Nintendo Switch – Warp Shift #149

Giving this game another try after a while…

2018042812302800-3C27600F0F75FB4CF844603C2F819B09

Warp Shift – Nintendo Switch – Released: 3/27/18 – $9.99

Short Review (Review copy provided by Isbit Games)

The Nintendo Switch has plenty of puzzle games and I put this game on hold to cover some of them. That was a big mistake as this game visually is great and the puzzles can be fairly easy but if you want to 100%, you will need to think hard about movement control. You will need to move your character to the goal with the ability to move blocks in a sort of Rubix Cube sort of fashion. While all puzzles can easily be figured out obtaining the three stars or enough stars to open up more levels could be a pain. I found myself enjoying this game a lot but the lack of story really held it back for me. Why is this girl trying to get places, what has happened to this world, and why is everything still so beautiful as you seem to be trapped? I would give this game an 8 out of 10!

I like this icon, it is simple but doesn’t show what the game is really about:

2018042812303100-57B4628D2267231D57E0FC1078C0596D

Story

No story as far as I could tell but would be great if they did have one, this is the only reason why I took off a point.

Gameplay

This puzzle game is unique because as you move blocks they will move in a grid like fashion. So if you move the top left corner upward that top block will go to the bottom of that column as everything else moves up. This gives a kind of Rubix Cube sort of movement but the goal isn’t to just get to the goal. You need to get to the goal in a certain numbers of moves. Each level has you collect three stars but each movement will cost you a number of set turns to get stars. The lower amount of movements will give you three stars while messing around and moving things blindly will give you zero. I found most puzzles to only have a few solutions to get you three stars. As you gain more stars you will unlock more levels but you are never required to obtain every single star to proceed.

Personal Experience

Originally I postponed this game to work no other reviews since I was puzzled out so when I got to this I was surprised by how much I liked it. It is rather simple and if you just wanted to beat the game you could easily do so. If you want to gain 100% though you will need take your time and figure out the shortcuts. Many of the early levels gave me no issues but as more and more blocks were added, I found myself getting only 1 or 2 stars. After completing the game I went back to 3 star many of them but some I have no clue how to obtain. Some of them are such minor changes that it is hard to tell which to move, it could be as simple as moving one block a different way or complicated as moving one block, moving your character, moving one block, moving your character until you complete the stage.

Final Thoughts

This game is missing one thing… a story. I have no clue why it doesn’t include one when the game is beautifully designed, the puzzle aspect is fairly simple to create levels, and the character model and backgrounds could easily fit in a conversation style story. I would love to know more about her but sadly it doesn’t include anything. The puzzles are pretty cool and really make you think at times. I would give this game an 8 out of 10, it would easily have gotten a 10 out of 10 but the lack of a story takes it away from it. Many puzzle games try to be unique and Warp Shift nails it so hopefully a Warp Shift 2 is in the works with a solid story or at least some sort of explanation for the block based puzzles. It doesn’t help that the Android and iOS versions are half the price. I understand the Switch tax so if you have an mobile device that can handle this game go for it on there if you don’t want to pay double the price.

My Gameplay Footage:

Trailer:

End Credits

I would have loved if this game was $5 so it was hard to justify double the price. Games like this really could be sold at a few dollars more to not make it such a hard pill to swallow. I can see many people passing on this game just for that sadly. Anyway… Just letting people know that I will be adding a numbering system soon as my artist is almost at the point where I like the pictures. So far 2 out of 5 is my favorite but 5 out of 5 is the last one that needs some work. I thought that would be pretty easy but we are going back and forth about designs and he is a bit busy at the moment. I should have them ready between 150-175 is my best guess. I know I will definitely have them up by summer but currently I have around 15 reviews prepped for the next few weeks. I will be leaving on vacation at the middle of June so I need those completely ready to go by that point as well. I know I have been slowly informing press that I will be gone for two weeks to not send me any games during that time period. I just want press to know so questions aren’t coming up later on. I already know of two games coming out that I already have that come out during that time period so I won’t be able to promote the reviews when they go live but I will be having a friend post them on the typically places.