Rooster Tooth’s long-running fantasy CGI sequence, RWBY (pronounced Ruby), started life approach again in 2013 and has since spawned a number of inventive initiatives together with extra seasons, a jaunt into comedian books, manga and, in fact, videogames.
Set on the planet of Remnant which is besieged by creatures known as Grimm, younger individuals are skilled to change into Hunters or Huntresses, defending Remnant from the Grimm risk. RWBY follows the exploits of a gaggle of 4 women, Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang (therefore the RWBY) as they change into licensed Huntresses. Every of the ladies possesses a particular skill, known as Semblance, that makes them uniquely certified to struggle the Grimm.
Arrowfell, the newest videogame for the franchise, is about in the course of the present’s seventh quantity/season with an in-canon story. Staff RWBY is now totally licensed Huntresses. Throughout their first official mission they uncover unusual, new expertise that would spell catastrophe for the folks of Remnant and it’s as much as them to seek out the wrongdoer accountable and put an finish to their plans.
As an action-adventure platformer, Arrowfell presents a surprisingly in-depth and well-written story. Every character has their very own voice that comes alongside properly by means of the writing, clearly a bonus of getting dabbled by means of seven seasons of the present. The sport’s narrative evenly touches on deeper themes clearly current and explored inside the present itself.
This brings us to the query of whether or not or not it is advisable to be a fan of the present or have any prior information of RWBY. Whereas being a fan of the present will definitely assist, I don’t really feel like it is advisable to be one to understand or perceive what is occurring within the sport. The writers have completed a improbable job of getting even newcomers to the world on top of things, whether or not it’s with the lore or the returning characters from the present. I by no means felt like I used to be lacking something by simply leaping straight in.
Arrowfell performs like a stripped-down platformer the place you progress from display to display throughout quite a lot of places. Stage places, wherein you’ll run throughout snowy landscapes, spelunk deep caves and run by means of streets overrun with goons, have a pleasant selection to them however are in comparison with most different platformers, easy of their design. There’s a stage of verticality in map design, with later areas being a lot bigger than others, however it by no means will get overly complicated with most screens having a number of platforms so that you can use to struggle enemies from.
Enemy selection is respectable sufficient however you’ll encounter the identical foes over and over throughout the completely different biomes. Whereas they do have their very own assault patterns, they’re fairly simplistic however make up for that with the quantity of injury they deal.
Every of our heroes has their very own weapons and particular talents and you may swap between them at will for the state of affairs at hand. Ruby has a touch assault that’s good for protecting distances and bypassing enemies in a flash whereas Weiss can summon platforms to face on, for instance. Navigating the atmosphere, whereas utilizing their varied abilities for fight is the sport’s trump card, although I don’t really feel as if they have been used as a lot as they need to have.
Ruby turned my go-to character, with swops to Weiss after I wanted to succeed in larger platforms. I not often used the opposite two characters till a lot later within the sport when Blake’s skill to summon clones of herself that would additionally assault turned invaluable and Yang’s skill to interrupt particular blocks opened up different paths within the ranges.
There’s a easy level-up system for every of the character’s 4 stats. You accumulate or purchase ability factors on the planet or from distributors to pop into every stat they usually’re effectively price seeking out. Assault power, defence, power recharged and ranged assault harm are what it’s important to give attention to.
Apparently the sport shares hit factors between the ladies. There’s an power meter that acts as an preliminary defend/well being bar together with powering your ranged assaults, which depletes with hits taken or while you use a projectile. The bar slowly fills again up a certain quantity over time or from power collected from defeated enemies or props on the planet. When the meter is depleted, assaults goal the woman’s hearts. Too many hits and it’s curtains.
The quantity of hearts you’ve got can be upgraded by means of retailers. Money is available on the planet, as soon as once more from defeated enemies or smashed props. You’ll be able to solely maintain 999 cash, however there’s a lot dropped on the planet that you just don’t even have to fret about going broke.
Visually Arrowfell is attractive to take a look at. The animation and paintings are lovely, particularly Ruby’s sprint skill as she flows throughout the display. The background modelling showcases some nice distant vistas of mountain ranges and snowy villages whereas the atmosphere work round our characters is top-notch, even when the identical room design is repeated too usually. The artists have managed to fill our cel-shaded character sprites and character portraits with quite a lot of personalities. As an added bonus, cutscenes have been animated by the oldsters at Rooster Tooth themselves.
One space that I didn’t get pleasure from was the sport’s far too liberal use of ambushes. Stroll into a specific display and also you’re locked in with a bombardment of spawning enemies that it is advisable to kill earlier than you permit. By the tip of the marketing campaign, you’ll end up strolling by means of a number of arenas like this in succession.
There’s additionally far an excessive amount of backtracking to discover new areas locked off till you improve a semblance or attain a sure level within the marketing campaign. It simply felt like runtime padding to me.
With its simplified motion platforming gameplay and in-depth story, RWBY: Arrowfell is an enthralling, enjoyable sport that received’t tax you an excessive amount of to finish. The great animation and nice writing spherical out an easy-to-pick-up-and-play package deal that anybody can see by means of to the tip.
Seize your copy right here https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Video games/Nintendo-Change-download-software/RWBY-Arrowfell-2297578.html
Developer: WayForward
Writer: WayForward
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Nintendo Change, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Home windows, Xbox Sequence X and Sequence S
Benefit from the evaluation? wish to learn extra of our opinions? then click on proper right here to be whisked away to the realm of our opinions.