The Big Journey Review (Nintendo Switch)

Review Code Used Many Thanks To Nestor Yavorskyy

Follow the trail of dumplings

Mr Whiskers is a very round and hungry cat who love’s all kinds of food but he has one favourite food above all other’s and that is dumplings! Specifically, dumplings made by Mr Choo. Unfortunately for Mr Whiskers, Mr Choo has gone missing!!

But what luck for Mr Whiskers and Mr Choo: Mr Choo has left a trail of dumpling’s behind. The trail leads towards the largest Mountain in the valley and Mr Whiskers takes it upon himself to follow the trail and rescue Mr Choo.

You take control of Mr Whiskers as he sets of on his journey in this roly-poly physics based puzzle/ platform game, previously released on Steam and Mobile.

Dumplings make Mr Whiskers’ world go round.

By tilting the Nintendo Switch you tilt Mr Whiskers world. Try to roll him to safety through dark caves, hot deserts, and lush green valleys.

There are 6 worlds with 30 pretty handcrafted levels for Mr Whiskers to roll and bounce around in as he follows the trail of food….mainly dumplings.

Each level has a trail of food to follow and a few challenges to complete to receive 3 stars. Challenges such as find 7 dumpling’s, collect 100 bugs and finish the level in under 5 mins. Even though the levels are timed there are no penalties for going over the time limit, other than you don’t get a star for that particular challenge.

Enemies try to steal Mr Whiskers dumplings

Levels aren’t linear so Mr Whiskers will roll back and forth across each level collecting what he needs and then you finally arrive in a lovely valley with blooming flowers which turns out to be the end of the level.

Along the way, Mr Whiskers will have to avoid enemies and obstacles who want to steal his precious dumplings. If you don’t time your jump well and Mr Whiskers hits one of them, that’s exactly what happens: he losses one dumpling (the horror of it!).

Enemies can be defeated by jump bashing them if you have timed your jump correctly. But f Mr Whiskers does lose a dumpling, you have a few seconds to get it back before it vanishes in a poof.

Each twisty twirly level is packed with nooks and crannies that lead to treats and our cats favourite food of course. You’ll encounter friendly critters who may or may not have the info Mr Whiskers is looking for on Mr Choo’s location.

Most of the critters haven’t heard of Mr Choo’s whereabouts, but a nice touch for cat lovers and collectors alike: if the critter happens to be a cat as well, then able to play as that particular cat on your next turn. Looking different, but still bouncing and rolling.

Tilting or using the L-stick

As I’ve previously said you tilt the Nintendo Switch to roll the cat around and press the A button to jump. Alternately you can use the L stick to roll the kitty around instead of tilting your Switch.

I tried both control methods and for myself. I found that using the L stick and not tilting my Switch worked best for me, though both control schemes do work fine.

The visuals are a delight to look at while rolling and bouncing your way through them. Colourful backdrops and impressive attention to detail. Levels are filled with sweeping pathways, springy mushrooms and swaying leaves.

Sound effects are cool with Mr Whiskers purring happily as he bounces around and little speech bubbles appear above the cats’ head as he rolls along with cries of “Ooof” when he hits something.

Conclusion

The Big Journey is an entertaining and amusing game, with lovely visuals, designed for kids and adults alike. It has addictive gameplay, crisp storybook visuals and a snappy soundtrack to match. This is a fun game the whole family can enjoy, even if it is a single player game.

It’s easy to pick up and play a few levels on the Nintendo Switch and for the reasonable price of a few pounds it could give a few hours of entertainment for the whole family taking turns in playing.

Verdict: I Like It