Social Media - Follow, Like and Friend

12 Nov 2022

REVIEW: Lunistice on Nintendo Switch

Review by Jon Donnis
Lunistice is a new linear 3D platformer, in the style of classic 32-bit games.

You play as Hana the Tanuki (a Japanese raccoon dog), as she takes an adventure through her own dreams.

Each "world" is a different dreamscape, with a few levels to each, the final destination being that of The Moon, to uncover the secret of "The Lunistice".


To complete a level, reach the end point as soon as possible, the faster the time, the higher the score. (Maximum being a S Rank). But you can also collect various items along the way if you wish to get a 100% rating. The main things you will collect are little paper origami animals. You will see at the top of your screen how many are in the level to collect. Although each level is linear, there are side routes to take if you want to collect everything. Some of these routes will require precision jumps and movement, or else you may fall to your death, luckily each level has checkpoints and you will respawn there if necessary.


Enemies appear often, and to kill them you can perform a spin move. You can also use this move to jump a little bit farther after the obligatory double jump move.

The first few levels are pretty standard 3D platforming, but as you progress and get to play on different worlds, you will encounter water slides, balloons to jump on and pop, water bubbles to help you move larger distances and so on.

The various worlds are all different to each other and have their own challenges. The gameplay is super smooth, and is as good as anything that has ever come out from the big multimillion dollar companies.


With any 3D platformer, the main two issues will always be control of the character, and how precise it is, and the camera angle. I found the precision movements of the main character when it came to jumps etc to be of a very high quality. The camera which is controlled mainly from the right stick, also is easy to move. And although you will come across the odd moment when you miss a ledge, or the camera doesn't quite go where you want it, these are rare moments. So, I can happily say that this game passed the two highest rated issues with such games, with flying colours.

The game itself is relatively short, which is a shame, but if you want to truly get 100% completion on a level, then that will take some time.


The Good
Excellent retro looking graphics that look great on the Switch Lite. Gameplay is of the highest quality. The sound track, the sound effects, everything is very good.

The Bad
Give me more! Not enough worlds and levels!

Overall
Really good 3D platformers that are also affordable are quite rare. Lunistice on Nintendo Switch is a rare success. An excellent game from top to bottom. 
If you like 3D platformers, regardless of your age, this should be on your "Must Buy" list.

I score Lunistice on Nintendo Switch a 9.5/10

Out now on Nintendo Switch
and PC (Steam)

No comments:

Post a Comment