Doughlings: Arcade - Nintendo Switch

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Title: Doughlings: Arcade
Developer: Hero Concept
Publisher: Hero Concept
Website: https://heroconcept.com/doughlings/
Genre: Action, Arcade, Brick breaker
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Audience: All
Price: £6.29. I was very kindly provided with a review code for this game.

What the developers say:

GAME FEATURES

Classic breakout gameplay with new mechanics.
7 different characters with unique superpowers.
Special abilities to unlock for each character to help you along your journey.
90 levels to play and challenge your skills.
Lots of different targets to face and destroy.
Create your own levels with the level editor.

After the difficult and intense battles of Hyper Light Drifter (check out my review here) it was time to relax and play a causal, more relaxing game – I found this in Doughlings: Arcade. Doughlings: Arcade is a child-friendly, block blasting game in the style of Peggle.

https://youtu.be/73yX3l4nQwY

The opening video is good fun and sets the scene.

The Doughlings are going about their everyday lives, happy and joyful. Until one day, a meteor strikes and releases a poisonous gas. The inhabitants of the town (Doughlings) go wild and then turn to stone. A scientist by the name of Dr Morpheus finds a cure to save his people. However, he is attacked by his diseased kin. It is time to become a hero and help Dr Morpheus save the day.

The graphics are nice, colourful and cartoony. Nothing here to blow you away, but there doesn’t need to be. The soundtrack does get repetitive but it’s not bad enough to put you off the game at all. The sounds effects are pleasing and add an extra level of enjoyment to the gameplay.

Doughlings: Arcade is a really simple game to pick up and play. Pressing B lets you adjust the angle and Y throws the ball.

The Doughlings come in various colours and all require a different number of hits to change their colour and eventually, release them.

You have to free a certain number of Doughlings within the set time. Collecting the thumbs as they fall, lights up spotlights. Lighting up a number of spotlights activities the “Show off” feature.

Tap the X button and your character’s special ability will be activated. Take notice of the bar on the right-hand side of the screen to see how long you have left of your ability.

Hitting the Doughlings releases hearts, DNA, stars and thumbs. Catching these will result in various bonuses. Catching DNA will activate a character’s ability. Hitting falling Doughlings will result in you losing points.

The game features a cast list of various characters or personas as the game calls them. Each persona has a unique ability and skill. I really enjoyed using Smash and the Gunner. The characters are pretty generic and are what you would expect from this type of game, although it does make the game a lot of fun and the characters are created well.

Winning a level rewards you with different amount of potions. 1 star will get you 1 potion, 2 stars will get you 2 potions, and three stars will get you a maximum of 3 potions. You can then spend these on upgrades for each persona.

There was enough content to keep me coming back to the game. The challenge of getting to the top of the leaderboard and beating your online friends add the element of competition.

The level editor is an excellent addition and will get appeal to gamers with a creative streak. The option to play and rate, other people’s creations is a worthwhile feature.

Achieving a certain number of stars unlocks paths on the map which take you to Secret levels.

The objectives here are slightly different, for example, you have to destroy two adjacent Doughlings either side of the Stuck to free it.

In conclusion

This is the type of game that you can pick up and play at any time. For me, it was the perfect game to play for a little bit in bed before going to sleep. It will certainly appeal to a younger audience and there is enough content to keep you entertained for a good while. At £6.79, this game is excellent value for money.

[yasr_overall_rating]

You can purchase Doughlings: Arcade from the Nintendo eShop by following this link, https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Doughlings-Arcade-1439409.html#Overview