Mythforce Nintendo Switch Live Performance Review
40Inspired by beloved Saturday morning cartoons, MythForce unites swords & sorcery with gripping 1st-person combat in a new roguelike adventure.
Mythforce Nintendo Switch Game Performance Review
Introduction:
Today we dive headfirst into the enchanting world of Mythforce, a new first-person roguelike adventure here on the Nintendo Switch. Developed by Beamdog, this title comes with a $29.99 price tag for the digital edition, with a planned physical release at $34.99. Mythforce hit the switch today, on September 13th, promising to transport us back to the golden days of Saturday morning cartoons. But did it deliver on this enticing promise? Join me as I dissect and review Mythforce on the Nintendo Switch.
"Strong Opening Act: Kind of..."
As you launch Mythforce, the first thing that strikes you is the excruciatingly long initial loading screen. Once past that hurdle, you might notice the absence of an engaging narrative at the start. However, they make up for it with a captivating opening animation complete with a theme song that sets the stage and I have to admit this part of the game is very impressive so bravo to the devs. My initial excitement was palpable, but as time passed, my enthusiasm dwindled.
Character Selection:
Mythforce offers four distinct characters to choose from: RICO the Rogue and A Night Named Victoria for melee enthusiasts, and Maggie the Mage and Hawkins, a bow-wielding hunter, for ranged combat fans. Each of the characters is equipped with a set of unique skills or attacks, they vary up enough that the game can feel quite different depending on which one you choose and for beginners to the genre I'd say the safest bet is to pick one of the ranged characters so you can keep a bit of distance between yourself and the enemies. They do have a few quick one liners, that they throw out on occasion as well and so Im sure people will have their favorite before too long.
Game Setup and Lobby:
After picking your character, Mythforce allows you to set up an offline game or join existing ones, making it a straightforward process and ofc you can create your own lobby with the option to keep it to friends only or open it up to the public. From there, you embark on your adventure by selecting levels on the world map. Overall, this part of the game was pretty stable and connecting online was quick and easy. I was only able to play with a random so communication wasn't really an option for us, however that will play a vital role in your success the deeper you get into the game, so just keep that in mind.
The Cracks Begin to Show:
This is where Mythforce starts revealing its flaws. The graphics suffer from poor resolution and lifeless animations, with jagged edges that are hard to ignore. While the colors are vibrant, the enemy designs often lack creativity, leaning heavily on generic skeletons and the occasional goblin or mushroom people but they quickly become repetitive as well. Unfortunately, this lack of creativity persists throughout the game, with very little variety in monster encounters until later in the game.
Progression System Woes:
Mythforce's progression system leaves much to be desired. It offers minimal rewards for player progression, making grinding a frustrating necessity. Furthermore, the game is riddled with bugs and random occurrences. The absence of a consistent hitbox structure, coupled with an incredibly unstable frame rate that really dips hard in almost all levels, results in players taking damage from unseen enemies or attacks. Character animations are equally broken, with missing frames and awkward movements for both the enemies but also for your character as well, its as if frames of animation are just missing, leaving your arm just flailing back and forth seemingly with no purpose. Again its a shame as this game has potential.
Online Co-op Nightmare:
In addition to the solo gameplay Mythforce boasts drop-in online co-op for up to four players. While the concept sounds promising, the execution falls flat. Frame rate issues worsen online, making combat even more challenging. The enemies increase in number and you really cant take many hits before you die, but to make matters worse controller inputs frequently stop registering leaving you unable to attack or swap weapons or really do anything but run around until the game deicdes you're allowed to use your controller again. Reviving teammates is unreliable at best, and game-breaking bugs like bosses flying up in the air when you attack them can also occur these happen more frequently online though.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, Mythforce shows potential, but it's marred by a disastrous launch. While I hope for improvements via patches, the game's current state is far from recommendable. I cannot, in good conscience, advise spending your hard-earned $29.99 on it, at least not until the developers address its numerous issues.