First Look: Beast Breaker (Nintendo Switch)
0RUN. FIGHT. But never HIDE.
You play as a curious little mouse with heroic blood running through their veins. What started as a growing curiosity becomes a full on career in beast hunting - or in this case, beast BREAKING, as beasts are made of hardened scales and combustible cores. Can you save the villages across the land from magic-fueled destruction?
And, greater still - will you be able to keep your family together, alive and safe?
Beast Breaker is a constant boss battler that strives to balance creative gameplay, meaningful storytelling, memorable characters, and a beautiful soundtrack. It’s part Peggle, part brick-breaker, and wholly strategic. Does it succeed?
Yes, absolutely.
…
……
BUT - I’ll get to the but later - let me start with why I enjoy Beast Breaker:
- First, the art style is cute and cozy. From the soft, colorful landscapes of the main menu to the vibrant characters you play as and come across.
- Next, well…those characters! They’re not just vibrant in art design, but also in personality as well. From your legendary grandma, and eccentric cousin, to a brainy scientist bat, a bird of royal blood line, and timid health-conscious frog (plus many more), there is no shortage of personality here.
- Strategy! There are many, many different combat options here! From weapon choices and unique special attacks, to craftable items and consumables, there are a ton of ways to play. And, that includes more effective and less effective methods, depending on what beasts you may be fighting.
- Details - it’s the little things! Take the main menu music’s subtle changes as you move from screen to screen. Or, take the way each character gets upgraded as they grow as a person-er…creature? Story progression happens organically along with the characters as they all learn more about each other, and more importantly, about themselves. It’s great to see and was one of the sole motivators for pushing through nearly 15 hours of the game.
Remember that “but” I mentioned earlier? Well, here’s where it comes in - THE GAME IS TOO LONG.
Yes, I said it. And, as much as I hate to admit it, Beast Breaker becomes a bit of a slog. Not for lack of story, but rather for repetition in the constant boss fights. I mean, how many towns are in the area? It seems like I fought 100 beasts and there are still other towns to save? Heroes get tired, you know?
Listen, if this game was cut in half, coming in closer to the 10 hour mark, it would likely be up there with some of the better games I’ve played this year. And, while I feel it deserves the attention, towards the latter half it became more of a chore. It doesn’t help that the game will soft lock progress behind arbitrary level requirements.
Your renown level, as it’s called, it basically experience disguised as a means of explaining how widespread the tales of your feats have become. But, the game won’t let you progress at points unless you’ve reached a certain level. And, when it’s say, level 18/19/20 you need, the gameplay loop gets tired fast.
This is because, raising a level starts to take 5 -10 battles at this point - battles that can take anywhere from 5 - 25 minutes. This means you might be looking at an hour before you can *checks notes* fight another beast to advance the story after fighting five to raise the level you needed. I think you can see where it gets old.
Why not let more advanced players take down strong beasts at a disadvantage? Being underleveled and overskilled shouldn’t be punished, and that’s the last I’ll say about that. Unfortunately, this factor really pushes back at all the positives I started with. I’ll let you be the judge though.
Overall, Beast Breaker was a joy to start and a chore to finish. The combat options are plentiful, varied, and suitable for many different play styles. It’s a unique concept by an up-and-coming indie developer and I really am excited to see what they come up with next. A big thanks to Vodeo Games for the experience!
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Developer's Website: https://vodeo.games/about
Publisher's Website: https://vodeo.games/about
Nintendo Game Website: https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/beast-breaker-switch/
Game Details:
Release Date: September 23, 2021
Players: 1 Player
Genre: Arcade, Strategy, Puzzle, Adventure
Publisher: Vodeo Games
Developer: Vodeo Games
Game File Size: 578 MB
Supported Languages: English
ESRB Rating: E 10+
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