Full video review: https://youtu.be/hnjo41l7oH0
From the same studio that brought you Guacamelee! comes a bit of a unique one. It’s a top-down action RPG hack and slash adventure with a very cool form-swapping mechanic.
Gameplay
So an immediate comparison I would make here is to that of Shantae. The core mechanic in Nobody Saves the World is that you’re able to freely swap between different “forms”. There are over 15 of these different forms and they each have a full slate of unique abilities to use in combat on top of their base traits like some being able to travel in water and some being able to go through tight spaces.
It’s a very cool mechanic and is made only better by the sheer variety and detail behind it all. Some forms are faster, some forms are tankier, some are ranged, some are melee, some are a mix of both - there are plenty to choose from and they fit all sorts of play styles.
That’s not all though, because shortly into the experience you’re granted the ability to customize each form further by equipping abilities from any of the other forms. You can get stuff like a horse with the poison traits of the rat or a ghost with the water spray ability of the turtle. Because each form levels up individually, you’re encouraged to hop around and not stick with just one form, but at the same time, this customization allows you to take some of your favorite abilities from one form and apply them to another - a very cool combo.
The combat was already fun enough on its own with most of the base forms, but the addition of ability swapping really elevates it and especially so later on once you have most of the abilities unlocked and come up with some crazy synergies. And it’s not just the combat - the quests and puzzles build off of this mechanic too. One quest, for example, has you destroy a bunch of targets using specific damage types in a limited amount of time and you’ll need to come up with some sort of form combo with just the right abilities to complete that task in time.
Maps & Aesthetic
The maps are a good mix of environments with cool designs, cool characters to meet, and fun quests to complete. Unlocking more forms gradually opens up more of the map, so exploration is encouraged too. And of course, the map greatly benefits from the game’s colorful art style. Great coloring, plenty of world detailing - it’s just an all-around good looking game and with some nice music to match too.
Quality of Life
My main complaints are mostly with the quality of life side of things. For example, the “quick select” wheel that allows you to change between forms is a bit finicky once you have enough forms to fill it up. In the event that you want to swap to a form that is not on the wheel, you have to pause the game, pull up the form menu, select that form, and hope that it does not replace another form that you also would like to swap to. I don’t know if my friend and I were missing something, but it seemed that the form would be put on the quick select wheel randomly, so it became a bit of a pain once we had to juggle all of these forms.
I also wasn’t the biggest fan of how quests are tracked and submitted. To do so, you have to pull up a menu manually and submit them before progress can be made on the next part of that quest. This is a bit of an annoyance because sometimes you’ll complete one in the middle of combat and have to pause right then to submit it or waste the next several kills not getting tracked towards your next quest.
Technical Issues & Performance
I did run into a few issues with the multiplayer. Whether that be the occasional lag spike that lasts a while or the random disconnect forcing me back to the main menu - both were annoying. The latter could easily be solved by keeping at least one player in the game instead of booting both, but as it stands that is not the case.
Otherwise, the game plays fine. I ran it at 1440p and 120 fps without any performance issues. The game lacks mouse controls but does have rebindable keyboard controls. They are a bit obtuse, but at least doable if you do not have a controller on hand.
Overall
I went into Nobody Saves the World thinking - okay, basically top-down Shantae, but it’s a lot more than just that. Fun combat with plenty of depth, quests that actually do something unique and don’t just have you running to and from, solid music and colorful art with plenty of detail - it’s got a lot going for it in spite of some technical and design flaws. It’s fun enough as a singleplayer title, but an absolutely easy recommendation if you have a friend to do online co-op with.
From the same studio that brought you Guacamelee! comes a bit of a unique one. It’s a top-down action RPG hack and slash adventure with a very cool form-swapping mechanic.
Gameplay
So an immediate comparison I would make here is to that of Shantae. The core mechanic in Nobody Saves the World is that you’re able to freely swap between different “forms”. There are over 15 of these different forms and they each have a full slate of unique abilities to use in combat on top of their base traits like some being able to travel in water and some being able to go through tight spaces.
It’s a very cool mechanic and is made only better by the sheer variety and detail behind it all. Some forms are faster, some forms are tankier, some are ranged, some are melee, some are a mix of both - there are plenty to choose from and they fit all sorts of play styles.
