2D action game RWBY: Arrowfell from WayForward is ready for you on Nintendo Switch. Learn more in our RWBY: Arrowfell review!
Hello everybody, and welcome to my first review after a long hiatus due to health reasons! When I was offered an opportunity to review RWBY: Arrowfell from WayForward, I could hardly say no, could I? RWBY: Arrowfell has a mix of genres rolled into a graphically beautiful game. It has classic Metroidvania gameplay mechanics with a skill tree and the ability to learn some new awesome skills that will enable you to progress further into the game and open up the story more. And if you’re into platforming, then this game has you covered!
There are plenty of treasure chests to find as well as a buttload of enemies to fight. The challenge really depends on your skill level. Some players may find the battles too easy… others not so much. You will be doing a lot of traveling to other parts of the game world in a sidescrolling format, which might feel a bit linear at times, but after a season of heavy-hitting games, a linear experience is a good palette cleanser.
RWBY consists of Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang, a team of trainee huntresses that travel to Atlas to continue their training. Their first mission involves investigating some weird sightings north of the city of Mantle. Along with taking on story missions, there is a slew of sidequests that you can obtain from talking to various NPCs during the game. Most are fetch quests, but they do offer some benefits that make it worth your while to complete them. Some even give you skill points which is a nice reward!
The characters in the game have fantastic chemistry, and the dialogue between the team is brilliant and entertaining. The characters are so different from each other in every way, including how they dress, which helps break the game’s pattern a little bit when some missions become tedious. On the plus side, you can leave levels whenever you please and return later, which is kind of unusual in a Metroidvania, and I liked it.
You can control all four characters at once using the shoulder buttons, and each character has unique skills to help you beat tough platforming sections. For example, you hit a ledge that is just too high to reach, and you can’t double jump, but one of the characters has a special ability that can create a sort of ledge for you to climb onto and keep going until you hit that important ledge. Making good use of character skills like that goes a long way when taking on RWBY: Arrowfell.
All four characters share one health meter and three hearts, which does make the game a bit more challenging. Because you can’t swap a character when one’s health is close to zero, that takes out any reason for wanting to play as your chosen favorite character. You swap purely for skills only, and frequently swapping is a must – and not rally up a choice. The health bar depletes when you use projectiles and also when you are hit by enemies, which ramps up the challenge even more. It is an odd system, but you can’t fault WayForward for trying to do things a bit differently. Do expect to die A LOT. Be sure to learn from your mistakes!
For me, RWBY: Arrowfell feels like a good mix of fun and challenge. I enjoyed my time with the game, even if I did die a lot – too many times to count! The story is good. A lot of heart and soul clearly went into making RWBY: Arrowfell. Graphically speaking, it is a beautiful-looking anime game with a polished presentation. The gameplay does require you to get into the groove so that you can get a good feel for how switching around between characters can benefit you, but once you’re in, you’re in. RWBY: Arrowfell is out on Nintendo Switch with a $29.99 asking price.
Disclaimer
This RWBY: Arrowfell review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by WayForward.
