Asterix & Obelix XXL 3 – The Crystal Menhir from Microids and OSome Studio is the pair’s latest adventure on Nintendo Switch. Check our Asterix & Obelix XXL 3 – The Crystal Menhir review!
In Asterix & Obelix XXL 3 – The Crystal Menhir from Microids and OSome Studio, you’ll be taking on a new action adventure with the pair. Getafix, the village druid, has received a mysterious message from Hella Finidir, the high priestess of Thule. She warns him of grave danger to his people and asks that a Menhir is moved from its hiding place. Last year I got to review Asterix and Obelix XXL: Romastered, so I was definitely up for taking this new game in the series for a spin! It’s not a remaster like the aforementioned release, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a fun one.
Asterix & Obelix XXL 3 – The Crystal Menhir can be played in one of three difficulty settings. Easy is for players who love to travel and go on odysseys in complete safety. Normal is for those of you with some experience in hand-to-hand combat with aurochs and gladiators. And then there’s Hard, which is for gamers who are looking for a bigger challenge, who are not afraid to jump into battle when the odds are against them.
You can take on Asterix & Obelix XXL 3 – The Crystal Menhir either on your own or with another player, thanks to the game’s local co-op. If you’re playing on your own, then you can switch between Asterix and Obelix by pressing the ZL button. You’ll move around with the left analog stick, jumping forward with the B button and attacking with the Y button. You can use special attacks by pressing and holding down the L button and pressing the A, B, X, and Y buttons. To drink potions with Asterix or check out Dogmatix with Obelix, press the ZR button. If you need to interact with someone or something, you can do so with the A button.
Each of the characters will have different abilities for you to consider. For example, only Asterix can fit into some passageways due to Obelix’s size. If you’re missing some of your health, just hunt for some boars and eat their delicious meat to recover some of the missing hearts. Special attacks will require that you use some of the energy you’ve collected to balance things out. You’ll get more energy as you attack and defeat the many Romans you’ll run into during your adventure. You can also find glowing energy power-ups to give you a boost.
There are eleven golden laurels for you to find during your time with Asterix & Obelix XXL 3 – The Crystal Menhir. They’re hidden, so you’ll need to keep your eyes open for anything that looks out of the ordinary. As a heads-up, you can find the first of the golden laurels in the village right away! Just go right after completing the first stage and making your way back into the village, and once you reach the waterfall, walk behind it for your prize! There will be another ten golden laurels to find in the village, as well as dozens more hidden in the other locations you’ll visit!
By pressing the + button, you can access a menu from which you can check different tabs. There’s one for Quests, which details the quests you’ve completed, as well as the one you’re currently working on. There’s one for Travel, which shows you which area you’re exploring, how many secondary quests you’ve completed, how many Roman camps you’ve beaten, as well as how many golden laurels, bones, and dice you’ve found. Then we have a tab for the Menhir that shows which of its powers you’ve unlocked. Asterix and Obelix also have their own tabs, from where you can see what upgrades you’ve unlocked after spending your hard-earned golden helmets.
There’s the option of unlocking extra hits for your combo attacks, increasing the number of times Asterix can use magic potions, as well as boost the damage of special attacks. These upgrades are separate for Asterix and Obelix, so be sure to spend your golden helmets wisely! There are also upgrades that will affect both Asterix and Obelix when unlocked. There are upgrades to increase their total hit points, as well as upgrades to add extra energy segments to their bars. You could also unlock an automatic regeneration ability so that your energy recovers at a steady pace.
While not as fun as Asterix and Obelix XXL: Romastered, Asterix & Obelix XXL 3 – The Crystal Menhir is still an entertaining game that will please Asterix and Obelix fans who are ready to slap a ton of Romans as you explore the lands and unravel the mysteries of the Crystal Menhir. Asterix & Obelix XXL 3 – The Crystal Menhir is out on Nintendo Switch at a $29.99 price.
Disclaimer
This Asterix & Obelix XXL 3 – The Crystal Menhir review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Microids.