That’s not all though, because shortly into the experience you’re granted the ability to customize each form further by equipping abilities from any of the other forms. You can get stuff like a horse with the poison traits of the rat or a ghost with the water spray ability of the turtle. Because each form levels up individually, you’re encouraged to hop around and not stick with just one form, but at the same time, this customization allows you to take some of your favorite abilities from one form and apply them to another - a very cool combo.
The combat was already fun enough on its own with most of the base forms, but the addition of ability swapping really elevates it and especially so later on once you have most of the abilities unlocked and come up with some crazy synergies. And it’s not just the combat - the quests and puzzles build off of this mechanic too. One quest, for example, has you destroy a bunch of targets using specific damage types in a limited amount of time and you’ll need to come up with some sort of form combo with just the right abilities to complete that task in time.
Maps & Aesthetic
The maps are a good mix of environments with cool designs, cool characters to meet, and fun quests to complete. Unlocking more forms gradually opens up more of the map, so exploration is encouraged too. And of course, the map greatly benefits from the game’s colorful art style. Great coloring, plenty of world detailing - it’s just an all-around good looking game and with some nice music to match too.
Quality of Life
My main complaints are mostly with the quality of life side of things. For example, the “quick select” wheel that allows you to change between forms is a bit finicky once you have enough forms to fill it up. In the event that you want to swap to a form that is not on the wheel, you have to pause the game, pull up the form menu, select that form, and hope that it does not replace another form that you also would like to swap to. I don’t know if my friend and I were missing something, but it seemed that the form would be put on the quick select wheel randomly, so it became a bit of a pain once we had to juggle all of these forms.
I also wasn’t the biggest fan of how quests are tracked and submitted. To do so, you have to pull up a menu manually and submit them before progress can be made on the next part of that quest. This is a bit of an annoyance because sometimes you’ll complete one in the middle of combat and have to pause right then to submit it or waste the next several kills not getting tracked towards your next quest.
Technical Issues & Performance
I did run into a few issues with the multiplayer. Whether that be the occasional lag spike that lasts a while or the random disconnect forcing me back to the main menu - both were annoying. The latter could easily be solved by keeping at least one player in the game instead of booting both, but as it stands that is not the case.
Otherwise, the game plays fine. I ran it at 1440p and 120 fps without any performance issues. The game lacks mouse controls but does have rebindable keyboard controls. They are a bit obtuse, but at least doable if you do not have a controller on hand.
Overall
I went into Nobody Saves the World thinking - okay, basically top-down Shantae, but it’s a lot more than just that. Fun combat with plenty of depth, quests that actually do something unique and don’t just have you running to and from, solid music and colorful art with plenty of detail - it’s got a lot going for it in spite of some technical and design flaws. It’s fun enough as a singleplayer title, but an absolutely easy recommendation if you have a friend to do online co-op with.
Way too grindy for my taste, however, I really appreciate the art style, the character designs, and the combat. I disliked the gameplay loop so much and it reminded me of AC origins, that is, one of my worst gaming experiences.
I also disliked how the game bounds me to complete tasks (the game calls them quests) since you must complete them to level up your characters. Whenever I enter an "optional" dungeon I find that the only thing I care about is completing the tasks to level up my characters; I don't care about the enemies or having fun because I must level up my characters to unlock new forms.
The idea of having different forms is very awesome and I liked it, even so, I think the execution is not perfect in light of how very inconvenient it is to change forms mid-combat. I also liked mixing and swapping the active and passive abilities of my characters, pretty much the highlight of the game.
I might pick it up again later if it gets patched.
I also disliked how the game bounds me to complete tasks (the game calls them quests) since you must complete them to level up your characters. Whenever I enter an "optional" dungeon I find that the only thing I care about is completing the tasks to level up my characters; I don't care about the enemies or having fun because I must level up my characters to unlock new forms.
The idea of having different forms is very awesome and I liked it, even so, I think the execution is not perfect in light of how very inconvenient it is to change forms mid-combat. I also liked mixing and swapping the active and passive abilities of my characters, pretty much the highlight of the game.
I might pick it up again later if it gets patched.
