Game: RWBY: Arrowfell
Genre: Action, Adventure
System: Nintendo Switch (Also available on Steam (Windows) PS4, PS5, & Xbox One & Series X|S)
Developer | Publisher: WayForward | Arc System Works
Age Rating: US E10+ | EU 7+
Price: US $29.99 | UK £26.99 | EU € 29,99
Release Date: November 14th 2022
Review code used, with many thanks to WayForward.
Ah RWBY, a show that I’ve enjoyed for years. I’ll do my best to be unbiased but I really do love the animated series. RWBY: Arrowfell is a platformer where you can swap between all 4 characters to solve terrain obstacles. I know games made from licensed media can have issues but I went into my playthrough with optimism.
The Music and Art Get Me Every Time
So much of what I love about RWBY can be seen and heard in the game. In addition, the sprite design is a bit different from what the characters look like in the show they work well. The game also has fully animated scenes, which are pretty enjoyable. The music in the game is decent and even leads off with a song by Jeff Williams with vocals by Casey Lee Williams, the amazing people behind the animated series’ soundtrack. I was drawn in and ready to find everything I could in the game.
Not Everything is Perfect
The combat is acceptable for a platformer. There’s an energy bar and hearts that act as your health and fuel for ranged attacks. Energy gets depleted before hearts but also regenerated over time to a certain point. There is a melee attack, a ranged attack, a jump and a different semblance ability depending on which character is active. Ruby can dash through the air, Weiss can make a platform to jump on or shoot projectiles, Blake can clone herself to stand on switches or attack from the clone, and Yang can break specific blocks that are in the way.
Honestly, this is where it falls flat. For example, I tried to dodge using Ruby’s ability and I found myself taking damage. Yang’s entire semblance is based around the idea that the more damage she takes, the harder she will hit. But that was completely ignored in the design. Instead, most of the abilities felt more like tools created mainly for platforming instead of their real designs.
The levelling also had issues. You find skill points and each character has the same progression. Melee damage, Ranged damage, energy regeneration and defence. So I found myself just maxing out one character and just using them when I did not need a specific ability to platform. There was no real reason to switch during fights as once a character was fully levelled they were able to handle any enemy.
Spoilers!
I don’t want to talk too much about the story because it’s set between chapters of the actual animated series. If you do not like stories being spoiled I would suggest catching up with the animated series before playing this game. That being said the story is okay and had some really good high points between all of the fetch quests. The first animated cut scene made me feel like I was watching the actual show and that says something. It won’t carry the game alone but I enjoyed it.
Conclusion
I knew what I was going into and while RWBY: Arrowfell isn’t perfect, I had fun. Being a fan of RWBY certainly helped but anyone who enjoys platformers should have a good time if they pick this up. There were definitely some highs and lows but I had a blast playing it. That being said, the price is a bit steep for what it is but most licensed games are a bit more pricey.
Final Verdict: I Like it. 
