World to the West (Indie One Shot) Nintendo Switch

Before jumping into this review I just want to say if you're still here and reading this blog, thank you for your patience. The past month has been an IRL rollercoaster filled with injuries and bad news, but also some terrific news. I had to pull back from the blog a little as well as my stream but I am back to both now. It's been a month since I covered Teslagrad, the predecessor from Rain Games to this game here. I'd say a month is long enough (too long honestly) so let's dive into the sucessor : World to the West.

 

It's worth noting about this game that while it is a successor to Teslagrad, it does not directly tie in with the previous game. A lot of elements are similar between the two, but one is not required to play the other. So you can get sucked in to the previous game, dive into this one, or if you enjoy an incredible gameplay experience, do both.

World to the West brings us the story of not one, but four playable characters. There individual storylines wrap together to make up the entire experience throughout the game. Over the first two chapters, you'll be introduced to two of these characters :

Lumina : A Teslamancer who becomes lost in an unknown place after her brothers find a teleporter and wish to use it to go find their father. They are warned by their grandfather not to use it, but do so anyways and...well things don't go as expected.

Knaus : He's a young orphan that, along with a group of others, is being forced to mine for moon rock. Until one day he comes across a special tree, and he starts questioning whether or not they're actually on the moon.

These two characters are given their own chapters to quickly introduce them and their storylines. However, chapter three is where this game really opens up. Unlike it's predecessor, which was a simple side-scrolling puzzle platformer, World to the West really open things up. Welcome to a top-down 3-D world, with an expansive map that you can travel all over to meet the ends of your quests.

Once in the full fledged game, you'll meet the last two characters. Teri, a mercenary for hire who is sent off in search of a "rare item" but is quickly dumped and finds herself in with the others, and Lord Clonington who is part of a sailing regime in search of a temple when he crosses paths with Lumina, effectively entwining all four of their stories.

Throughout the game, once you've met everyone, you'll be able to switch between the characters at will be activating shrines (which also double as save points). You'll need to make use of each character, not just pick a couple favorites, to progress through the game in it's entirety, as none of their abilities overlap. For example, Knaus eventually gains the ability to create paths of ice that he can skate over, allowing him to travel over water, which none of the other characters can do.

Our four heroes all start off with different levels of health (which can all be expanded) and their own weapons and moves. Lumina can use her Tesla powers while Knaus has to whack away with a shovel, Teri can use her scarf and Clonington his fists. The combat is really simple and very much the same no matter who you're using, so there's no dealing with adaptng to whichever character you're currently playing as.

World to the West deals a lot in puzzles as well, which you'll need to solve using the abilities of your characters. Some puzzles may not require a specific person to solve it, but some will so just be aware of who you're using and what they're capable of.

I have to admit that I was thoroughly impressed with this game, to see such a big jump from Teslagrad to this. World to the Westis a really incredible game that takes some of the ideas and setting from it's predecessor and expands on them in such a beautiful way. To echo what I said at the start of this review, these games are related, but neither of them are prerequisites for the other. Whether you decide to go with Teslagrad or World to the West you'll be instantly hooked. And while you don't need one before the other, as soon as you play one, you'll want the other.

Rating : 9/10

Developed and Published by : Rain Games

Also available on : PS4, XB1, PC 

What's even better? Rain Games is giving you yet another chance to dive into this amazing universe they've created. Their next game, titled Mesmer will further expand on this world, and will also introduce a new genre for the company : Strategy. AND it will include multiplayer capabilities as well. I love what Rain Games has done so far and can't wait for this new project to drop.

Check out the concept trailer for Mesmer here :