Game: Pawarumi
Genre: Action / Arcade / Shooter
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Xbox & Steam)
Developer/ Publisher: Manufacture 43
Age Rating: EU: 7+| USA: 10+
Price: €14.99 | £13.49 | $14.99
Release Date: 24th July 2019
Thanks to Manufacture 43 for providing us with a review code!
Join Axo on her perilous mission as she rebels against the strict regime she once served. Fly through 5 super tough levels and face off against droves of enemies with your three powerful weapons.
Rock, paper, LASERS!!!
You have three weapons at your disposal in Pawarumi. Each colour coded, aside from their unique fire rates they all have very specific uses against the foes you encounter. Enemy ships will also be colour coded; Red, Blue or Green.
Every battle becomes a laser powered game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. If you strike with the same colour, as well as dealing damage you will absorb health back to your shields. How you combine the other two colours then decides if you deal double damage, or charge up your super powerful special attack.
As a fan of Pokémon, I used my experiences with type advantage as a trick to remembering which was which. Red (Fire) is Super Effective against Green (Grass), so that way I know I’m charging my Super Attack. Conversely fighting Green (Grass) with Blue (Water) will deal double damage and that’s where my analogy falls apart, but it did help me regardless 😂
Getting to grips with the battle mechanics is just the start however. Each level is full of droves upon droves of enemies to fight and conclude with an extra tough boss battle. Strategising on the fly takes practice and even then the challenge is still quite intense. Even on the easiest difficulty I struggle against even the first waves of foes. The game however is oddly encouraging even in failure, the game end screen invites you to try again and the high score screen initially contains a sweet message from the developers thanking you for playing. How laid back the game is a great balance to its challenging design and a very welcome detail to me.
Sound For The Senses
The game not only plays well, but looks very proper. The levels have interesting backdrops that almost distracts from the engaging combat. Cutscenes employ a simple series of images of Axo and her internal monologue as she explains her situation, history and next steps. They’re sweet and snappy transitions between stages and can still be skipped if you’re keen to continue the action.
The soundtrack compliments the game well and though I have nothing of significance to comment on this particular part of the game’s design, I still consider it a positive element of the games overall construction.
Simple, Effective Design
The game is as a whole quite compact, its brief but challenging story mode is its lone feature. Playing on Normal and Hard difficulties provides more enemies and extra levels to clear. Its presentation however really supplies an odd feeling of sincerity. You can tell the developers really cared to create a brief but thoroughly and lovingly produced piece of software that harnesses the best of its genre. The game looks and feels solidly made, anything more or less may have acted in detriment to the final solid product.
Conclusion
Pawarumi is a brief but thoroughly enjoyable visit to a world built on the best of the genre. It’s unique art design and solid gameplay make it a very appealing piece of software. Even casual fans would be able to pick up, play and challenge themselves. I myself see future visits to best my score and reattempt to see Axo’s full story!
