The End is Nigh (Nintendo Switch) Indie One Shot

 

This is the third game developed by NICALIS that I will have reviewed, the first being Ittle Dew 2+, followed by VVVVVV (the latter being on The Switch Effect). The End is Nigh is one of those games that can fool you at a first glance. It seems like a super small title that will be over before you can even get into it, however that is most certainly not the case.

What lies inside is a massive puzzle-platformer, with over 600 levels that span across twelve different worlds. Very quickly, this game goes from seeming to small, to baffling you at how it manages to be so expansive.

You take control of Ash, our main character who is a small blob in the throes of a gaming session, so everything starts off as a game within a game. Play the game as long as you can until you die in it, but it causes the game to crash! Frustrated, Ash writes a letter about his hard times in the current situation : the world has fallen into an apocalypse, and now his favorite game doesn't even work. With nothing else to do, he ventures out into the broken world in search of a friend and hopes to repopulate the world.

The End is Nigh is a series of inter-connected levels, with each individual screen being a full level. To progress, you'll need to make it through each world's levels until you reach a portal, allowing you to travel to the next world. Once again, this game falls under the category of simple idea, but on-point execution.

These levels start out fairly tough, and they only get harder as you progress. The only moves available to you are moving left and right, jumping (the longer you press, the bigger your jump), a blob-bomb that brings you down to the ground at faster speeds, and a ledge grab.

Expect to have every single platforming skill of your put to the test while you zip through every single screen. The first world is fairly nice, with mostly simple jumps and ledge grabs for you to master. However pretty soon you'll be thrown into the deep end, needing your aim perfected while you drop down narrow shafts with spikes on either side, as well as your speed and timing. In the middle-to-late stages, you'll be introduced to enemies who omit gas clouds that, if you remain inside their borders for too long, you'll die. Same goes for some water sections, eventually the water becomes toxic and you'll need to dive under and shoot back up almost immediately if you want to keep going.

Personally, this is my idea of a perfect game. What it lacks in story it more than makes up for in gameplay. I said it before, but it's worth repeating that this game is tough. I pride myself on my platforming skills. Not in the sense that I'm anywhere near the best in the world at them, but out of all the game types I play, it's what I enjoy the most because it puts me to the test the most.  

The End is Nigh will definitely put you to the test, and it is so worth the struggle you'll inevitably face. I can't count how many times I thought a certain screen was going to be the end of my run and force a rage quit. In the end though, this game is fantastic, everything about it is just so well done. It may bring out some rage, but it's well deserved and the reward once you surpass whatever obstacle comes in your way, is more than worth it.

Rating : 9/10
Developed and Published By : NICALIS