[Review] Tails of Iron - Nintendo Switch

Developed By: Odd Bug Studio
Published By: United Label Games, CI Games (physical)
Categories: Adventure, Action
Release Date: 09.17.21

Oh this looks nice, an adventure game where you play as a rat. This is like Redwall, right? Oh god, this is really bloody. And really hard. These were my first impressions of Tails of Iron.

That isn’t to say the game isn’t cute, because to an extent, it is. Lots of cute rats, some big and fat, some small. There’s no voice acting outside of some narration after events. Instead, the characters speak by having a word bubble with an image, accompanied with woodwind instrument sounds. At times it can come off as a pained speaking voice though, by how off note or forced some whistles are, which makes sense given the game.

Tails of Iron begins with a story on the warring Frogs and Rats, then it switches over to Redgi, the heir to the kingdom. After a decent length tutorial in the castle, it’s finally time. For him to prove his place as the next of throne. That doesn’t quite go as planned however, as the Frogs invade and I was greeted to what to me was a surprisingly gruesome death. Tails of Iron is a lot more violent and bloody than I expected, period.

Would it be appropriate or accurate to compare this to the Souls games? The huge amount of customization of Redgi with equipment and weapons, the difficulty, the healing yellow drink? You can pick up a whole lot of stuff dropped from felled opponents. It depends on weather or not you can or want to though, as each has their own weight in addition to strength or defense. You don’t want to get *too* heavy.

Surprisingly, there are side quests. I’d say they’re most definitely worth your time for more background info, equipment, and all of that good stuff. Much like the main story beats, these can be rather difficult. Learning how fights work, learning your abilities, learning openings. It all feels great, and they all end up feeling like a win your truly earned.

If you can’t handle hard game, you might want to avoid this. But for the few, brave souls who dare love a challenge. Tails of Iron will be much up their alley. I’m in the middle of this spectrum, but I love when a hard game feels like I accomplished something and it didn’t waste my time. Tails of Iron is that kind of game.