Reviewer: Chad M.
Developer: Fat Dog Games, Frozen District
Publisher: QubicGames
Category: Action, Adventure, Multiplayer, RPG
Release Date: 6.7.2019
Price: $17.99
Buy Warlocks 2: God Slayers on the Nintendo Switch eShop here.
Can The Betrayal Be Forgiven? Sure!
QubicGames has grown quite a library of games on the Nintendo Switch, and Warlocks 2: God Slayers is another entry in their ever-growing selection. Warlocks 2: God Slayers is a 2-D, pixelated, action-RPG, platforming Metroidvania, which is a crowded genre on the Switch. I never played the original, which was a Kickstarter project that was slated to be on the Nintendo Wii U, but it never made it to that console, so finally, the series is coming to the Nintendo Switch with the sequel.
This time around, as the story starts, the Warlocks have angered the Gods, who now turned against them. As a result, you can now either give up, ask for mercy and then quietly die—as “mercy” is not a word easily found in the Dark Gods’ vocabulary—or you can release all of your god-like powers instead, and make the Gods pay for their betrayal. I enjoyed how the writing was littered with humorous moments and funny little quips, as it helps break things up rather than lean into the dark material as most games do. The humor, unfortunately, can’t save it from the overarching narrative that doesn’t feel as cohesive or engaging as I’d hoped.
Better Run! The God Slayers Are Afoot.
Though the story didn’t hook me right away, the humor was appreciated, so I looked further. The instrumental soundtrack somewhat fit the tone, but then, at times, felt shoehorned in. The hand-drawn 16-bit pixel art is done well, but in the world of so many games using the retro pixel look, this one didn’t blow me away.
You pick one of five warlocks who are very diverse from one another in appearance and abilities. That said, they still handle and control similarly for the most part, with basic attacks that can change with XP gained during battles, but you’ll also be learning and gaining new abilities. As standard with Metroidvanias, you’ll have to obtain certain abilities to access certain areas. You can assign spells to the bumper buttons that can also be upgraded along the way.
The gameplay is pretty typical for an RPG hack ‘n slash, abd the combat felt pretty solid through my play-through. There is a grind where you work to gain XP, coin, and equipment to further your warlock’s growth. You can find these scattered throughout the maps, but mostly I was happy after slaying my enemies when I was rewarded with chests. I traveled throughout multiple planets, each with several areas within them that you’ll platform around, fighting and doing different missions and quests. The quests were sometimes lackluster, as it is mainly either defeat certain enemies, or go get a certain item—the game’s characters would even take jabs at that aspect in the story, which I found funny.
With no fast travel and a lot of backtracking, the quests began to drag throughout my 10-hour run-through. Yes, there is the added of replay value with the other four warlocks, but will you want to go back through is the question. Where the game shines is with its multiplayer, as the game allows up to four-player campaign co-op. The only drag is there is no online feature, so unless you have all your friends come over to play the campaign, then you’re out of luck. This was a hard pill to swallow, because the time I did play with friends was far more enjoyable and made me want to play more.
It’s A Wrap!
Warlocks 2: God Slayers is an RPG Metroidvania that has a solid premise with funny characters, and I had a blast playing with friends. I only wish that the fun could’ve kept going once they had gone home. I had no issues playing through the campaign, as the combat was solid and the enemies varied, with boss fights to boot. The story did let me down, as I had high hopes and the quests started to blend together and felt like rinse and repeat. I recommend trying it for yourself, and maybe looking out for a sale, as the game has a lot of competition.
Score: 6.5/10
Buy Warlocks 2: God Slayers on the Nintendo Switch eShop here.
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*Review code was provided for review purposes.
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