FOUNTAINS from Crunching Koalas and John Pywell is a pixeltastic top-down Soulslike on Nintendo Switch. Learn more about it in our FOUNTAINS review!
FOUNTAINS from Crunching Koalas and John Pywell is a pixeltastic top-down Soulslike on Nintendo Switch. Legend has it that The Fountain of Youth has been hidden away somewhere by the Ageless, and that anyone who dares to take on the Ageless will be branded as the Usurper. You are such an individual and must now explore a maze-like, interconnected world as you gain access to the tools needed to explore every nook and cranny, so that you can eventually bring down the Ageless once and for all.
John Pywell took FOUNTAINS to Kickstarter back in 2022, seeking $7,500 CAD in funding for the game’s development. Once the crowdfunding campaign was over, and thanks to the support of 220+ backers, the project ended up with almost $11,000 CAD in pledges. It’s thanks to this that a stretch goal was reached for a Nintendo Switch port. It’s now 2026, and with Crunching Koalas stepping in as the game’s publisher, we now get to take FOUNTAINS for a spin on Nintendo’s hybrid console.
Your adventure will begin at the Usurper’s Prison, after The Guard dropped you in there. As the name suggests, this is a location that was originally used to keep anyone who is suspected of being the Usurper. Nowadays? The Usurper’s Prison is used to drop anyone who dares to question the authority of the administration.
The game offers two options for its difficulty settings: Hard and Chill. The Hard difficulty setting is the one that the game has intended for you to dive into, and has marked it as such on the difficulty settings menu. You can certainly pick the Chill difficulty setting, which will lower the challenge with easier combat and less incoming damage from the attacks that your enemies manage to land.
After the intro cutscene is over, you’ll be taking control of your character by using the left analog stick, sprinting as needed by pressing and holding down the ZL button. You can interact with objects, points of interest, and other characters by pressing the X button. You should check any pieces of equipment that you collect so that you can see if they offer better overall stats to aid you on your journey.
You’re going to need the best sword to attack enemies, as well as sturdy pieces of armor for your head, body, and legs to lower incoming damage and be able to take on the increasingly stronger enemies and bosses that the game will throw at you. Every swing of your sword will consume some of your energy, so you’ll need to make every attack count! You will get a Dull Steel Sword at the beginning, which can deal 20 damage.
This is the one you’re going to be using at the start, and it will get the job done… until you manage to pry a Brass Sword from the corpse of a miniboss. The Brass Sword can deal 25 damage. While an extra 5 points of damage might not seem like much, that extra damage will allow you to defeat some of the minor enemies in one less swing, saving some of your energy so that you can, say, use it to roll out of danger while facing a group of enemies.
Press the A button to perform a dodge, which will allow you to avoid hazards or enemy attacks since you’ll be completely invincible during your dodge. Dodging will also consume some of your energy. You can press the + button to open up the menu, and then leave an online message behind that will hopefully aid other players. Or, you know, maybe leave behind a message to fool them and hinder their progress. Press down on the D-Pad to check out your map, which will be filled out as you explore each area.
Be sure to interact with any fountains that you run into during your adventure, so that you can use them to rest and heal your wounds to recover your lost health, as well as to save your progress. As you’d guess of a Soulslike, interacting with a fountain to rest will immediately respawn all enemies. While at a fountain, you can also use your coins to buy some water. Water can be used to heal some of your wounds by pressing and holding down the B button. You can also collect a bit of water by defeating enemies.
You can also collect consumable items that can be used from your inventory or after adding them to your quick items menu at the bottom of the screen. These include, for instance, a Red Fungus that you can consume to add a small regen bonus so that you slowly heal some of your lost health; a Blue Fungus that will restore a small amount of water, with a decreased effect if used in quick succession; a Meager Coin Purse with a few coins that won’t be lost even if you die; or a yummy Crispy Biscuit, which will allow you to use less energy for some time after consuming it.
You can also find some tools along the way, which you can set to the L and R buttons for easy access. And yes, you’re certainly going to have to take on a boss here and there to gain these tools! Some examples include the Laser Ring, which you can use to activate switches from a distance, or the grapple, which, as expected, will allow you to grapple onto wooden objects to be able to cross gaps. And then we have the Shattered Shape DLC for FOUNTAINS.
The Shattered Shape is an expansion for the game that will allow you to continue your journey as you explore a new patch of uncharted land: the southern Vainlands. This is a location that has certainly seen better days, and has now fallen into worse decay and chaos than the One Kingdom. You’ll need to take on new dungeons, thoroughly explore the area to find new secrets, and defeat new enemies and bosses.
The monsters and other entities that you’ll find while exploring the southern Vainlands will certainly test your skills and abilities, so you’ll need to pay attention to their movement and attack patterns to find the right window of opportunity for you to counterattack. To be able to stand a chance, the Shattered Shape DLC also adds new powerful swords, armor, and equipment to protect yourself, as well as new tools.
How do you end up at the southern Vainlands in the first place? While exploring the One Kingdom, a voice calls out to you and brings you closer and closer to the entrance of the southern Vainlands. Once there, you’ll need to take on new quests and focus on the new story beats that expand on the lore of FOUNTAINS.
FOUNTAINS is a pixeltastic top-down Soulslike on Nintendo Switch. Legend has it that The Fountain of Youth has been hidden away somewhere by the Ageless, and that anyone who dares to take on the Ageless will be branded as the Usurper. You are such an individual and must now explore a maze-like, interconnected world as you gain access to the tools needed to explore every nook and cranny, so that you can eventually bring down the Ageless once and for all.
Be sure to search everywhere so that you can locate some Life Fragments. Once you find four, you will be able to fuse them into a core of pure vitality. This will reward you with a boost to your max health, so that you can take more damage before you’re defeated. You can also work on completing quests that will grant you special upgrades, and even locate pieces of equipment that will grant you extra health and energy to aid you on your adventure.
FOUNTAINS launches on Nintendo Switch on September 17 with a $14.99 price tag. There’s also the FOUNTAINS – Shattered Shape available for $5.99, which acts as an expansion with additional content for you to take on. And if you want to go all-in, you can get the FOUNTAINS: Extended Edition for $19.99, which will include the base game, as well as the FOUNTAINS – Shattered Shape DLC, saving you a buck in the process.
Disclaimer
This FOUNTAINS review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Crunching Koalas.
