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Looking to kick back with a witching and breezydungeon crawler?Riverbondraises its handwriting to suffice the call , and it succeed by beat off the appropriate boxes . A cute , imaginative artistry direction ? Check . Easy - to - clutches design ? chequer . mostly mindless combat ? Big tick . Riverbond ’s self-colored , euphemistic take on the formula service as an especially outstanding entry point for young newcomers . However , its simplified approach come at the disbursement of gameplay variety .
Riverbondstrips down the dungeon crawler to its gist element : slayingmonstersand collecting treasure . Even those pillar are simplify to the period that anyone can get the picture the experience . Instead of mixing and tally stat - boost equipment , you customize your hero with a superfluity of reference skin . These makeover do n’t do anything besides garner few chuckles ; you could masquerade as a sword - exert avocado , for example , or as indie secret plan mascots ( include the obligatory Shovel Knight cameo ) . That same absurdity applies to the weapon arsenal . jumbo all-day sucker , oversized “ slap ” hands , and handgun that go off 8 - bit snakes accompany traditional swords and maces .
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The secret plan ’s adorable voxel graphics combined with its creatively designed world never fail to bring a grin . Standout locales include a library world teeming sentient , killer books and a surreal dreamscape fill with nightmares . Crystalwatch , a fresh earthly concern added for the Switch version ( as well as other platforms ) adds another looker to the roster of pretty - attend levels . As cool as they look , smashing the mostly destructible worlds into bits can be as cheering as rationalize down foes . Riverbondclearly know this by cleverly regularly aim treasure atop eminent structures , forcing you to tumble them to bring valuable to your floor .
Do n’t have a bun in the oven complicated teaser – or any at all – nor big , labyrinthine areas . Riverbond ’s compact , diorama - esque zone eliminate prolonged meandering to optical maser in on its little slew of missions . Each level tasks you with eliminate X - amount of enemy , activating / collecting a issue of objective , or find a key . This never change ; it only gets different coats of blusher . This deficiency of variety turnsRiverbondinto a repetitious dullard during longer Roger Huntington Sessions , especially when play alone . Annoyingly , you ’re also commit to a humanity once you start . Quitting mid - way forces you to restart each tier from the source instead of where you allow off .
fighting is as straightforward as sway at anything that move until they ’re reduced to piles of cubes . Baddies can occasionally be dimwitted in full term of getting themselves deposit on geometry in pursuit of you . foeman cloud on a regular basis swell to large number but even at its most feverish , Riverbondis a achievable and mindlessly fun experience . The supersized bosses tolerate as the secret plan ’s only real run of skill , but they ’re too spongy and strike too firmly . This would be a bigger issue if not for the immediate , unlimited respawns . The key to victory often lie in just throwing yourself at honcho in reckless war of attrition . Strategy run short out the window when the penalty for expiry is nonexistent . On one hand , that ’s probably for the in effect if you ’re endeavor to coordinate with a young’un , which you may do in the game ’s drop - in / drop - out four - player carbon monoxide - op .
Unless musical score chasing is your thing , Riverbondoffers nothing else after finish its nine earth . No other modes are present beyond a garden where you may look up to the character reference skins you ’ve unlock . Unless you lessen head over heels for it , the game is unlikely to hold your attention once the last boss falls to your blade – or kernel drumstick . The Switch version holds up okay compare to the other political platform except for one minor aggravator . undock the console to play handheld mechanically bring a second player to the mix , squeeze you to discontinue toy to get rid of the extra cat’s-paw . Riverbondhas its shortcomings but they ’re forgivable if you ’re attend for a place - back take on treasure hunting and devil execution . It ’d be courteous if the biz bundle a number more depth but it ’s still a competent , charming risky venture .
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Riverbondis available for Nintendo Switch , Xbox One , PlayStation 4 , and PC . Screen Rant was provided a digital Switch codification for the use of this review .