Excellent game! Really enjoyed the combat and the different transformations and the humor. The art is SUPERB, and the little touches like all 25 mana fairy pickups having different art and how the art for many NPCs change after a certain point in the game are lovely. All the forms have uses and I'm looking forward to NG+ where I actually have much more to think about in terms of builds.
The biggest issue for me is the form selection wheel. It doesn't hold all the forms in the game and rotates things out as you swap to new forms. This meant I couldn't use muscle memory. Combined with the fact that it covers the screen without pausing the game means I never used the wheel and instead just kept going into the menu. I think it'd be better if we could select our own shortcuts, then I imagine we can do some fun combos like in Genshin.
The biggest issue for me is the form selection wheel. It doesn't hold all the forms in the game and rotates things out as you swap to new forms. This meant I couldn't use muscle memory. Combined with the fact that it covers the screen without pausing the game means I never used the wheel and instead just kept going into the menu. I think it'd be better if we could select our own shortcuts, then I imagine we can do some fun combos like in Genshin.
Love the amount of customization in this game, the ability to move powers to other forms adds a level of creativity that makes you feel like you are in complete control of how well you are going to do. Once you find your build you are pretty set but I do like that it does want you to go outside your comfort zone and try out new builds. It has a fun look and maybe a story that is easy to skip but let's be honest the gameplay on this one is so strong that it's a great time.
Supposedly I played this for 42 hours, but I had a lot of in game AFK time. I think it was closer to 20 to beat everything. Only had 2 mana faeries left to find out of the quests. Got a handful of forms and skills up to max level. Enjoyable game, but overlong for the kind of game it is.
Pros:
- aesthetically pleasing art style
- customization of playable character using different forms
- relatively fun story
Cons:
-repetitiveness and grindness of having to do 'chore' quests to rank up forms. Especially once hybrid quests (custom form) start.
- gatekeeping by suddenly running out of form quests (e.g. can't get to A rank cause literally no new form quests were given)
- OST is nice but not much variety, tiring to listen to same 3-5 songs
- Dungeons don't seem to have any unique memorable bosses from what I saw in the 6-7 hours that I played.
Overall, good game but maybe more fun and less repetitive playing co-op?
- aesthetically pleasing art style
- customization of playable character using different forms
- relatively fun story
Cons:
-repetitiveness and grindness of having to do 'chore' quests to rank up forms. Especially once hybrid quests (custom form) start.
- gatekeeping by suddenly running out of form quests (e.g. can't get to A rank cause literally no new form quests were given)
- OST is nice but not much variety, tiring to listen to same 3-5 songs
- Dungeons don't seem to have any unique memorable bosses from what I saw in the 6-7 hours that I played.
Overall, good game but maybe more fun and less repetitive playing co-op?
This game is pretty fun and has a pretty great art-style! All of the different forms keeps the game pretty varied. With that being said, the game is pretty mash-y with its combat and I personally found it pretty dull. The story is simple and the characters are a bit obnoxious and I didn't feel super compelled to keep playing.
I'd say if you have Game Pass, it'd be harmless to try!
I'd say if you have Game Pass, it'd be harmless to try!
This was a fun game with a fun concept that I would have never played if not for game pass, so shout out to game pass. Once you unlock every form, the game kind of shifts from focusing on completing quests for each form to optimizing your builds to take on specific situations, some of which are quite challenging. This is definitely more of a Diablo-style action RPG than a Zeldalike, but I understand the comparisons to Zelda based on how you explore the world. My interest waned hard by the end of the game but ultimately it was a fun game with a good personality.
Decent little action RPG. When it's working well, it's constantly giving you new things to try, unlocking new forms and upgrading them. The story's presented in a fun way and the soundtrack's a good one.
There are a few issues; movement's a bit too slow for the distance between quick travel points, wards (enemies which are invulnerable until you use a specific type of attack) are a bit too plentiful in areas, raising stress levels, the difficulty level wavers a bit and I would have liked analogue directional movement (especially on the dash skill), but it's not far off being very good. Hopefully they do another game in this style.
