Hmmm that definitely did just one shot me….
Earth Atlantis – Nintendo Switch – Released: 10/5/17 – $14.99
Short Review (Review copy provided by Developer)
This game caught me off guard I knew it was a submarine shooter but I didn’t think it would be so difficult. Looking at the trailers I thought it would be something easy to pick up and play but nope this game is another tough as nails game. That’s how I quickly found out that this game is SHUMP and a pretty good one at that. Starting up the game it seems innocent enough with its elegant art style and solid controls. It even gives you really small enemies that drop power ups, upgrades, and health packs. Then you follow the map which is a pain to read due to not having a clear path system which would be greatly appreciated in a future patch. At this point in time a patch is in the works as of this twitter post:
so hopefully it brings a better map that is easier to read. The game is starts off with one ship to choose from but you will unlock other ships over time. Each of the ships have different methods of attacking but during the game you will pick up a set of secondary weapons that range from homing missiles to electric shocks to anything close enough. The first thing you will notice on the map are three types of icons, swords clashing, filled in white circles, and a filled in white circle with a ring around it. The swords clashing are where you can find a boss, filled in white circles are loot boxes, and the filled in white circle with a ring around it is you. No terrain is shown on the map which can pose issues but after many times going around the area and unlocking new shortcuts after defeating bosses you will find it sometimes frustrating but not too terrible. Some bosses can be a real push over but some will one shot you or take you down to one hit left if you aren’t careful. Like I said first this is a SHUMP so it holds no bars when it comes to almost being a bullet hell shooter during these fights. You can back out of them and rethink your plan but for the most part you will always need to go in fight a bit and back out and resupply on health then go at it from the start again. This game isn’t a short game by any means either since there are 38 bosses according to the “Target List” after playing for 5 hours I’ve only killed 10 and currently stuck on two bosses due to one hit kills. I’ve been having a great time with this game and picking it up and putting it down between other games.
More on them icons even though he does plan on changing it soon:
Story
We are in the 21st century when the “Great Climate Shift” happened and the Earth’s surface is now 96% underwater. Humans have fallen while machines have taken over and adopted a way to shape and form into marine animals. The ocean is now full of these hybrid monsters and you are a hunter that will take them out. As a Captain of hunters, you receive a distress call from your crew letting you know of their position and you venture out to go save them and take out all the monsters in the area.
Gameplay
I pretty much covered this in the short review but one of the things I love about this game is the ability to back out of a boss fight. It is so convient to go into a fight and then decide you aren’t ready for it or you need to heal up again after finding out it takes you down to 1 HP. The game feels great while playing and when you get hit by something you know it was all on you. I wish there was a two player option since it would be a great co-op game with friends much like any other bullet hell shooter. I remember going to the arcade and playing with friends and yelling whenever I did something crazy. This is one of those games that feels great when you defeat a boss without getting hit or do a last second dodge.
Personal Experience
I really enjoy playing this game. It isn’t a game I see myself playing for hours at a time but currently I’ve been playing it on and off. I try my best to defeat a boss or two during my bus rides to and from work. I am currently stuck on two bosses so it has been going into a fight then backing out to heal up or refresh on power ups I lost during the fight. The range of bosses is something I can’t wait to explore and see more of. There is one boss that I love that reminded me of Game and Watch Octopus. This giant Octopus comes out and throw stuff at you while his tentacles come out from the ground to stab at you. It just reminds me of when he would try and grab you in Game and Watch.
Final Thoughts
For the price it is a solid game but it isn’t jam packed with stuff to do. I know I will easily find myself going back to this game just to defeat one or two bosses from time to time as I’ve been doing the last few days. It is a game that feels rewarding when you defeat a boss and they can be really crazy. There is just so much variety when it comes to bosses that each one I fight I am surprised that it does certain things. I would wait maybe for a price drop but I personally think it is worth the price. I go by dollar to price ratio so at $15 and 10 bosses took me about 5 hours. To defeat all the bosses would be around 15-20 hours depending on how hard they get from here on out.
UPDATE: 5/30/18
I would give this game an 8 out of 10!
Trailer:
End Credits
Not sure if people have started to noticed but game reviews will be all listed in a weekly post. This is to help my “Review” page keep track of games and helps me with Subreddits that I post on that have a link limit. My Elgato is coming hopefully tomorrow or Monday because shipping can be kind of iffy for some reason in my area. Please look forward to that as I will be recording gameplay footage at first for games and work toward bringing my style of reviews down the line. I will also be starting a Let’s Play of Tiny Barbarian DX since I’ve been having a great time. I’m not sure about voice overs currently but I do have a microphone and will be working on how to work that in eventually.
100hoursreviews.wordpress.com 
One thought on “Nintendo Switch – Earth Atlantis #21”