Drinkbox Studios are back with their latest game that takes a different direction from their famed action-platformer Guacamelee!
After receiving critical acclaim on PC and Xbox Series X/S, the action RPG Nobody Saves the World sets its sights on the Nintendo Switch and Playstation 5.
Nobody Saves the World follows a pale humanoid called Nobody, who wakes up with no memory of how they came to be where they are.
After some exploring and talking to villagers, Nobody learns about an incoming Calamity that can only be stopped by a Wizard called Nostramagus.
With the Wizard nowhere to be found, Nobody takes Nostramagus’ wand which grants him transformation powers. With his newfound abilities, Nobody sets on a quest to find the wizard and stop the calamity.
Nobody Saves the World’s plot is full of high jinks and laugh out loud cartoon humour.
The characters' interaction alone will keep players entertained throughout the entire game's duration.
Nobody Saves the World has a zany cartoon art style that’s really reminiscent of classic cartoon shows from the 90s and early 2000s.
The characters have been beautifully animated and radiate so much originality. The levels and overworld also feature well crafted designs with great neon lighting effects that help complete the overall aesthetic of Nobody Saves the World.
The only issue is that as everything is so bright and colourful it can be hard to see your character during all the chaos. Nobody Saves the World is a dungeon-crawling action RPG from a top-down perspective.
Nobody will traverse through a number of dungeons while using their transformation powers to defeat the enemies and boss.
The Overworld is big with most areas being accessible from the start except for the ones blocked by a specific ability or locked doors needing the in-game currency to open them.
The main quests will see Nobody explore procedurally generated dungeons which feature special multipliers that can dramatically increase the enemy difficulty even if you are at the right level.
Monsters have their levels on display which will help with decision making on whether to attempt the dungeon or leave for later.
The dungeons also feature great level puzzles and traps that add to the difficulty without feeling too overwhelming.
The overworld is filled with great secrets and side quests from NPCs. These side quests aren’t challenging to say the least but they allow for a break from the dungeon crawling and are humorous.
Nobody’s main power is the ability to transform into different forms that all have very unique abilities and passive skills.
Players will eventually be able to mix and match forms with abilities from other forms.
This is great as players will be able to create insanely powerful forms, which will dramatically change gameplay.
The progression system is a unique take on the jobs system seen in other RPGs.
To level up each of the forms players will have to complete a certain quest that will reward them with points, improving that form's ranks and unlocking new attacks.
Players will also be rewarded with experience points which will improve Nobody’s base stats which are shared across all their forms. New forms can be unlocked with the ‘Form tree’ showing how to gain new ones.
Combat can be chaotic with players constantly being surrounded by a horde of enemies at any given time. Combat relies heavily on transforming into different forms and spamming attacks on multiple enemies.
Players will have to transform on the fly during combat without a moment to take a break; this does add to the intensity of the gameplay but it would have been nice to be able to have a quick selection feature for your favourite forms.
There are also different elements that appear throughout the game, which require an extra level of strategy to defeat enemies shielded by that particular element.
Combat is frantic and fun with boss battles providing an even greater challenge, however, things can feel really repetitive until a new form is unlocked.
Nobody Saves the World also features local and online co-op multiplayer, allowing players to help out in those mental missions.
The second player will essentially be a copy of the first player with all the same abilities.
It works well and wasn’t taxing on the Nintendo Switch’s hardware. I wasn’t able to test out the online co-op while writing this.
Verdict 4/5
Nobody Saves the World is an RPG that offers epic action and clever challenges during its fifteen-hour play through.
The amazing different challenges and enemies push players to really utilise the amazing customisation options allowing players to experience the many highs of the game.
The game could use some gameplay tweaks to allow for a smoother experience, especially during the chaotic combat, but that does not take anything away from this fantastic experience.
Nobody Saves the World is out now for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and Series S, Xbox One and PC