There are a few issues; movement's a bit too slow for the distance between quick travel points, wards (enemies which are invulnerable until you use a specific type of attack) are a bit too plentiful in areas, raising stress levels, the difficulty level wavers a bit and I would have liked analogue directional movement (especially on the dash skill), but it's not far off being very good. Hopefully they do another game in this style.
Nobody Saves the World can feel very grindy, so much so that there were points where it felt more like busywork than an enjoyable dungeon crawling ARPG. Sometimes you're rewarded way too quickly and have pings for more XP to claim way too often, other times the combat challenged felt overly complex leading to numerous repeat encounters to meet the requirements.
But once you get past a certain threshold for each class, everything instantly becomes more freeing, and you can deftly switch from being a fire breathing bodybuilder who throws his literal weights around to a superfast slug with the ability to summon bunnies and tigers (stolen from the magician class) that's main attack is crying at its enemies. I'm not sure the semi-procedural dungeons works entirely (I think curated design could have worked just as well, if not better) but I appreciated that each dungeon had a modifier or limit on one mechanic which encouraged playing around with different skills and loadouts.
Creating your own unique build among the varied roster of classes and setting them loose in each dungeon that makes this game worth the effort and I'm glad I was able to overcome that initial hurdle to get to this point as I (eventually) had a ton of fun with it.
But once you get past a certain threshold for each class, everything instantly becomes more freeing, and you can deftly switch from being a fire breathing bodybuilder who throws his literal weights around to a superfast slug with the ability to summon bunnies and tigers (stolen from the magician class) that's main attack is crying at its enemies. I'm not sure the semi-procedural dungeons works entirely (I think curated design could have worked just as well, if not better) but I appreciated that each dungeon had a modifier or limit on one mechanic which encouraged playing around with different skills and loadouts.
Creating your own unique build among the varied roster of classes and setting them loose in each dungeon that makes this game worth the effort and I'm glad I was able to overcome that initial hurdle to get to this point as I (eventually) had a ton of fun with it.
Had a really good time with this one. Don't get me wrong the game is pretty one note throughout but it was a perfect turn your brain off and play sort of game. It looks great and the writing is above average. The controls are a wee bit janky, like I would have preferred it if it was a dual stick shooter but I got used to them easy enough.
Ended up beating it with all forms s rank and all but the new game+ achievement. I have trouble beating games so I guess that's pretty high praise i got into this one.
It gives me heavy diablo 3 vibes despite the disparate art style
Ended up beating it with all forms s rank and all but the new game+ achievement. I have trouble beating games so I guess that's pretty high praise i got into this one.
It gives me heavy diablo 3 vibes despite the disparate art style
Pretty nice little surprise! The game starts out reeeaaaally slow. It isn't until 2-3 hours in when you can start mixing and matching perks does it take off. I feel like there's an amazing game in here somewhere, but it doesn't quite reach that. Ranged combat feels bad. Movement speed is too slow. There is a shocking lack of trackers for a game all about tracking EXP.
Great artstyle, simple-yet-addictive music, and gameplay that is just good enough not to drag down the transformation aspect of the game.
Great artstyle, simple-yet-addictive music, and gameplay that is just good enough not to drag down the transformation aspect of the game.
Extremamente repetitivo, com um senso de humor besta divertidinho e um sistema de "classes" confuso e meio exagerado.
A mecânica principal do jogo são as formas. Seu personagem pode se transformar em diversas outras criaturas, desde classes de RPG até animais e monstros. Cada forma tem uma habilidade passiva e algumas ativas e eventualmente o jogo permite que você combine essas habilidades e crie umas coisas bem únicas.
Você evolui essas formas completando quests pra cada uma que são umas coisas bem simples. Mate 20 inimigos com essa habilidade, acerte 50 inimigos com essa outra. E isso já faz parte de outro sistema do jogo: você está sempre completando pequenas quests. Mate X inimigos, abra X baús, etc. E isso já apresenta outro problema, porque você sempre precisa abrir um menu e completar individualmente cada quest. Num jogo onde você completa dezenas de quests por hora. Sabe. Um saco.
O maior problema pra mim fica na maneira como o combate funciona, você mata hordas de inimigos e apesar da variedade de golpes e habilidades é tudo extremamente repetitivo.
