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    Nobody Saves the World

    Game » consists of 6 releases. Released Jan 18, 2022

    Nobody Saves the World is an action RPG from the makers of Guacamelee. Use a magic wand to transform into forms on a quest to save Nostromagus and possibly the world.

    bantha_fodder-5's Nobody Saves the World (PC) review

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    Nobody Saves The World

    Travismc.substack.com

    Nobody Saves The World by Drink box Studios (Guacamelee) was never something that was on my radar. It was one of those games that could've easily fallen into obscurity due to It's early year release date. So on a whim I took a shot in the dark buying it on Steam ($24.99). Full disclosure though, it's available on Game Pass if you've been taking advantage of that. Enough preamble, on to the game.

    Nobody Saves The World tries a lot of interesting things while still staying somewhat familiar. At a glance it's a top down, slap it up RPG. After spending about 10 minutes with it you begin to see what the appeal is. You play as...well...Nobody, an eyeless white humanoid blob? I think that's an accurate description. Not soon after meeting and taking control of Nobody you meet your inanimate cohort (as well as some colorful characters) in your adventure. A magic wand that allows you to shift your form. You start out simple, a rat. And soon you begin to unravel a tree of forms with varying signature moves and 3 other abilities. These abilities are activated the face buttons ala Diablo or Ultimate Alliance. At first your limited to your signature moves, the rat for example starts with a quick chomp that causes poison damage to enemies. This can be frustrating sometimes if your not feeling the signature attack, which i wasn't. The good news is each form has a level or letter grade and it doesn't take long to progress to your second ability. And without giving away too much, there’s a specific upgrade you get in the early hours that remedies that frustration even more.

    All this leads to another main concept of the game, quests. Quests come fast and loose, some are easier than others. There’s different type of quests whether it's related to you form (you must be in that form to see and complete them) or broad like kill 20 "baddies". Along with experience for your general overall level and your form level, they are separate, but you gain steady experience with both. You get wands which will allow you to open the various area dungeons that progress the story. In order to get and complete these massive area dungeons you'll have to complete quests and minor dungeons around the open world. Everything is labeled with a recommended level so plotting your course is somewhat simple. This also give you ample time to experiment with all the different forms. It does a good job of incentivizing using different forms, especially when they start to introduce "wards" more heavily. Wards are basically status effects that are attaches to all your abilities. Some enemies will start to pop up that need to be hit with light damage before they take any damage. Sometimes it's sharp, sometimes it's blunt, this makes for interesting (and at times frustrating) combat scenarios.

    That frustration never completely overtook the experience though due to excellent checkpointing and inconsequential death. I may have missed something, but when you die in the open world you respawn at one of the many scattered save points. Dungeons are a little more harsh, but there is a checkpoint right before the "boss room" so you won't have to re-run the whole dungeon if plans fall apart. Speaking of those boss rooms, every dudgeon has one. In order to clear a dungeon, you need to clear these final rooms. This was one of the disappointments I had because they're just rooms in which the normal enemies come out in different waves. The bigger story dungeons have a "boss" in this room, but it's just a giant version of a common enemy. My disappointment aside I was still enjoying them. It's not like they're the same room or there aren't some fun gimmicks thrown in every once and awhile. Off the top of my head there's about 25 or so truly unique enemies, more will crop up, but they usually fit into a type you've seen before. The general loop of quests and dungeons make you feel like there’s always something to do, at first it's a little overwhelming. Eventually when you clear more of the map and learn to navigate it using the fast travel portals it starts to become a more seamless experience. The gameplay of Nobody Saves The World can shift on a moments notice depending on the player and how they choose to unlock forms and abilities. Consistently engaging, and sometimes frustrated, but never bored.

    Another reason i didn't get bored was the idiosyncratic look it has to it. That individuality extends to dialog and story. The characters are face with a world ending threat yet it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Everything has a Nickelodeon esq vibe to it in the best way. Characters are constantly questioning what you are or why your wearing no pants. There are answers to all these questions and more throughout the story. The actual narratives not doing too much to blow you away, but it's a fun ride. I would be completely remise if i didn't bring up the soundtrack. Composer Jim Guthrie channels Supergiant composer Darren Korb (which I 100% mean as a compliment) with folk instrumentals mixed with synth and at time industrial. From the overworld theme to the dungeon boss theme, I was bobbing my head start to finish. By the end of my 27 hours I came away satisfied. The story wraps everything up in a nice and by the end I was so strong there wasn't much that posed a threat. It's a game that can be as hard as you want it to be, but still at times challenging. I can't say everyone will love it, but if you have game pass it's definitely worth checking out.

    5 Randy The Rads out of 7

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