Review by Jon Donnis
It has been a while since I have played a good action RPG, so when Pascal's Wager: Definitive Edition came across my desk, I just had to check it out.
Set in a world of "dark fantasy", you step into the shoes of Couriers, as they "discover the tale behind the mysterious Dark Mist."
"Centuries ago, the sun sank into the sea, leading to the Dark Mist enveloping the lands. At the same time, great, towering beings began to appear. These were the Colossus. They brought light to the areas surrounding them and in turn, humanity found its last and only refuge.
Following the trail of the falling Colossi, Terrence the Courier and his companions embark on an arduous journey. They will encounter figures benevolent and evil, seal or witness their fate, and unveil the truth behind the dark world."
Thousands of years after the Colossi appeared, a mysterious illness beset these creatures of the light and they began to fall...
Now you know the story, how does the game play, you will eventually get to control and hopefully master 5 different characters, each character has their own unique abilities and fighting styles. Now although I like a good Action RPG, I am also not the most skilled of gamers in this genre, luckily there is a casual mode available, that makes everything a bit easier, and allows the player a bit more freedom, and that is something I need. With that said, the game is still challenging in the casual mode, but there is a harder mode for the more experienced Action RPG gamer.
As mentioned, you take on the role of the Couriers, they have to find out the truth behind what has caused the land of Solas to fall into darkness once again. What happened to the giant Colossi that brough safety and light to people.
As you play you will see plenty of familiar sights if you have played this kind of game before, Altars to rest and replenish your energy as well as save your gameplay, your character will have a light and heavy attack, on the Switch these are performed by pressing the right trigger buttons, you can dodge attacks, block and so on. You also have a stamina bar that you need to keep an eye on, luckily in Casual Mode it doesn't run out too quick.
Enemies are your usual weird looking creatures, and combat is as you would expect, you can even creep up on enemies and get that first shot in. And as you progress you can buy throwing knives and other projectile weapons, to help you hit that slightly out of range enemy.
As well as your stamina, you also have a rage and a sanity meter, as you attack enemies you rage meter gets charged, and as that gets powered up it allows you to make bigger hits, now the Sanity meter, that is a whole different thing, as you fight and beat opponents you sanity meter will start to empty, eventually it will reach "abnormal" stage and finally "lunatic" stage. At abnormal you will see auras around the enemy, this will also power up your enemies and adjust their attack patterns, so you need to keep an eye on your sanity levels, and make sure to drink potions to keep it in the safe level. In the boss fights however sanity level drops faster, so you really need to be on top of your game, but Luckly when fighting bosses like this they will drop extra items, so it has its benefits too.
There are also the usual skill points for levelling up the characters, a skill tree to upgrade across 4 different branches, which might change up how much you can carry, give you new attacks and so on.
Throw in craft-able items which you can then equip which give you various advantages, the usual side quests and extra boss fights and there is plenty to keep you busy.
As mentioned, you will eventually add extra characters to your group, which you can switch between when not in a fight, or if your character dies in a fight you will automatically take control over another of the group. The different characters have different weapons and attack styles. All different and fun to master.
The story is told through people you meet, diaries you will pick up, as well as conversations with your group.
The game plays very well on a Nintendo Switch Lite, the controls are pretty easy to pick up, the in-game menu for selecting items, equipping things etc can be a bit tricky to get used to at first, but soon enough you will be getting everything the way you want.
The levels are easy to navigate, and you won't find yourself getting lost either.
As this is the Definitive Edition, you get the DLC from the PC release thrown in, the most important one being the Obsession Challenge mode, which is basically a fight against the bosses you find in the game, while starting in Lunatic mode from the start, as well as character clothing and a new area to play.
The Good
A good story, easy to learn, a fun game to play even on the small screen.
The Bad
The levels might seem a bit too linear for the more hardcore Action RPG gamer, but I found them fine.
Overall
Pascal's Wager: Definitive Edition on Nintendo Switch is a fun game to play, many hours of gameplay, that never gets tedious, I enjoyed playing it and highly recommend it.
I score Pascal's Wager: Definitive Edition on Nintendo Switch a solid 8.5/10
Out Now on Nintendo Switch
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