O overworld é grande e lembra bastante um Zelda da vida pela maneira como ele é disposto. Acho que o jogo é muito bonito e tem muita coisa interessante para se ver mas não tão interessante de se interagir. Na maior parte do tempo você só está andando e destruindo pequenos obstáculos e inimigos. O progresso já fica em dungeons que existem espalhadas pelo mundo. Apesar de cada uma ter um nome, sprites e temática única, a estrutura interna dela é gerada proceduralmente toda vez que você entra nela. E aqui que fica ainda mais chato. Você sempre está correndo por salas genéricas destruindo hordas e mais hordas de monstros iguais.
O ponto mais fraco pra mim fica na OST. Pouquíssima variedade, umas batidas toscas sem muita personalidade e algumas faixas simplesmente irritantes mesmo. Bem triste.
Acho que da pra se divertir com Nobody Saves the World mas eu cansei antes da reta final (acredito que eu parei em uns 60~70% do jogo) e não me importei muito de ver o desfecho da história ou as últimas transformações.
A mecânica principal do jogo são as formas. Seu personagem pode se transformar em diversas outras criaturas, desde classes de RPG até animais e monstros. Cada forma tem uma habilidade passiva e algumas ativas e eventualmente o jogo permite que você combine essas habilidades e crie umas coisas bem únicas.
Você evolui essas formas completando quests pra cada uma que são umas coisas bem simples. Mate 20 inimigos com essa habilidade, acerte 50 inimigos com essa outra. E isso já faz parte de outro sistema do jogo: você está sempre completando pequenas quests. Mate X inimigos, abra X baús, etc. E isso já apresenta outro problema, porque você sempre precisa abrir um menu e completar individualmente cada quest. Num jogo onde você completa dezenas de quests por hora. Sabe. Um saco.
O maior problema pra mim fica na maneira como o combate funciona, você mata hordas de inimigos e apesar da variedade de golpes e habilidades é tudo extremamente repetitivo.
O overworld é grande e lembra bastante um Zelda da vida pela maneira como ele é disposto. Acho que o jogo é muito bonito e tem muita coisa interessante para se ver mas não tão interessante de se interagir. Na maior parte do tempo você só está andando e destruindo pequenos obstáculos e inimigos. O progresso já fica em dungeons que existem espalhadas pelo mundo. Apesar de cada uma ter um nome, sprites e temática única, a estrutura interna dela é gerada proceduralmente toda vez que você entra nela. E aqui que fica ainda mais chato. Você sempre está correndo por salas genéricas destruindo hordas e mais hordas de monstros iguais.
O ponto mais fraco pra mim fica na OST. Pouquíssima variedade, umas batidas toscas sem muita personalidade e algumas faixas simplesmente irritantes mesmo. Bem triste.
Acho que da pra se divertir com Nobody Saves the World mas eu cansei antes da reta final (acredito que eu parei em uns 60~70% do jogo) e não me importei muito de ver o desfecho da história ou as últimas transformações.
Really solid grindy game! I loved figuring out combos that made the game easy. Any game that lets me do that is at least a 4/5, I'd say.
The variety of classes available are creative and offer a number of challenges across the game's running time, and while some are better than others, the option (And at times demands of the quests) to use abilities on other classes means you'll find incentive to use them all.
There's a definite peak to NSTW, unfortunately, it's about 10 hours into a 20-hour game, and by that point, you have seen what NSTW has to offer. The lack of a compelling plot means beating the game is purely for the sake of being a completionist, as the final dungeons don't offer that much more.
It's a shame the points above drag the game down - especially as the writing in Guacamelee is highly enjoyable, which could have helped to keep me feeling actively engaged with NSTW's progression. However, I would say overall I enjoyed my time.
There's a definite peak to NSTW, unfortunately, it's about 10 hours into a 20-hour game, and by that point, you have seen what NSTW has to offer. The lack of a compelling plot means beating the game is purely for the sake of being a completionist, as the final dungeons don't offer that much more.
It's a shame the points above drag the game down - especially as the writing in Guacamelee is highly enjoyable, which could have helped to keep me feeling actively engaged with NSTW's progression. However, I would say overall I enjoyed my time.
