A little dessert after Heretic and Hexen.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/reviewmini/72562/wizordum-switch-review-mini
Wizordum is a first-person-shooter based in a world of swords and sorcery. It was odd seeing it crop up in my review docket so shortly after Heretic + Hexen as it clearly draws deep inspiration from these classic shooters. At the same time, it is refreshing to see this style of shooter take something other than Doom or Quake as a source of inspiration. So I went into Wizordum quite excited to see what it would be able to bring to the evermore crowded genre.
You can choose between two classes to start which will alter your starting stats. As you progress through levels you’ll unlock weapons and secondary items at a pretty regular clip. Ammo and other item refills are pretty plentiful so regardless of which weapons I prioritized, I rarely found myself running out of ammo. I did find it a little awkward that switching weapons is on the radial menu that pauses the game, with seemingly no button to quickly tab through buttons. It means you’re breaking up the action every time you need to swap weapons. However, each weapon feels good to use, with unique ideal use cases for each one. An early favorite was an ice rod that could freeze enemies, before using an alternate function to shatter everyone you had frozen.
Overall design is heavily influenced by the early first-person-shooters of the 90s. While much of Wizordum’s gameplay pulls from Heretic and Hexen, its visuals and elements of its level design reminded me more of Wolfenstein. Levels are labyrinthian but don’t feature any real vertical traversal outside of separately loaded zones. In other words while the game looks fully 3D, you are largely operating on a 2D plane. That being said, the level design is still highly complex. And while you don’t do much vertical movement, enemies can still attack from elevated positions. Right from the start, levels have a lot of complexity and generally involve looping through previously explored areas as you find keys and access both critical and optional areas of each map. In an odd way it felt somewhat like Wizordum was starting from the middle of a game, with a lot of level complexity right from the get go. The designs are generally very good but it does make it harder for the levels to escalate as the game goes on.
Your overall enjoyment of Wizordum will depend heavily on what you’re looking for. It doesn’t do much to separate itself from other shooters of this style. It feels very much like a middle ground between Wolfenstein and Heretic. It does that very well and is fun to play, but I would have liked to see it bring in a few more unique ideas. Progression also feels a little flat. Each individual level is well made but I rarely felt like they were getting harder or more complex as I went. This is a solid and well made first-person-shooter, if not a revolutionary one.
Topic: Wizordum (Switch) Review Mini (Read 50 times)
