{"id":23891,"date":"2018-06-06T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-06T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/switch-eshop\/icey"},"modified":"2018-06-06T16:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-06-06T16:00:00","slug":"review-icey-switch-eshop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2018\/06\/06\/review-icey-switch-eshop\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: ICEY (Switch eShop)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/switch-eshop\/icey\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/switch-eshop\/icey\/small.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div id=\"\">\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"ICEY Review - Screenshot 1 of 4\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/90056\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/90056\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"ICEY Review - Screenshot 1 of 4\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>Take one look at the ever-growing library of Nintendo Switch eShop titles and the term \u20182D side-scrolling action game\u2019 crops up more often than not. Nintendo Switch is already home to many and fans of the genre certainly have a great and extensive range to choose from. Developer FantaBlade Network adds its futuristic slasher <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/icey\">ICEY<\/a><\/strong> into the mix and although the title won\u2019t take more than a couple of play sessions to get through, its odd yet unique spin on the genre offers an experience that\u2019s more than worth its asking price.<\/p>\n<p>You play as ICEY, a robot humanoid that wouldn\u2019t look out of place in any sci-fi anime past or present. She\u2019s armed with a sword, a hefty amount of agility and a distinct lack of speech. The omnipresent voice you do hear in this game is the &#8216;developer&#8217; who explains the goings on around ICEY, and it\u2019s a voice you\u2019ll need to get used to quickly as it&#8217;s there until the credits roll.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"ICEY Review - Screenshot 2 of 4\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/90055\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/90055\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"ICEY Review - Screenshot 2 of 4\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>It\u2019s quickly made apparent that the main objectives here are to take down the evil and powerful \u2018Judas\u2019, defeat Judas\u2019 mini-boss comrades and to try and piece together the reasoning behind ICEY\u2019s existence in the process. Without the constant metacommentary, this title would easily fall into the bargain bin of cookie-cut sci-fi hack \u2018n\u2019 slashers out there. However, with the narrator continually bugging you to follow his every instruction and direction, it\u2019s increasingly difficult to refrain from sticking two fingers up and going your own way \u2013 like when you were told to stay put at the shopping centre but couldn\u2019t help but run off to go on your own adventures.<\/p>\n<p>Plastered over the beautifully detailed high-tech backdrops \u2013 and forcefully pointed out by the narrator \u2013 there are glaringly obvious arrows showing the way towards Judas\u2019 whereabouts. It\u2019s push\/pull factor of seeing these and hearing the narrator almost shout at you to go in the said direction that makes this title more about playing against the rules than rushing to the finish line. Wander off and he\u2019ll get agitated. Get back on track and he\u2019ll turn smug. It&#8217;s a nice touch and certainly makes the experience more immersive with a cleverly reactive voice constantly hovering over you delve deeper in. There\u2019s hidden cash to help upgrade your move-set, humorous dialogue to be subjected to and other incentives (no spoilers here!) to tempt you away from the main story focus.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"ICEY Review - Screenshot 3 of 4\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/90058\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/90058\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"ICEY Review - Screenshot 3 of 4\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>This isn\u2019t to say it\u2019s all plain sailing, though. At various points, we find ourselves reaching for the option to turn the voice off entirely and instead opt for text only. Yes, the narrator does a thorough and often playful job of dishing out context to ICEY\u2019s actions, but it does have a tendency to become irritating. Still, hearing the narrator becomes increasingly frustrated the more you disobey his instructions did make us chuckle.<\/p>\n<p>The game handles very well mainly due to its\u00a0accessible\u00a0control system that&#8217;s pleasantly uncomplicated to get to grips with. Slicing and chopping your way through a small but varied roster of enemy robots is a silky smooth affair with ICEY executing impressive acrobatic kills with just a few presses.<\/p>\n<p>Pressing a combination of \u2018Y\u2019 and \u2018X\u2019 sees ICEY chain together a satisfying sequence of quick jabs and slower but more powerful slices. Pressing \u2018A\u2019 stops your chosen foe in their tracks and triggers slow-mo lethal finishing attack. It&#8217;s dramatic but it works. Using money from fallen enemies and boss battles opens up more powerful and interesting move sets that, when levelled up to their max, makes for some astounding multi-chain kills.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"ICEY Review - Screenshot 4 of 4\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/90057\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/90057\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"ICEY Review - Screenshot 4 of 4\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>It\u2019s this simplistic yet effective approach to the combat system that helps makes this title home to straightforward yet interesting playthroughs &#8211; it\u2019s simple to jump straight back into the action and to get to grips with the mechanics. Hammering the buttons to make ICEY aimlessly fling her sword does the job, but learning the combo\u2019s creates a dazzling display of manic manoeuvres that\u2019s a treat to witness.<\/p>\n<p>Combat isn\u2019t just relegated to the ground, though. Squeezing the \u2018R\u2019 trigger and ICEY warps to any given direction and taking the combat off the floor and into the air isn\u2019t just useful; it\u2019s fun and addictive and adds a layer of strategy to the mix. Plus, it makes you feel even more awesome when it works well. And for those out there who tend to hoover up every item and max-boost every stat, there\u2019s the option to go back and revisit all of the locations which help gives ICEY some replay value. A simple and functional horde mode is also included, but it\u2019s nothing special to bring you back for more.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"conclusion\">\n<h2 class=\"heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>Battling your way through screens of mechanical enemies to reach the final boss won\u2019t take very much time at all, but exploring the compact yet detailed world around you is enjoyable. Hidden are some thought-provoking snippets of narrative that touch on the hardships of developing games, for example, and the clever delivery of its storytelling is, at times, ingenious. However, the simplistic approach to battle and a confusing and convoluted story plot could prove bothersome for some who are looking for something a little more in-depth. ICEY does, however, succeed in providing quick, tight blasts of fun that\u2019s sure to please fans of the genre that are looking for something a little different.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Take one look at the ever-growing library of Nintendo Switch eShop titles and the term \u20182D side-scrolling action game\u2019 crops up more often than not. Nintendo Switch is already home to many and fans of the genre certainly have a great and extensive range to choose from. Developer FantaBlade Network adds its futuristic slasher ICEY [&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-23891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23891","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=23891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23891\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}