LadiesGamers Georifter

Georifters Review (Nintendo Switch) 

Game: Georifters
Genre: Puzzle, Action, Party
System: Nintendo Switch (also PC, PS4 and Xbox)
Developer|Publisher: Busy Toaster Games
Age Rating: EU 3+ | US Everyone
Price: US $29.99 | UK £27.50 | EU €29,99
Release Date: September 18th 2020

Review code provided with many thanks to Busy Toaster

The Sweet Universe

Georifters is a strange looking game. The premise appears to be that all is not well in the universe made of sweets/candy! As a young hero you need to hop between various parallel universes, meeting a host of unusual characters and solve some basic platforming puzzles. It’s a bizarre but interesting design but it has been set up to be family friendly so this may be a title you can share with the young ones. The only nasties here are weird bugs and plants. 

LadiesGamers Georifters
Let’s collect some gems

Move the Blocks, Get the Gems

The game runs well in TV and handheld modes. In the main campaign you can play alone or in co-op. The objective is to reach the end of each level by collecting the blue gems in each room, in order to progress to another room and repeat the process. To do this you have various moves which help you move and manipulate blocks. Your main default character can hit blocks vertically, horizontally or use a special move which shoots out a stream of gum that pulls blocks towards you.

You can only use moves about three times in quick succession before your battery runs down and you need to wait for it to charge up. It’s a design that feels unnecessary, as all it does is slow things down instead of adding a challenge element. By using a combination of these moves and platforming you can reach the blue gems, manipulate the environment and also avoid various hazards. If you make any mistakes you can use the handy undo button, which moves all the blocks back to their original positions, just make sure your not standing in the way. This can also be used to solve puzzles.

LadiesGamers Georifters
Moving the blocks about is the key to success

It doesn’t take long before you change characters, who have different move sets mixing up the mechanics or block moving. The formula is quite interesting, but, in practice, the game feels quite slow and boring. The levels feel like they go on for far too long and you will be repeating the same sorts of levels over and over. If you are unlucky enough to loose all your lives you have to restart the level right from the beginning. The challenge felt casual to moderate at times. The main challenge was that the red blocks which kill you instantly and a variety of enemies including these odd plant like ones which shoot eye balls at you. The game certainly felt more enjoyable sharing it with someone in co-op

When you finish a level you can spend your gems and any money you collected at the end of level on upgrades and new cosmetics for your characters. The game appears to want you to play the main campaign without upgrades to start with as it seems to advise you that you’re cheating if you decide to use extra help.

LadiesGamers Georifters
There is more to life than just paint Lex

Not a Sweet I Want to Eat

Graphically things are a bit mixed. The characters are textured 3D models that look a bit ugly and the more the game zoomed in on them the rougher the models looked. The early backgrounds have this sort of sweetie/candy appearance to them, but let’s just say I didn’t find myself keen to hang about in this world. The main character also shoots some gum to pull blocks towards her but its appearance is a bit gross instead (maybe to put people off eating to many sweets?). I would say the graphics don’t feel as colourful and vibrant as one would expect from a family friendly game. Things do get a little better in some environments though, in a more art based universe the pastel feeling of the backgrounds were better suited. 

LadiesGamers Georifters
I feel like this game doesn’t want me to use upgrades

Bursting With Content

Georifters is certainly not short on content. The main campaign has plenty of levels to keep you busy for some time with six worlds to visit and over thirty levels with additional stages in each. You can even replay the levels to get more gems, speed run or aim for a higher score. There are also tons of outfits and upgrades to unlock. If you have a few buddies you can also jump into a few multiplayer party games for up to four people, these are a mix of competitive and co-op style games. These are most welcome but you will need to spend time teaching each player the game mechanics to get the full enjoyment out of these.

LadiesGamers Georifters
Lots of cosmetics to unlock

Box of Treats

Georifters feels like the last chocolate in a selection box that people don’t eat, like the orange truffle. It’s not that it tastes bad, it just isn’t the first thing people are going to gravitate to. It has some cool ideas with the puzzle platforming but the formula gets dull quickly.

If you are able to persist through the experience there are some well designed levels, with plenty of content on offer. However, with the title sometimes crawling at a slow pace it feels like some gamers might drop off before this. It’s better in co-op but with the Switch having many local co-op options these days this one doesn’t stand out as much as other titles. Definitely one to consider on sale or if your looking for a decent co-op experience.

Final Verdict: I Like it

Ladiesgamers.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *