Nintendo Switch – Doughlings: Arcade #218

There is just so much in a small game…

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Doughlings: Arcade – Nintendo Switch – Released: 9/13/18 – $6.99

Short Review (Review copy provided by Hero Concept)

To be honest, this is the game that was on the cusp of being either a Split Second review or a full review mainly due to the repetitive nature of the game. It will take you hours to beat the game and even longer if you plan on getting three stars in each of the stages. This game is an Arkanoid or Breakout type of game.

Doughlings: Arcade does have a story but it is very bland and wasn’t needed, as it is just “Virus has caused the people to change, it is your job to revert them back to normal, and become the HERO!” Once you get into the game, you will find yourself just bouncing a ball into the infected and depending on the color they are, they will require more hits to revert back to normal. The game does have something that is fairly unique that I haven’t seen in other games like this.

This game has a Puzzle Bubble/Bust-A-Move type of breaking off mechanic. So if you hit the higher ones and revert all of them back to normal the rest will fall down to you. The only problem is if you touch them you will be killed, which makes sense since their infected. This is one of the features I really liked since you will always be trying to collect points in the form of hands(?) and the stars.

The other big feature is the DNA pick up that makes you change into a “super” form that has special abilities. You can just watch the trailer if you want to see all of them since the trailer kind of ruins the surprise of seeing them all in the game. With the main character and DNA super form if you are able to collection enough hands, you will be able to use the spot light power and this lets you use a super power. Some of these are also in the trailer so just watch the trailer if you want to see some of them. These are cool to see the first time so rather not spoil it since the trailer only shows off 2 of the 8.

You do have the ability to power up your DNA characters but I never found them to be very useful. I stayed with the base characters for a long time and then maxed them all out before I finished the game. I guess it would be considered some sort of challenge to myself to beat the game. Besides the very long campaign that reminds me of most mobile titles that seem to never end but you always return to finish one more level here and there…. Is the editor…. and this is where a game typically goes to die since either people support making levels or they don’t. There are around 110 created levels at the time of this writing with some of these being a nightmare like this one:

The game has exactly 90 levels so you are getting a new game if you just played all the created levels. Some of these are really hard though while some are really easy. So if you like this game and like what you see, you will enjoy playing some of the hardest stages people have created.

Final Thoughts

Doughlings: Arcade is a fairly average game that I couldn’t put down since each stage I finished, I would close out the game. It made me want to pick up here and there or return to finally get that third star to 100% the game, which I haven’t done. Maybe if I leveled up my characters during my time playing I would be closer. If you are looking for a fairly average but fun Arkanoid game, look no further since this is that game. A basic one but one that I found enjoyable enough to see until the end and still come back for more. I haven’t created and levels by the way but I’ll see what I can do in the future.

My Gameplay Footage:

Uploading this weekend!

Trailer:

End Credits

This game was one that made me question if I should do a full review since it is fairly basic and what I said could have been shortened to around two paragraphs. It will slide this time but I wonder what game will break my Split Second since it is too basic but this game had enough to warrant a full review! As always I’ll see you in the next review!