Nobody Saves the World [Nintendo Switch] | REVIEW

Ever find yourself playing an action RPG and stuck wondering which class you’d like to play as? Well, Nobody Saves the World doesn’t have that problem, with players able to transform into a myriad of creative (and undeniably destructive) forms across its colourful hack ‘n slashing adventure. It’s cool, silly, and a whole lot of fun, and it’s now available on the Nintendo Switch following its launch on PC and Xbox earlier in the year.

Check out a gallery of screenshots down below:

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If the title didn’t give it away, Nobody Saves the World puts you into the role of a Nobody. Yep, you’re just this weird looking dude with no distinguishable characteristics and no real personality… a real nobody. However, you are armed with a magical wand, which allows you to transform into all sorts of different creatures – it’s a good job too, especially since it’s up to you to defeat the ancient and evil Calamity that threatens the world.

Whilst Nobody Saves the World’s plot doesn’t offer too much in the way of originality, it’s genuinely funny and introduces players to plenty of kooky characters that are a pleasure to meet. It has got that whole ‘Saturday Morning Cartoon’ vibe going for it with how anarchic it can be, but it really resonated with me and I even found myself laughing out loud on occasions. It made it fun to uncover the world, progress the story, and see what situation you’d find yourself in next, with the great writing ensuring that the tale is simply oozing with personality.

The core gameplay mechanics will feel familiar to anyone who has played an action RPG before, with players navigating an expansive world and tackling the array of different dungeons found across it. There are plenty of different enemy types to beat up along the way, whilst the unique design aspects of each dungeon as well as the creative boss encounters you face within them ensure there’s a sense of individuality to each one you conquer. Add to that some fun side quests, local and online co-op play (which I haven’t had the chance to try yet), and collectibles to gather, and you’ll quickly find that the game has everything it needs to offer an enjoyable adventure for players to embark on.

“There’s always a satisfying sense of progression to Nobody Saves the World, whether that’s through seeing the story unfold, unlocking new forms, or simply powering up the ones you already have.”

I haven’t even touched upon the best feature of the game: the different forms you can transform into. As you progress on your adventure, you’ll unlock a variety of different forms to use that bring with them their own unique attacks and special abilities. Some of these abilities are useful for combat, but some are imperative to progressing through the game – the Rat’s small stature makes it perfect to get through tight spaces for example, whilst the Turtle is able to swim through water. Then you’ve got forms like the Ranger that is able to dodge out of the way of attacks, the Magician that uses its Confetti Bomb to unleash a wide-range sparkly attack, or the Zombie that’s able to infect enemies and have them rise as zombies and help you out… that’s just a small selection of what’s available too, with over fifteen forms available in total that each offer something different.

Each of the forms are fun to use and ensure there’s plenty of variety to combat, whilst it’s also possible to level them up in order to strengthen their capabilities and learn new abilities. Experience points are earned by using specified abilities to defeat enemies, which encourages players to experiment and vary up their playstyle – it’s a good incentive to see exactly what each form is capable of, though I must admit that there were times when I just wanted to use what worked best for me in order to pummel my foes.

You do eventually get to mix-and-match certain abilities between forms too, allowing you to mix some of your favourites together or simply utilise abilities that complement that form. It’s a clever mechanic that goes a long way in bringing more depth and flexibility to the already enjoyable combat, whilst it’s fun to simply toy around and see just how much chaos you can unleash on foes when mixing up the likes of a Magician, Bodybuilder, and Egg (yes, an Egg) together. Either way, there’s always a satisfying sense of progression to Nobody Saves the World, whether that’s through seeing the story unfold, unlocking new forms to use, or simply powering up the ones you already have.

Check out a gallery of screenshots down below:

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I guess the only real issue I had with the game was that some aspects of it could feel a little repetitive in places, especially when grinding enemies to level up or when trying to unlock the prerequisites to tackle the story-progressing dungeons. It was never dull by any means, but there is a lot of doing the same things over and over again across the roughly seventeen-hour adventure. Thankfully, the variety of forms and the fun dungeon designs make up for it for the most part, so it’s hard to complain too much.

The game also looks gorgeous, with the cartoony visual style complemented by some wonderfully kooky designs and some atmospheric lighting effects that bring it all to life. The world is simply bursting with colour and personality, which makes traversing through it even more of a treat. It looks great on the Nintendo Switch’s handheld mode too, though the fact that the screen can get so busy with enemies and attacks did make it feel a little cumbersome at times. It’s hard to keep track of all of the action on the smaller screen and there were more than a few occasions where I struggled to keep up with what was going on. But hey, I spent most of my time playing handheld and still had a great time with the game, so it can’t be TOO bad.

Developer: DrinkBox Studios
Publisher: DrinkBox Studios
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch (Reviewed), PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
Website: https://www.nobodysavestheworld.com/