Overall - 80%
80%
For those looking for some co-op fun, Nobody Saves the World is your game. If you've got a buddy that likes top-down action RPGs, make sure to add this one to your queue.
After being announced last March, Drinkbox Studios’ Nobody Saves the World is finally here. Is this new formula worth checking out, or should the studio stick to MetroidVanias à la Guacamelee? Check out our review and find out.
Nobody Saves The World Review
Nobody Saves the World kicks things off with the protagonist waking up in a shack with no idea how they got there or where they are. You play as Nobody, a humanoid with an ability to change into other forms. Nobody gets these abilities from a wand he procures from a very annoying wizard named Randy. Since Randy thinks it is his job to save the world, he locks you up and leaves. After making a daring escape, you then proceed to do as the title would suggest: save the world.
Your first major task is clearing the king’s castle. The king was waiting for Randy, but you manage to do it much quicker. It is here that you find your first Gem Shard. If you can find them all, you can combine these Gem Shards to help save the world. To get the rest of the shards, you will need to clear dungeons, help NPCs, and gather new forms. Oh, and you can do the whole thing in co-op, which makes it that much better.
Nobody Saves the World is a top-down action RPG, much like the Zelda titles of old. Combat starts very basic, with each character only having a couple attacks. There is no dedicated block or dodge button, but you can unlock a block and a dodge. The combat becomes more complicated as the game progresses, allowing you to customize your forms a bit more freely. For instance, you can put on the Ranger Dodge, the Turtle, or the Guard Block on the Necromancer. Things get a bit too easy later in the game, but the move customization is a huge plus.
If there is one thing Nobody Saves the World has too much of, it is grinding. You are constantly killing things, getting new side quests, clearing random dungeons, and leveling up your forms. In order to unlock a higher-level form, you first have to obtain a high rank in a lower level one. So to unlock the Turtle form, I needed my Horse form to get to rank B. The Monk also needs the rank A from the Horse form. So most of the game is doing quests to unlock the new forms to see if you like them. As you play, you have less and less forms to unlock, making the grind more noticeable. It also doesn’t help that certain ranks are hard blocked by story quests, meaning you can’t rush a powerful form.
All these forms come into play in combat as well. Players will run into enemies during dungeons that can only be hit by certain types of moves, such as slashing, dark, light, or blunt. I really dislike any mechanic like this, even though this title does its best to make it so smooth. You can easily change forms on the fly and can give your favorite characters any moves they want, but I still think it is a bad system. I’m already needing to play all the character forms to unlock new forms anyways; why add this extra hurdle? If I want to play as the rat all game, let me play as the rat all game.
While this an action RPG, there is no equipment for you to put on your forms. Instead, you can buy straight-up stat upgrades for yourself. The economy is very well balanced so that you won’t become extremely powerful quickly either. Another thing you can buy is repeatable quests. There is one that wants you to just kill enemies. It resets when you finish the quest, and you get to kill even more enemies. It’s not something that would fit in every game, but I like it here, and I could also see it in other games. If there is a sequel, I think they should add equipment.
I didn’t run into any crashes or any bugs while playing. While doing co-op there is a tether, so you need to stay close.
For those looking for some co-op fun, Nobody Saves the World is your game. If you’ve got a buddy that likes top-down action RPGs, make sure to add this one to your queue.