One of the most stilted dungeon crawlers I've ever played, the entire right stick going unused for the transformations while being shoehorned into needing to combo between them to damage any enemies in the first place is mind boggling. Why does it feel like they optimized the game for the SNES pad but put so much extra bullshit on top of that? Why limit basic movement to 8 directions and attacks to 4? It feels needlesly limiting and, to draw comparisons, even Hammerwatch which is going for a far more traditional approach like Gauntlet lets you do 360 analog movement if you wish.
It's like they missed the memo entirely about what makes games like Hammerwatch fun. Shoving a million forms and upgrades in my face with the illusion of freedom and specialization while telling me to use them like RPS to get rid of invulnerability layers on the enemies is a slog.
Game looks like an above average Newgrounds game which is to say at most serviceable, none of the attacks feel weighty and they kind of remind me of the few criticisms I have for Castle Crashers but amplified threefold. Also gorilla warfare copypasta as an unironic quest in 2022 lmfaooo if I wanted lolquirky writing I'd play Borderlands.
The online co-op is serviceable at best but I really really wish they'd have figured out how to do something other than just doing an input buffer delay. I don't care if there's minor visual glitches here and there, please just do rollback or similar lol
TLDR
Potentially good, the groundwork is there, but feels utterly insincere and like walking around with a pebble in your shoe. At least it's on GamePass amirite?
It's like they missed the memo entirely about what makes games like Hammerwatch fun. Shoving a million forms and upgrades in my face with the illusion of freedom and specialization while telling me to use them like RPS to get rid of invulnerability layers on the enemies is a slog.
Game looks like an above average Newgrounds game which is to say at most serviceable, none of the attacks feel weighty and they kind of remind me of the few criticisms I have for Castle Crashers but amplified threefold. Also gorilla warfare copypasta as an unironic quest in 2022 lmfaooo if I wanted lolquirky writing I'd play Borderlands.
The online co-op is serviceable at best but I really really wish they'd have figured out how to do something other than just doing an input buffer delay. I don't care if there's minor visual glitches here and there, please just do rollback or similar lol
TLDR
Potentially good, the groundwork is there, but feels utterly insincere and like walking around with a pebble in your shoe. At least it's on GamePass amirite?
It's not necessarily a bad game... but temper your expectations.
Being able to access and customize various transformations (forms) allows for plenty of diversity in builds- however, combat is rarely compelling or challenging enough to necessitate much thought about builds, and gameplay generally feels mashy.
The overworld is fairly uninteresting to explore, all dungeons are procedurally-generated which makes them feel even more of a slog, and the writing is just not very funny (though not for lack of trying).
However: if you are looking for a game that'll activate the pleasure-seeking centers in your brain through incremental progress, this may be the game for you.
Each form has numerous 'form quests', where you have to complete some sort of combat-related challenge, in order to unlock new abilities and forms. These quests are generally fairly easy and varied, and together with the rest of the game (exploring, completing dungeons, etc.) it becomes the perfect brain-dead kind of experience to have while listening to a podcast or hanging out in a voice chat with friends.
It's not bad to treat yourself to a mindless button-masher once in a while. I definitely needed one.
Being able to access and customize various transformations (forms) allows for plenty of diversity in builds- however, combat is rarely compelling or challenging enough to necessitate much thought about builds, and gameplay generally feels mashy.
The overworld is fairly uninteresting to explore, all dungeons are procedurally-generated which makes them feel even more of a slog, and the writing is just not very funny (though not for lack of trying).
However: if you are looking for a game that'll activate the pleasure-seeking centers in your brain through incremental progress, this may be the game for you.
Each form has numerous 'form quests', where you have to complete some sort of combat-related challenge, in order to unlock new abilities and forms. These quests are generally fairly easy and varied, and together with the rest of the game (exploring, completing dungeons, etc.) it becomes the perfect brain-dead kind of experience to have while listening to a podcast or hanging out in a voice chat with friends.
It's not bad to treat yourself to a mindless button-masher once in a while. I definitely needed one.
Das Indie-Studio Drinkbox, das schon mit Guacamelee gezeigt hat, was in ihm steckt, kommt mit Nobody saves the World nicht nur ein Genre-Wechsel sondern vor allem ein verdammt gutes Spiel. Die Animationen sind wahnsinnig liebevoll animiert, die Dialoge haben mich mehrmals laut lachen lassen, das Kampfsystem ist überraschend deep und gleichzeitig schön abwechslungsreich und fordernd und der Soundtrack untermalt perfekt das Geschehen. Absolute Empfehlung.
