{"id":23890,"date":"2018-06-06T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-06T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/switch-eshop\/songbringer"},"modified":"2018-06-06T17:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-06-06T17:00:00","slug":"review-songbringer-switch-eshop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2018\/06\/06\/review-songbringer-switch-eshop\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Songbringer (Switch eShop)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/switch-eshop\/songbringer\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/switch-eshop\/songbringer\/small.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div id=\"\">\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Songbringer Review - Screenshot 1 of 4\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/90069\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/90069\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Songbringer Review - Screenshot 1 of 4\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>It seems almost unfair to compare this title to <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/snes\/legend_of_zelda_a_link_to_the_past\">The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past<\/a><\/strong>, but ultimately it\u2019s going to end up happening because the formula that <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/songbringer\">Songbringer<\/a><\/strong> uses screams Zelda. From the overworld movement and screen swipes to the, \u201cOh, I\u2019m going to need bombs to access this section,\u201d moments, each increment of progression is reminiscent of the Nintendo classic. There\u2019s no princess to save and our hero is a shirtless \u2018dude\u2019 who leans heavily on off-kilter colloquialisms, but underneath the frankly gorgeous pixel art is an homage to the Nintendo Elfin power couple.<\/p>\n<p>Roq, the shirtless dude, is blasted out of the sky by a bolt of lightning. His hoverbike crashes to the ground and he\u2019s awoken by droid companion Jib. Songbringer is already scoring points for being set in a futuristic sci-fi world, flipping tradition on its head. However, it doesn\u2019t stray far from the tropes we\u2019re all used to, as Roq heads off to explore a nearby cave and discovers a sword which hums with energy. You\u2019d think Songbringer is the name of this seemingly powerful sword, but it\u2019s actually the name of the capital ship which Roq calls his home. Though for now, he\u2019s stranded on the planet Ekzera, so it\u2019s time to explore.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Songbringer Review - Screenshot 2 of 4\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/90066\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/90066\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Songbringer Review - Screenshot 2 of 4\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>The majority of what you\u2019ll see here is procedurally generated by a six-letter word which you enter before the game starts. This seed creates the overworld, the dungeons, the secrets within them and enemy placement. Interestingly, if a friend is playing on a different system, they can use the same seed name and experience the exact adventure as you. This is worth noting for speedrunners, too, who will surely pick up the game in search of the perfect seed. The developer is urging you at all times to not only explore, but to experiment. While the map in the item menu will show you where shops are and even number the dungeons, it\u2019s perfectly acceptable and possible to play the game completely out of order. The developer, Wizard Fu, even notes that you don\u2019t need to pick up the sword if the fancy takes you.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps you\u2019ll decide to explore the entire world map before tackling a dungeon at all. Maybe you stick to convention and head into the dungeon labelled \u20181\u2019 and try for a more traditional experience. You could even seek out a later dungeon and storm the boss with only the starting health of three containers. Whatever you try, you\u2019re likely to find a unique experience that is littered with call-backs to old school RPGs. Heart containers \u2013 though referred to here as Courage \u2013 are spread across the world. Item shops hold equipment that allow you to discover more of the map or seek out lifeforms to interact with by spending the diamonds which fall from foes. Abilities are abundant, and once you get back to Songbringer, can be combined in interesting ways to open possibilities back on Ekzera.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Songbringer Review - Screenshot 3 of 4\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/90067\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/90067\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Songbringer Review - Screenshot 3 of 4\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>An example of this would be the ice teleport. Discovering an orb that allows you to phase forward is helpful enough, but combine it with the ice block element and now you freeze the ground beneath you as you dash forward. Playing with combinations are permanent, however, and nod to the idea that there are multiple ways to open paths and finish the game. There is so much to dig into; even the idea of turning the game into a roguelike at your own whim, by selecting \u2018permadeath\u2019 when the game opens, meaning all that knowledge gained becomes more important than ever.<\/p>\n<p>Diving into the item menu gives a little thrill as you see the sprawling map to one side and a plethora of items, leading to so many possibilities. The \u2018off-the-wall\u2019 style of humour carries throughout and is mostly seen in dialogue between Roq and Jib, but also in those items collected. Picking up a Top Hat early on that acts as an Oddjob-style boomerang is a delightful and whimsical touch, this is before you begin experimenting with consumables. The local flora is edible and it will affect everything around Roq, bringing on visions of secrets and answers to riddles within the lore.<\/p>\n<p>And there is a very entertaining little story here, filled with intrigue and humour which brilliantly contrasts the hardcore feel of the combat. Again, we\u2019re calling back to Zelda as you swing the sword to dash enemies to pieces or hold the attack button to build a powerful attack. The difficulty is pitched nicely, allowing you to feel that every mistake belongs to you, rather than an unfair balance in the AI. At times, the stereotypes of old become a little worn out \u2013 there\u2019s only so many times we can fight slime monsters that multiply when sliced with a sword and the style of old school RPG occasionally makes surprises in the plot or a dungeon feel too obvious.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Songbringer Review - Screenshot 4 of 4\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/90064\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/90064\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Songbringer Review - Screenshot 4 of 4\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>The game on the whole is a wonderful experience that certainly evokes a sense of nostalgia, however, it does lack in audio. The world of Ekzera is such a sumptuous place brimming with colour and effects, the music and sound effects feel underpowered in comparison. Songbringer needed something more involving and impressive, especially as Roq is known for making music when not exploring, something to round out the entire project and tick off each box that would create a superb game.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"conclusion\">\n<h2 class=\"heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>With a sci-fi twist on an old formula, Songbringer is almost a breath of fresh air. Occasional stereotypes aren\u2019t as welcome as all of the new ideas the game brings forward, including a tongue-in-cheek style of humour to accompany a truly unique experience and a gorgeous visual style. With so many options and routes through the story, this is a game begging to be replayed for months to come.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It seems almost unfair to compare this title to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, but ultimately it\u2019s going to end up happening because the formula that Songbringer uses screams Zelda. From the overworld movement and screen swipes to the, \u201cOh, I\u2019m going to need bombs to access this section,\u201d moments, each [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23890\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}