|| REVIEW || Roundguard (Nintendo Switch)
Developed By : Wonderbelly Games
Published By : The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild
Category : Arcade, Strategy, Role-Playing
Release Date : March 13, 2020
As you may or may not know, in tandem with this blog I run a stream on Twitch as well. One of the features I have for my viewers to make use of is a thing I call a Wheelspin. Basically, since I own just about every major console that exists, when one of my viewers redeems this, I spin a wheel and it lands on a console, and that viewer can pick any game (that I own) for me to play on a later stream. Occasionally, the game chosen is intended to make me playing something bad or embarrassing, but once in a while I get to enjoy the game I'm subjected to. The most recent one of these introduced me to the hidden gem of Peggle for the first time ever, and I got hooked.
And it would appear that this Wheelspin had a bit of irony coming along with it. Because, not long after my first experience with Peggle, I found myself checking out Roundguard and getting a very similar vibe. Albeit, with a much bigger spin on it that only served to pull me in more.
Roundguard places you as a member of...well, the Roundguard. You're an elite team of warriors tasked with protecting the king, and when Castle Springbottom falls under attack, you're immediately called to duty. The king has been taken to the lowest depths of the castle's dungeon, and you'll need to bounce and fight your way down to save him.
At your control, you can play as one of three characters : The Warrior, The Rogue, and the Wizard. Each character has their own starting stats which are respective to their "type", so the Warrior has the most health and least amount of mana, and the Wizard is just the opposite. They also have a base attacking power and a special ability that is unique to each one.
Every run you take through the castle will be unique, since the paths and rooms are randomly generated. Each room operates under the same principles that there are a set number of enemies, and a plethora of gold pots. At the top is the launcher where your character will...well, launch from, and the bottom is filled a field of spikes and a moving platform. Your goal is to fire yourself into the level, collecting gold and smashing your enemies until they're all gone.
Damage to your enemies is dealt according to your base attack stat, but this can be modified by any of the equipment you pick up on your run. Some items will change your attack stat directly, while others can give you fun buffs like increasing your attack by X amount for each time you smash a gold pot on a turn. As you hit enemies, they also deal damage to you so each hit will trade attacks.
The character's special attacks are where some of your bigger damage numbers can come from. You can have up to two of these equipped at all times, but you always start with one that is unique to each character. The Warrior has a spin attack that sends him through any pots in his immediate path instead of just pinballing off of them. The Rogue has a chance to do a "double-jump" that sends him off in the direction you aim, allowing for a chance to get extra attacks on enemies or maybe save yourself from hitting the spikes at the bottom. The Wizard has a couple of friends that traverse vertically on either side of the level, always moving up and down. You have the ability to call for some lightning that will run a path from wherever these friends are directly to you, damaging everything in it's path and applying shock damage too.
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| At the end of each run, spin the Wheel of Wonders for a fancy trinket to take on your next run for some extra help | |
Once a room is cleared, the bottom "floor" changes from spikes into a few different pots that represent where you can go next on your adventure. At most you'll have three paths to choose, and each pot will have a small sign with a symbol to give you a clue as to whats up ahead. Some rooms won't have any enemies at all, giving you a single shot to gather as much treasure pots as you can before collecting a reward of armor, weapon, or an ability.
No matter what you encounter, your run continues as long as you have health. Luckily there are pots of health in all the levels, as well as some abilities you can pick up that gain you health back too. You'll find potion pots to refill your mana and extend your ability to use special moves. But for every pot in the level to help you out, there are ones to cause problems too. Certain ones will erupt in a cloud of green, poisoning you and forcing you to take damage at the start of every turn for a few turns.
After playing Peggle very closely before playing Roundguard, I was a little skeptical when I first started getting into this one. Just as quickly as it appeared though, that skepticism washed away. While the game carries a strong resemblance to Peggle, it combines itself with so much other stuff in a way that is addicting and fun. So much of what you do is left up to chance, because there's no way to know exactly where your shot will go after a bounce or two. That randomness can almost make you a spectator to your own gameplay, and it just makes this title that much more perfect.
Don't miss a chance to take your shot, Castle Springbottom needs your help...will you come through?
Game Rating : 8 / 10
Also available on Steam, Xbox One, and Playstation 4
A code for this game was graciously provided
to the site for the purpose of a review
