|| REVIEW || Save Your Nuts (PC)

Developed By : Triple Scale Games                    Published By : Triple Scale Games
Category : Indie, Multiplayer, Action  
Release Date : Apr 24, 2019 (Early Access)

Key provided by Triple Scale Games via Keymailer
 

I first heard of this game about a month or so ago, when a streamer that I follow tagged a fellow streamer friend of theirs and cited this game. My attention was grabbed immediately by the title because, due to the wide variety of things that a game could be about, I wanted to know what this one involved that required nuts to be saved. Needless to say, I had initially thought of the wrong nuts, which then just begs the question. What nuts does Save Your Nuts require you to save and why? Step into the forest, friends, because the fur is about to fly.

Welcome to the world of furry combat, where the object is to save your nuts. If you want to get specific, you're saving acorns but Save Your Acorns just doesn't inspire the same kind of knee-jerk reaction. In this multiplayer only game, you'll be split up into four-on-four matches where the object is to defeat your opponent by obtaining the most nuts into your respective huts. To be fair, you can totally play this game solo if you fill in all the other team spots with AI opponents, but it is definitely intended to be a multiplayer game. 

Players can choose between one of three game modes to compete in : Capture the Nut, Battle, or Thieves. No matter which mode, teams can still be comprised of the same amount and types of characters. Choose from dogs, squirrels, raccoons and more to play as, and even deck them out in hats, outfits, or change the color of their fur. Each side can have up to four participants, but the modes will always start the same with each team starting on their respective side of the map. 

In Capture the Nut, the teams will start on one side or the other and an acorn will be placed at a set point on the map. A small countdown will trigger the start of the round, and once it's go time, both teams will start trying to capture the nut and bring it back to their safe area which can be either a dog house, an on-its-side trashcan, or more. The first team to do this gets a point for the round, until one team reaches the score that has been set. Each round the nut will start in a different location, but there are a finite amount of spawn points for it so eventually you'll see it recycling. 

While chasing after the nut, you'll be able to jump and, if you time your successive jumps properly, earn small speed boosts. You can still do these things after you've picked up the prize, but nowhere near as well. So, once you've grabbed the acorn you'll either need to book it for your safe zone, or toss it and hope someone on your side picks it up. When you're not carrying the acorn, you'll be able to attack whoever does have it, stunning them for a very short period of time and sending the nut flying. There are also some power-up's that will drop through the rounds too in the form of energy boosts to gain speed, or temporary shields that will protect you from a single hit. 

Thieves mode operates in much the same way as Capture the Nut. The main difference is that instead of many short rounds chasing after a singular acorn, the round is much longer and features five acorns on the map simultaneously. The trick here is that once the acorns are placed into the safehouses, they're not actually safe. They can be stolen at will, and you can watch the domination in score shift from one side to the other constantly. Whoever has the most of the nuts at the end of the round wins. 

Battle mode doesn't really feel like either of the other modes, and to be honest when I first tried it out I wasn't really sure what to expect. Once inside of this mode though, it should feel and maybe even look a little reminiscent of Mario Kart balloon battles. Each creature will have three balloons attached to their backs, and naturally you'll want to pop all the balloons on the other side before all the ones on your side get popped. 

With Save Your Nuts still being in early access, play options are limited as the game is continually built upon. Online play is available, but only in matches that you can either create to host, or join in on. Currently, there is no generic online matchmaking, but it is a planned update in the near future. Unfortunately, it means I was only able to play this solo against bots, but I still had a blast and I can only see that being much more incredible with other actual player. This game is absolutely worth picking up, it may be missing the matchmaking as of right now, but it won't be for long and once it does you won't have to rely on knowing other people that play the game. 

 

Game Rating : 8.5 / 10

Game Played on : Steam (PC)