Beyond Words from PQube and MindFuel Games is an interesting roguelike word-crafting experience on Nintendo Switch. Learn more in lur Beyond Words review!
Beyond Words from PQube and MindFuel Games is an interesting roguelike word-crafting experience on Nintendo Switch. The game will require that you use your available letter tiles to work on building combos as you aim to use the most powerful words possible to progress through the different puzzles that will shift and update based on the choices you make along the way. Every letter you drop, every word you craft, every choice you make will have its consequences. Points are of great value, and they will be needed if you want to progress further and further.
It will all start off simple enough as you get the hang of things, but you’ll soon be able to make the most of the 300+ modifiers and abilities that you’ll gain access to. These include new type styles, power cards, perks, booster cards, and more. There are tons of potential combinations that will require some extensive trial and error, as you find the right mixes that favor not only your playing style but your odds of victory for each particular run.
You’ll get to learn the basics thanks to the handy tutorial that the game will have you play through after booting it up. As expected, your goal is to score as many points as possible by playing letters to form words. There will be a goal score that you need to reach in a set number of moves. Reach said goal score and you’ll be rewarded with some coins and will be able to carry on.
Since words are at the center of everything, it makes sense that your deck includes letter tiles for you to place on the playing board. The words that you play must be connected to the star square or to an existing word. Use the left analog stick or the D-Pad to select between the available letters to place them and form a word here and there. Each word will have a base score that will be determined by its length. The base score will be multiplied by the base multiplier. On top of that, you will gain the points that are shown on each letter tile. You’ll get your points after you press the X button to submit the word.
What if you don’t like some of the tiles in your hand? Then you can press the Y button to discard them so that you can get some new letter tiles. You’ll have to place the cursor over a letter tile and press the R button to select them and you’ll be able to discard up to three letter tiles. You have a limit on the number of moves you can perform, as well as a limited number of discards to use.
You will receive bonus coins after completing a round with some unused moves, as well as for the unused discards you have left. What can you do with your hard-earned coins? After every round, you will get a chance to visit the shop so that you can purchase one of the hundreds of unique items that will be put to good use as you aim to win each subsequent round.
Some examples of these items include Power Cards such as Good Times, which adds a +4 multiplier for every word you play, or a Booster Card like Trio, which, as its name suggests, will increase 3-letter words from level 1 to level 2, Perks like Enhanced Power, which will make Power Cards twice as likely to have a modifier, or a Mountain Power Pack that will allow you to obtain one of three randomly chosen Power Cards, with a guarantee of one of the options begin at least an Uncommon Power Pack. You can also spend your coins for a reroll, so that you can receive new potential items to buy. Do know that playing a Booster Card will use it up and destroy it!
After completing a round and visiting the shop, you can decide if you want to play another round to try and earn more points and some extra coins and another chance to visit the shop to spend them, or you can skip the round in order to receive an immediate reward. Getting some extra coins and another visit to the shop can make a big difference, especially if you’re close to reaching a boss battle.
Along with the regular levels that you’ll be taking on, there are also 30+ unique boss challenges in which special rules will be applied. These will test your skills as you show if you’ve learned as much as possible, as you push further and further. Each boss level that you reach will have some special restrictions to consider. It could be as simple as disabling scoring and tile enhancements for specific letter tiles, or it could be something else, like starting with no available discards.
Beyond Words is an interesting roguelike word-crafting experience on Nintendo Switch. The game will require that you use your available letter tiles to work on building combos as you aim to use the most powerful words possible to progress through the different puzzles that will shift and update based on the choices you make along the way. Every letter you drop, every word you craft, every choice you make will have its consequences. Points are of great value, and they will be needed if you want to progress further and further. Beyond Words launches on April 9 on Nintendo Switch with a $14.99 price tag.
Disclaimer
This Beyond Words review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by PQube.
