Robbotto Review (Nintendo Switch)
Developer: JMJ Interactive
Publisher: JMJ Interactive
Release Date: Available now on Nintendo Switch and Steam.
The indie game Robbotto is an arcade style platforming shooter developed and published by JMJ Interactive. The premise of the game is that you control either Robb or Otto depending if you’re playing a single or two-player mode of the game. You’ll then blast your way across 100 levels with 10 different boss fights to stop other machines from destroying your spaceship. The game has a very simple control scheme where you move your robot with the d-pad or analog stick and your attack buttons are used through the need of only 2 of the face buttons. You must first blast the other robots to weaken them and then spray them up close to destroy them. Another button is used to jump across the levels and make your way up and down some of the platforms.
Controls feel as good as they can for this type of gain which is focused on completing each level as fast as possible for high score bonuses without dying. After 3 deaths it’s game over but you’re still able to continue where you died after losing all your lives and even quit your game to come back to where you left off. Completing the game will also unlock a boss rush mode. This all sounds really fun on paper but I found the speed of the game to be a bit slow for my liking and level designs to be too boring and simple. The visuals are also very simple and I get the aesthetic they were going for but in this day and age, you really need to have an impressive visual style for the 8-bit art because they game will look generic and bland for most unless you were someone that grew up in the early arcade and Atari era that to at least appreciate what the folks at JMJ Interactive brought us.
The main problem I have with the game is that it should entice me to keep going and want to rack up my high score. Instead I found myself only playing in really short bursts because I found the pacing of the game to just be too slow. With it’s bland visuals for its level design and a gameplay that wears itself out pretty quick. I can’t really recommend this to many people unless you’re someone that is a big fan of the very much older arcade style of games. The game functions well but it just isn’t as grabbing as it is wants to be.