Nobody Saves The World review: a charming action RPG plagued by repetition

A earth worth saving?

The Mermaid sits on the tongue of a massive purple whale in Nobody Saves The World.

Something is missing from Nobody Saves The Globe, a new action RPG from Guacamelee devs DrinkBox Studios. This is a dungeon-crawler that lets you lot shapeshift into horses, bodybuilders, and ghosts in your bid to save the world, only information technology's a quest blighted not only by a Calamity, simply past repetition too. Charming characters and clever mighty-morphin' combat succumb to numbers, which reduces what could've been a rich earth to a rather hollow dash between dungeons.

In Nobody Saves The Earth, said earth has succumbed to The Calamity, a dark strength that's mutated its residents into blubbery eyes that spit spikes and sentient puddles of acid. A great mage called Nostramagus usually keeps these at bay just, in classic fashion, he'due south gone missing.

In yous footstep as Nobody, a deflated Michelin Human being who inherits Nostramagus' powers and can shapeshift into various forms as a outcome. With this bully power, you must dungeon-crawl in a bid to gather the scattered pieces of a magical gemstone capable of called-for away the blight, and most importantly, saving the world.

And what a lovely world it is, despite the rampaging mutant outcome. You've got piddling towns and thick jungles and arid deserts all rendered in this gorgeous, cartoony aesthetic. The game has a playful charm near it, with baroque characters that spit funny quips. I of my favourites is Randy the Red, a spiteful wizard who believes he'southward Nostramagus' true heir, not some little nobody like you. Colourful portraits bring his character to life: jealousy is bulging optics, a gaping jaw, and text that rattles. The manner he switches betwixt frantic to conniving is magnificent.

Information technology'due south a shame, and then, that these interactions are few and that many of the game'south characters rarely have much of value to say. Nobody Saves The Earth knows it's riffing off classics like The Legend Of Zelda, and while this self-sensation leads to some fun references, the game traps itself in a sort of nonchalance. The globe may exist cute, merely it is simply "The World", a generic fantasy realm with niggling history. NPCs you encounter may exist quirky, but conversations are cursory; meta lines to make yous chuckle or basic fetch quests. "You look potent, can you assistance me defeat some monsters?".

A screenshot from Nobody Saves The World which shows a Magician in conversation with a mutated NPC. — A shady magician wanted to procure some simulated knives from a shop, and so he tasked me with duping the shopkeeper inside. I was to enter the store on iv separate occasions, disguising myself as four unlike humans using my shapeshifting ability, and purchase a simulated knife each fourth dimension. I did and so, hoping to find out a flake more than about this fella at present that I'd secured him his tools. Nah, nada. Just a well done. He'south since disappeared, so that'due south why I've used this image of a random mutant.

Aid nearly any NPC and they'll hit you with a snappy thanks... and that's your lot. Certain, you lot earn some EXP, but this recompense feels hollow without meaningful stories. The game commits and so hard to its referential humour that information technology'south oftentimes overly dismissive. The joke is that you're playing an RPG, but the punchline grows weaker equally y'all progress. Is this a world you lot want to save? Well, I estimate so.

One thing the game gets – mostly – right is its transformations. These can take many forms: a bodybuilder that demote presses enemies, a horse that trots fast, a slug that leaves sticky gloop in its wake. At showtime, yous're only able to transform into a rat, letting yous sneak into small passageways and poison enemies with fell bites. To unlock more, you'll need to consummate quests specific to certain forms. Let me explain.

As a rat, you may have a quest that'southward like, "Poison 20 enemies". Practise so, and yous'll earn both EXP and FP. EXP ups your overall level, increasing your base stats incrementally and providing no more than excitement than a rainy afternoon watching Tipping Signal. FP, or "Form Points", will up your rat's grade. So, you may go from a "D" to a "C", not only unlocking more quests, but new abilities too; a good level of excitement, like someone from The Chase getting back to the bench with a meridian offer.

That's not all! Your forms vest to an interconnected spider web of other forms, some of which are locked backside grade requirements. The powerful monk, for example, requires you hit grade A with both the Horse and the Magician. It's a smart organization that encourages experimentation, specially when it comes to mixing and matching abilities from dissimilar forms.

The form tree from Nobody Saves The World.

My favourite build is a mix-upward between Sorcerer and Zombie. I'm able to pull rabbit and tigers out of a hat to fight past my side, every bit well as infect enemies who'll plow into zombies subsequently a quick mauling. My army of the living creates an army of the dead – which rules.

Although, I would say mixing abilities is more of a priority than switching forms, and that's down to how combat works. As dungeons become harder, enemies are protected past "Wards", a.k.a. barriers you lot demand to shatter by matching their harm type. Different forms specialise in unlike damage types, so in theory, you'd think switching between them on the fly would exist key to victory. This might be the case early on when you lack the credentials, only as your puddle of abilities grows, the more obsolete switching becomes. About dungeons characteristic one or 2 wards, so I tin tailor my Sorcerer with all the damage types needed to intermission them.

It seems an odd design decision. Some forms are left untouched, while others be only to fulfil a very specific part, like those token Pokémon you'd give Rock Smash to. Possibly information technology comes downward to the dungeons and the gainsay, which just aren't particularly heady.

The joy of gainsay in Nobody Saves The Earth stems from impact. The rat nibbles enemies. The Zombie mauls and infects. The Ranger slings arrows. There's a deep pleasure in hitting mutants in different, satisfying means. Only considering dungeons rarely need more than one class, repetition sets in. And no matter where yous may be, from the innards of a fallen dragon to a nuclear facility, dungeons all follow a set up construction: corridors and stairs and corridors... and stairs. No puzzles. Merely kill requirements or keys to find. The repetition sets in even farther.

A screenshot from Nobody Saves The World which shows a zombie horde fight some bone slugs.

Combat eventually suffers the same fate. Even if enemies chase and spew bile and chomp and buff their allies, almost every encounter can be solved by bunching these baddies together and cleaving them downwardly every bit a dodder. No matter what form you cull – equus caballus, turtle, whatever - your technique becomes that of the Pied Piper, only sporting a different flute.

Granted, some dungeons accept special challenges. Wards refresh, or enemies deal x9999 damage. Occasionally, some accept traps! I wasn't able to give co-op a whirl, merely it'southward possible to play online with a single buddy, and I'd imagine this elevates the experience somewhat. Everything is improve with friends, after all, and some laughter and churr would complement the dungeon-crawling nicely.

Thing is, dungeons but exist to further EXP and FP. Aside from numbers and forms, there isn't anything else to chase. You clear dungeons to watch grades and bars ascension. Crack open up chests at the end of a dungeon and you'll get some tokens. What do they do? Upwardly some numbers. I suppose this gives the game a clear focus, but it's i that gradually wears you lot downwardly. This a game built for churning through, and that'southward the problem. Nobody isn't so much equally saving the globe, but clearing it, instead.