Zarvot – Nintendo Switch

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Title:  Zarvot
Developer:  Snowhydra games
Publisher:  Snowhydra games
Website:  https://snowhydra.com/
Genre:  Party, Arcade, Action
Platform:  Nintendo Switch
Audience:  Everyone
Release Date:  18/10/2018
Price:  £19.99 – Rapid Reviews UK was very kindly provided with a review code for this title.

What the developers say

SILKY SMOOTH CUBE ACTION: Pick up and play with tight, responsive, and easy to learn controls. You’ll be a masterful combat cube in seconds.

ULTRA RESPONSIVE CONTROLS: 60FPS, ultra-low latency controls tweaked for competition-ready performance—even in Story Mode!

FOUR PLAYER VERSUS MODE: Engage in competitive cube combat with up to four players on a single Nintendo Switch console!

OVER A DOZEN MULTIPLAYER MAPS: Dash, zip, and destroy over a dozen destructible handcrafted multiplayer thunderdomes! Fight in serene forests, in dramatic thunderstorms, in a bathtub, and more. Break through walls, dodge deadly discs, and use the environment to win!

COMPETITIVE AND PARTY GAME MODES: Face off in classic deathmatch versus modes, or in more chaotic party modes. Play a mouthwatering Sushi Collecting mode, or stand your ground in the utterly gripping Sumo mode.

EXCLUSIVE GAME MODE: Challenge your friends in JoyVot mode, as one player uses motion controls to use a levitating banana that shoots lasers and calls down deadly minions–only on Nintendo Switch!

CAPTIVATING STORY ABOUT CUBES: Finally, a full-length narrative where cubes take centre stage! Featuring the story of three cube friends. Follow the captivating story of Charcoal and Mustard, two cubes trying their best to put together the ultimate birthday gift for their best friend.

DELICIOUS ARCADE ACTION: Take the subway to over nine different worlds filled with evil, mostly edible enemies. Zip around corners with your quick cube moves, blast your adversaries with precision nose lasers, chain together destructive combos, and use your Chomp super move to take down all challengers!

EPIC BOSS BATTLES: Take on epic bosses–evil masterminds who hate happy birthdays. Bosses include the cube’s natural enemies, such as large, sentient bananas and frozen milk cartons.

BEAUTIFUL LEVELS: Explore gorgeous atmospheric environments in your adventure. Trudge through the rain, bask in a serene forest, and plunge deep inside an industrial freezer.

STUNNING CHARACTERS: Take in the cutting edge, industry-leading artistry of the fully rigged and animated cube characters. These cubes look so good, it’s unreal!

Introduction

Developed and published by snowhydra games, Zarvot is an arcade action game that has recently been released on the Nintendo Switch.  As a self-proclaimed ‘game about cubes’,  this vague and uninspired subheading caught me off guard and unaware – something I was very much grateful for.

Read on to find out just how I try to convince you to give this game the attention it deserves, using examples of quite possibly the weirdest gaming experiences I have had to date. 

Looks and Sounds

Astounded!  This is the only word I can find to describe how I felt when I first experienced the game design of this title.  It was also this that gave me the clearest indication that the game was going to be nothing that I had expected it to be.

As you can see from the images above, there is a stark contrast between the main protagonists in this adventure and the backdrop. Many of the settings that our beloved cubes traverse during the twelve chapter story mode are outstanding, with clean, polished visuals serving to remind you that this game offers much more than just cubes with shooting capabilities.  I regularly stopped to take in the scenery and just appreciate the creativity on display.  The developers themselves refer to the ‘gorgeous atmospheric environments’ and I agree whole-heartedly.

Almost as impressive as the visuals is the audio in Zarvot.  The soundtrack itself has been designed to compliment the different levels and the atmosphere within them.  The combat has also been enhanced by the sound effects given to the characters and their actions.  On occasion, I found that the audio was lagging behind the action on screen, however, this was only when a large number of enemies were present.

Gameplay and Replayability

To fully appreciate the concept behind this charming and endearing action game, I was hoping to provide an anecdotal story.  However, coming to the end of Chapter 2, the following events unfolded which gifted me the opportunity to offer some context:

Chapter 2 ended with my character, the blue cube, being deemed unworthy of receiving the banana we had been on a quest to find.  This resulted in a shootout with a giant organic banana.  Having defeated the boss, my cube then realised that due to the time that had passed, we would miss the jar (train) back home.  Naturally, there was no other alternative than to hop on board a skateboard and avoid obstacles to make it back!

It was moments like this that I cherished during my time playing Zarvot, as the unpredictable nature and creative nous on display was exemplary.  Not only this, but I felt myself becoming attached to the cubes, and felt a want to support them in their plight as they fought their way through hordes of enemies to provide their friend with the ultimate birthday present.

Although the combat is relatively simple, with only ‘A’ required to shoot and ‘B’ to jump over enemies and obstacles, it was both engaging and challenging.  The waves of enemies appear sporadically and you must defeat them all before being allowed to continue the quest.  As you progress further into the game, additional abilities are unlocked for use.

Outside of the story mode, the game offers a number of ways to get your value for money.  The ‘Arcade’ option, unlocked by completing chapters of the aforementioned ‘Story’, provide excellent combat practice in the form of waves.  Destroying obstacles and blasting enemies is the name of the game, and your progress is documented using the ‘Wave Progress’ percentage displayed at the bottom of the screen.

As well as ‘Arcade’, Zarvot also includes a ‘Versus’ mode designed for 2 to 4 players.  This provides 5 game modes, plus the option to complete an assorted selection of the different modes, in local multiplayer. Elimination and Death Match are just a few, and offers a reason to load Zarvot again once the closing credits roll on the story.

Conclusion

Personally, I found very little to dislike about this title.  It was refreshing to play a game which was unpredictable, unashamedly strange, and unique.  I found my time with the game to be thoroughly enjoyable and one I wish I could experience for the first time once again.

Although I highly rate the experience Zarvot provided, I am aware that a title of this nature will not be for everyone.  I recommend that you watch the trailer to give a clearer indication of what this game is about. As much as I have tried to do this for you, sometimes it needs to be seen to be believed!

Rapid Reviews Rating

You can support the Developers by purchasing this game on the following link, https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Zarvot-1436681.html