Developer: Phase Two Games Pty. Ltd.
Publisher: Phase Two Games Pty. Ltd.
Platforms: PC, Switch
Tested on: Switch
Battle Hunters – Review
Battle Hunters is one of those games that initially brings the vibe of a mobile game and that of course had its reasons. We quickly figured out it originally released on iOS and Android and was now ported. Don’t judge too harshly though! The game promises 15 hours of fun gameplay on either your PC or Switch. After playing it for a while on the Switch, we can say for sure that, even for a port, Battle Hunters at the very least does not suck.
Story
Battle Hunters quickly sets you up with an easy-going “you have to save the world” type of story. In a tutorial, it introduces three heroes who seek the help of each other. A fighter, a wizard, and a ranger, so nothing renovating on this front. As you go on to actually save the world, you encounter many other heroes who will join the team, though you will always play with three at a time. While you continue exploring, you encounter many (mythical) enemies, have conversations with standard merchants, and more. There are plenty of small informative cutscenes introducing new stuff, such as an enemy you never saw before, which is part of why Battle Hunters feels very accessible to all ages.
Graphics
The colorful allure and rather static conversation animations give this game the mobile game vibe. It’s the same allure and the simple fighting animations that still make the game enjoyable to watch. While the surroundings might be a bit uninspired, linear, and/or empty, the fact that there’s something to do every few meters makes up for a lot. There are no boring long walks, and you will at least find some form of action fast.
Sound
The music in Battle Hunters sadly really has that royalty-free sound going on. With no voice-overs and standard sound effects, there simply isn’t much to go on here. It’s your average battle theme whenever a fight starts, and while there’s enough variation in sound effects while listening to a fight, it’s still not something of great quality. That being said, at least the sound doesn’t annoy you when focussing on the gameplay. It might only get on your nerves if you pay really close attention to it. At times, the background sound like birds in a large forest and such even contribute to the game’s atmosphere.
Gameplay
Battle Hunters is a really easy and accessible Tactical RPG adventure. This has two sides. On one side, everybody can play this game. On the other side, it often feels like you are very limited in your options. You are either exploring the map, which translates to will encountering many “locks” that require different types of keys, asking you to find a linear path to get one object after the other. During your quest, you will fight monsters. This will happen in an enclosed circled arena, indicated by a line that, when passed, triggers a fight with the enemies present.
The combat is where the duality of Battle Hunters steps in. Essentially, you get to give commands to your three heroes at all times. Whenever a hero killed their target, the game also pauses as the character awaits new commands. You can move them around, make them defend, eat food to heal, or attack. There are also some special skills for each and every hero to use, but those skills are a pain in the ass as they have to charge first. This means that, at the start, you are just stuck there watching your champions automatically attack the enemies as instructed. Of course, you can also run around or defend, but in the end, the enclosed area is just too small to really allow you to make a difference. This is where the accessibility borders with limited combat possibilities.
Victories award you with money, items, and experience. When a hero is dead, he gains no experience. Leveling up provides you with some stat points and possibly a new combat skill, and you get some slight choices in how you want to improve the hero. This boils down to more hit points, damage, special skill damage, and so on. You can switch any surplus of heroes for the three currently present, which also means the ones non-active and wounded will slowly heal. The fact there’s no gear involved in the game and pretty much all loot ends up being money which you can essentially only use for small boosts or (healing) food makes progression a bit dull though. None of these things make that you can’t enjoy the game, but you should just keep in mind that the accessibility seems to overshadow some depth that could have been present.
Conclusion
Battle Hunters is an accessible game that’s clear in what you can do with some level of enjoyment. While the sounds are pretty poor, the game generally puts forth something solid that can be played by all ages. The only thing holding it back is that the combat system is also very basic with slow beginnings that always start the same. On top of that, there’s no real progression aside from leveling up heroes and unlocking new skills.
Battle Hunters - Review,
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