earlier this year with The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+. Now it has another in Enter The Gungeon. Much like Edmund McMillen’s reworked masterpiece, ETG takes the basic form of a top-down twin-stick shooter. Dodge Roll’s game, however, has an obsession with firearms and gunplay that would seem unhealthy had it not been executed with such spirit and humour.

Your lone gunslinger (chosen from a selection of four) enters a multi-layered dungeon populated by an assortment of anthropomorphic gun paraphernalia. You’ll be shooting bullets in both senses of the phrase, which is admittedly rather odd. Surprisingly, the whole gun world premise sticks, and that’s largely thanks to Dodge Roll’s painstaking world and myth-building work. Every gun you fire, boss you fight and item you collect has a story to accompany it, with each fresh discovery filling out your dusty Ammonomicon.

It also helps that Enter the Gungeon doesn’t take itself at all seriously. There’s a rich seam of humour running through everything, from the puntastic boss and item names to countless cheeky pop culture references. It looks great too, with an expressive pixel art style and fluid animation. Who knew that a homicidal bullet with a human face could be so thoroughly charming?

All of that would be for nought if the core gameplay wasn’t up to scratch. Thankfully, this is where ETG is at its strongest. The feel of the game’s second-to-second action is among the best you’ll find on Switch. There’s a weightiness to the combat and a nimbleness to the movement system that makes it a pleasure to return to the game again and again. ETG manages to strike the ideal balance between empowering you and making you feel perilously vulnerable. The screen is usually filled with bullets of all shapes, sizes, and movement patterns, but these glowing projectiles always feel avoidable.

Enemy bullets typically move very slowly, so you can sidestep them like Neo in bullet time if you have your wits about you. The randomised levels typically throw up plenty of cover opportunities too, and you can even turn over tables to form your own on the fly. Get ready to live out your favourite Western fantasies. But the key to ETG’s dance-like combat is there in the name of the developer itself. Hit the ‘L’ button and your gunslinger will execute a dodge roll, offering a brief window of invulnerability. It means that you can be confronted with a literal wave of death and still emerge unscathed.

Of course, a twin-stick shooter is nothing without its firearms, and here too ETG excels. There’s a dauntingly vast roster of pistols, rifles, shotguns and who-knows-whats for you to unlock and discover here. Real-life gun equivalents sit alongside conceptual jokes, like a letter ‘r’ that spits out the letters to the word ‘bullet’, or a T-shirt gun that leaves crumpled up clothes strewn across the levels. We’ve pumped countless hours into ETG now both here and on other platforms, and it continues to throw up new surprises.

The odds are far from stacked in your favour, however. The sheer weight of enemy numbers, some tough boss battles and the cruel hands that the game’s random spawns can deal out all ensure that you’ll be dying plenty. Once you’re dead, moreover, it’s back to the start for you.

We usually say this when a beloved indie game comes to Switch, but ETG really does feel at home on Nintendo’s console. Being able to play such a brilliantly rewarding twin stick shooter on the go is a real treat, while hooking the game up to your TV and using the Pro Controller brings its own precision-related rewards. Local co-op also makes the cut, though you’ll need a second pad or set of Joy-Cons to play it.

Better yet, ETG on Switch will be receiving the Advanced Gungeons And Draguns Update in early 2018, providing even more guns, items and levels. This really is a game that keeps on giving, and action-loving Switch fans owe it to themselves to give it try.

Conclusion

Enter The Gungeon is a brilliantly tactile, endlessly replayable twin-stick roguelike that sits right up there with the very best indie games on Nintendo Switch. With satisfying combat, random levels, and an endless supply of inventive weapons, items and secrets, it’s always a total joy to play. Yet another modern indie classic has found a natural home on Nintendo’s console.