Survival horror first-person shooter Dementium: The Ward has now made its way to Nintendo Switch. Are you ready? Check out our Dementium: The Ward review!
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Survival horror first-person shooter Dementium: The Ward has now made its way to Nintendo Switch. The game was originally developed by the now defunct Renegade Kid for the Nintendo DS, which means the game got a physical release on a Nintendo DS cartridge way back in 2007 in North America from Gamecock Media Group, followed by a 2009 physical release in Europe from SouthPeak Games.
We then got Dementium Remastered on the Nintendo 3DS as a digital release straight from Renegade Kid, launching in North America near the end of 2015 and then releasing in Europe in early 2016. Dementium Remastered gave us a bump in the graphics while also adding some quality-of-life improvements to make it an easier sell on Nintendo’s glasses-free 3D handheld. A better framerate upgraded textures, and an improved draw distance certainly gave the game a different feel. The game even supported the Circle Pad Pro and the New Nintendo 3DS nub for a twin-stick experience!
It’s now 2023, and we’re getting a new take on Dementium: The Ward from Jools Whatsham’s Atooi on the Nintendo Switch. This one is now a port of the 2015 Dementium Remastered Nintendo 3DS port, which means we’re getting updated graphics, a smooth 60 frames per second, and the option of playing the game either at home in Docked Mode or on the go in Portable or Tabletop Mode thanks to the console’s hybrid nature – that is unless you’re not playing this one on a Nintendo Switch Lite!
Your journey will begin after being “admitted” into a very creepy and decrepit hospital, with no idea of how you got there. As you explore each area, you’ll soon realize that you’re not alone and that danger lurks around every corner. The whole thing is pitch-black, so using the flashlight you collect early in the game will be a must. Rushing into a room could be very, very bad for your health, so I suggest that you take this whole thing one step at a time as you try to figure out a way to escape from the madness.
You’ll control your character with the left analog stick as you use the right one to aim. You can change your weapons with the R button and can attack with the ZR button. You can reload with the Y button as needed when you run out of ammo. You can also cycle between weapons with the D-Pad, reload by pressing up, and activate your flashlight by pressing down on the D-Pad. And now, you can’t attack with a weapon while also having your flashlight out! This means you’ll need to have a pretty good idea of where an enemy is before you draw out a weapon to attack.
The items you collect are sent to your inventory, which you can open up with the L button. Found a small key? It’s now in your inventory. That flashlight I’ve mentioned a couple of times? It will also be added to your inventory, but it will be cataloged as a weapon. Since the hospital is dark and dangerous, you should make good use of the map so that you can know what rooms you’ve already visited, which will help you progress further and further into the hospital. You know, until you run into a boss.
Your first weapon will be nightstick, which is good for dealing some damage to enemies and bosses while having the added advantage of not needing any ammo… but if you’re that close to an enemy and boss, you could be dead in seconds! The handgun you find during the game’s second chapter will certainly make a difference… as long as you keep it loaded and ready to go at all times! Once you find more powerful weapons, the action will start to increase at a steady pace.
Dementium: The Ward is a survival horror first-person shooter from another era that is getting a new shot on Nintendo’s console. As you use a flashlight to light your way and a variety of weapons to defeat the creatures you run into, you’ll end up popping pills like crazy to be able to make the pain go away. It’s an experience that is now certainly showing its age since the level design is a bit on the linear side of things, which is to be expected of a game that was first released on the Nintendo DS almost 15 years ago. Dementium: The Ward is out on Nintendo Switch with a $19.99 asking price. If you hurry up, you can get it with a 10% discount.
Disclaimer
This Dementium: The Ward review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Atooi.
