[Review] Robo Wars - Nintendo Switch

Robo Wars
Nintendo Switch

Developed By: Simplicity Games
Published By: Mobilway
Category: Action, Fighting, Platformer
Release Date: 04.15.22

Robo Wars is a perfectly functional platforming 2D fighter, but unfortunately doesn’t offer much else. In the barebones career mode, players assume control of a robot fighter and engage in a series of 1v1 battles. There’s no story to speak of, which isn’t necessarily an issue. Under most circumstances, robot fighting tournament is all I really need to hear to get excited. Robo Wars largely proves an exception to that rule, sadly.

You have the option to run, jump, and shoot – you also have boosters which will let you fly a little if you have enough gas. Your gun has limited ammunition, too, but it automatically refills after a few seconds, as does your gas level. Objects drop from the sky which grant certain effects like infinite gas or ammo, a shield, or blocks that prevent your opponent from either moving or shooting. The action starts out fun for the first few fights, but it never really evolves or throws in any nuance as it moves along. It’s basically exactly the same fight every time, but the opponent’s appearance changes. It’s hard to stay interested in the game for very long.

Winning fights grants you experience and gold, which let you level up your character’s stats or purchase equipment upgrades. You get exp and gold if you lose, too, just a little less. Winning fights also rewards you with chests, which can be opened by either waiting for a timer to unlock your chests one at a time or buy spending gold to unlock them immediately. I never lacked for gold so I just paid to open them every time. Chests contain either more gold, character points to upgrade your fighter, or blue/gold/purple bits which can be used to unlock either new skins or weapons. The unlockables give Robo Wars some longevity, but not nearly enough to make up for the repetitive gameplay.

You may think that having multiple weapons would allow for some variety in the gameplay, but you would unfortunately be wrong. I tried multiple weapons, and honestly it didn’t change my strategy very much. Some guns needed to be used at a shorter range, I suppose, or had less ammo, but the basic strategy of keeping the enemy at a distance and trying to load up on power-ups pretty much always worked.

Robo Wars does score some points for its cool visuals. The robot designs are a nice mix of sleek, cartoony styles and sharp, dangerous-looking bots. It’s hard to make a robot look badass with a bright, inviting color palette, but the game makes it work. I especially like the one that’s just a bomb with arms and legs and a skull painted on it. Unfortunately, while cool robots will get any game off to a good start, I do ultimately need a game that’s fun to play. The couch multiplayer mode adds some value to the proposition, but overall Robo Wars is just too repetitive to be fulfilling.