#Funtime Review (Nintendo Switch)

Review code provided with many thanks to The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild

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#Funtime. For this one, I’ve had these weird daydreams that the developer created a fun little arcade game but got stuck on the title. Then, after having coffee with a friend over a webcam chat, the friend asked them to describe the game. After the developer describes the experience, they respond with “Sounds like a fun time,” and alas, a title is born. At least, that’s the weird fantasy I have. But let’s get to the question every reader is asking when clicking on this review. Is this game really a “fun time”? Well, let’s jump in.

LadiesGamers #Funtime — Are you ready for a *#Funtime*?

Twin Stick Action

The game plays like a twin-stick space shooter. One of the closest comparisons to long-term fans of this genre is the Geometry Wars series, which strangely hasn’t actually made an appearance on the Switch. There is no story. Turn the game on, pick a mode, and start racking up a high score. Challenge mode is a good place to start, as you’re presented with 54 bite-sized levels which get you to grips with the controls and mechanics of the game. The controls are simple enough: move with the left stick, shoot with the right, and try not to die. There are a few familiar skills you can use, like dashing and using a smart bomb to wipe out all the enemies on screen. Enemies regularly drop green orbs which increase your score multiplier, but if you take even a single hit that counter resets to zero. When you have that multiplier riding high, its a pretty good feeling.

Look out for the Colours

One of the main standout hooks is the game’s use of a colour mechanic. Pressing one of the four face buttons will change your ship’s colour and cause that colour to trail behind you. This trail will kill corresponding enemies of the same colour and give you a triple score. This was a hard mechanic to get to grips with because the distracting amount of action on screen made it hard to remember which face button corresponded to which colour. I took the initiative to do a post-it note to help me with the learning experience. (See my nifty little picture below).

I tried the game on PC as well. If you use an Xbox controller, the colour changes match the colours of the face buttons, making it a lot easier to pick up and play. The good news is if this all sounds tough and complicated, you don’t need to worry; this mechanic isn’t essential for game progression and is simply used to garner higher scores and avoid the odd colour hazard. Should you just want to play casually and have a #Funtime, you can go ahead and do just that. After all, it’s only you up against your own high score and the online leaderboards if you dare to glance at that. Online leaderboards often just destroy my video game self-esteem as I see how badly I suck compared to the rest of the world.

Several Modes to Enjoy

While challenge mode was fun, I had the most fun playing the various arcade games modes. These ranged from simple survival mode, where you just need to last as long as possible, to a mode called “funtime”, in which your ship trails a wrecking ball behind it that you swing around to take out enemies(as well as yourself if you’re not careful!). All these modes are gaming in its purest arcade form, and they are perfect for quick gaming sessions or for when you simply want to shut your brain off and have a #Funtime.

Funky Dance Beats

The graphics are a nice mix of 3D shapes and neon lights. When you blast an enemy, they poof into a varied assortment of fireworks. Combining this with the fast-action gameplay, you’re in for one heck of a firework treat for the eyes. But it’s not just your eyes that are satisfied; the soundtrack is incredible! It’s filled with upbeat dance numbers that I would happily boogie down to on the dance floor. Only I’m too busy playing this game in the corner of the room. A nice additional feature here is if the music playing is not your cup of tea, you can tap ‘up’ on the d-pad to skip to the next track.

Dip in and out

As you rack up high scores in arcade mode, you can use your points to upgrade your ship. But the replayability for me came in the form of jumping in and out of this game for short gaming bursts. The controls for the game are solid and I encountered no bugs. I think the only drawback to this twin-stick shooter is that if you haven’t been sold on this type of game in the past, this one probably won’t win you over.

More than a Hashtag

This is a quick to the point piece of arcade action that attempts its own little spin on the twin-stick space shooter formula and it pays off. Great music, bright visuals. I can’t deny it, this game is absolutely a #Funtime.

The game goes beyond its own hashtag, it’s a game I can easily say……

Final Verdict: I like it a lot!