I had so much playing this and unlocking different forms and upgrading them. The dungeons are fun and require you to go in with different strategies.
The dialogue is funny and cute at many different parts in the game. The story is interesting and keeps you invested to see how things turn out.
The gameplay is really fun with so many different and unique ways to play. The art is amazing. Boss fights are fun and challenging to keep you thinking of different ways to approach them. This game is an early favorite for Indie Game of the Year for me
The dialogue is funny and cute at many different parts in the game. The story is interesting and keeps you invested to see how things turn out.
The gameplay is really fun with so many different and unique ways to play. The art is amazing. Boss fights are fun and challenging to keep you thinking of different ways to approach them. This game is an early favorite for Indie Game of the Year for me
A simple button-mashy top down affair elevated by the achievement desigh, which urges you to explore the world and well as your powerset so that you can make the numbers go up and wreak havoc with random builds from different classes that create hellish synchronicity. Everything else, from art, writing and music are pretty good and I don't really have complaints. Not my favourite Drinkbox affair but a solid time regardless.
Firstly I want to say that ive seen a lot of reviews calling this a Zelda-like game. Its really not. Aside from a couple of context situations, most of this game is really more like a Diablo-dungeon crawler, albiet exchanging the neverending loot drop system for one where you mix and match abilities across various different in-game forms.
For the most part it works quite well, blasting through dungeons is mostly fun and the overall art and gameplay can get pretty addictive. The best parts of the game is when you can get really creative with the combinations and cause even the most unassuming of forms to turn into a whirlwind of destruction.
However good lord the game does like to get in the way of that through its unlock mechanics. In order to unlock more forms and level up forms (to gain more skills), you need to do various task lists for each form. These mostly boil down to beating enemies in particular fashion, using specific attacks or breaking enemy defences. This is all great in theory but in reality it just leads to grinding with select characters to get to where you really want.
Once you've really broken through that grind, there's a lot to love here but that grind is notable and it does force you to play characters/use abilities you may not like for good chunks of time. Its not something that ruins the game thanks to just how frantic and silly the game can be (and it can get very silly through its missions, oddball characters and weird mechanics) but it does stop the game from really being more than it could be.
For the most part it works quite well, blasting through dungeons is mostly fun and the overall art and gameplay can get pretty addictive. The best parts of the game is when you can get really creative with the combinations and cause even the most unassuming of forms to turn into a whirlwind of destruction.
However good lord the game does like to get in the way of that through its unlock mechanics. In order to unlock more forms and level up forms (to gain more skills), you need to do various task lists for each form. These mostly boil down to beating enemies in particular fashion, using specific attacks or breaking enemy defences. This is all great in theory but in reality it just leads to grinding with select characters to get to where you really want.
Once you've really broken through that grind, there's a lot to love here but that grind is notable and it does force you to play characters/use abilities you may not like for good chunks of time. Its not something that ruins the game thanks to just how frantic and silly the game can be (and it can get very silly through its missions, oddball characters and weird mechanics) but it does stop the game from really being more than it could be.
This game was super neat!! I had to force my brain to not optimize the fun out of it by trying to finish all of one forms quests before switching to the next (something the game encourages you not to do by disabling quests in certain dungeons), but once I got past it I had a good time. The characters are varied and interesting more or less, although the abilities do fall a bit on the tame side. The quests help a lot, forcing you to play the form how its intended to be played, its combos and status effects. I can't really put my issue into words, I just know I was having a pretty solid time and at some point I looked at the world map, saw how little I had actually seen, considered how long it was going to take to finish (especially knowing I wasn't going to feel finished until I finished all the form quests and dungeons) and decided it wasn't fun enough to justify another 10-15 hours. Still, it was a fun time, neat concept executed well, for sure worth playing, just a bit too tame and a bit too slowly paced for my personal taste.
Amazing game, a bit grindy but overall I enjoyed it a lot. At times I've had a feeling like I was playing diablo :)
There are two games in here: one is an extremely solid dungeon crawler with a quirky sense of humour and a very fun transformation system, the other is a grindy nightmare that just feels like a long road to nowhere. While Nobody Saves the World is able to keep itself fresh for the first 10 hours, by the time you hit the last third the game has long overstayed its welcome and you feel ready to check out the final boss. The devs respond to this by instead slamming on the brakes and ruining the game's pacing by forcing you to grind boring, repetitive quests over and over again to inch your way towards unlocking the game's final dungeons. I strongly advise that whoever decided that 130 stars to unlock the last dungeons was anywhere near a fair amount when you get like 2 tops for completing a difficult quest should get their head checked. Definitely give it a try on GamePass because there is a lot of fun to be had here but don't be surprised if you find yourself burnt out by the end.
In short: Nobody Saves The World has fun art, great ideas, and a lot of personality. Not all of that will hit for everyone, but generally, I think it executes on those three core things extremely well.
Unfortunately, the gameplay loop isn't engaging enough to really pull the player the whole way through. The ideas are great, but through a mechanical lens, the actual core gameplay doesn't hit as well as other, similar games.
Unfortunately, the gameplay loop isn't engaging enough to really pull the player the whole way through. The ideas are great, but through a mechanical lens, the actual core gameplay doesn't hit as well as other, similar games.
I really enjoyed it in the beginning, but it wore thin kinda quickly. Just kinda shallow and started to feel pretty samey.
Right off the bat, I want to recommend this game. It's a solid little title that contains plenty of content for the price and decent content at that. My muted praise may suggest my recommendation is not a strong one, and that may sort of be true. At its core, NSTW is centered around grinding, the type that has you completing tasks to gain XP and star bits to unlock the main dungeons. This is not inherently bad but it's a design philosophy I do not connect with. As a strictly optional course of progression, it is fine, but this is what makes this game this game right beside its shape-shifting gimmick. I found this half of NSTW to be its most enticing with so many unique forms and in turn playstyles to swap to. The loop of completing dungeons while experimenting with each form's combat compelled me to play for hours at times. Combat was challengeless fun, satisfaction being derived out of seeing so many enemies hit at once. However, at the back of my mind, I knew I couldn't always play the way I wanted to. If I wanted to progress steadily I had to grind out XP with each character only to discard them once they dried up with tasks to complete. In many ways, it reminded me of 'Cookie Clicker'. A game designed around the pure delight in constant tapping, the small amounts of dopamine hitting the ol noggin when the numbers increase. No matter how fun the combat was, ultimately what mattered most was seeing my level increase and those sweet stars added to my collection. Was it fun? Not really but it fed into that mindless enjoyment I had with combat. But eventually, that thoughtless pleasure turned into pure thoughtless as I continuously ticked those important numbers up only to finish the game with little to no impact being left on me.
uhh, idk! i really dug the grind for about 9 hours, but then i took a break one day and have zero desire to go back, so!
i thought this was JUST OKAY until i got the ability to swap out any ability to any character then i thought it was AWESOME and then as i played more i still thought it was awesome but menuing with a friend BLOWS and none of the dungeons are really all that cool or interesting.
It's so great to see Drinkbox spread their wings again and do something new. I laughed a ton playing this in co-op with a friend of mine. Gorgeous art style too. It's got a pretty unique cartooney look to it that I really dig.
The ARPG stuff is good but it could be better. I especially disliked how the main story dungeons would lock me out of completing Form quests. It felt like an unnecessary restriction that made those feel unsatisfying to complete. Otherwise, the game is a fairly easy mash fest of an ARPG. It's still fun to complete the map, do quests and level up but it's definitely quite basic. The game definitely carried by vibes but that's okay.
Highly recommend as a co-op experience as that may help alleviate some annoyances.
The ARPG stuff is good but it could be better. I especially disliked how the main story dungeons would lock me out of completing Form quests. It felt like an unnecessary restriction that made those feel unsatisfying to complete. Otherwise, the game is a fairly easy mash fest of an ARPG. It's still fun to complete the map, do quests and level up but it's definitely quite basic. The game definitely carried by vibes but that's okay.
Highly recommend as a co-op experience as that may help alleviate some annoyances.