Game: The World Next Door
Genre: Action, Adventure (Puzzle)
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Steam)
Developer|Publisher: Rose City Games | VIZ Media
Age Rating: 12
Price: UK £7.29
Release Date: 28th March 2019
Review code used, with many thanks to VIZ Media
Although the World next Door is not my typical genre of choice, I am so glad I decided to try this game. It was very much worth it. A fun, different take on the match 3 games out there from what I’ve seen personally.
You start with the introduction to your world, Earth, and the parallel world of Emrys. You play as Jun from Earth, crossing through the portal between the worlds. You meet old friends and new ones as you travel and explore the places laid out for you.
Gameplay
The match 3 battle system implemented in this game is spot on in my opinion. Running around the enemies as they try to hit you, connecting a bunch of one colour tiles together and then shoving it right in their faces made me feel soooooo good! You dash over the tiles and press a button to ‘grab’ a tile, and then go to where you want it to be and press the button again and they swap! Activating the tiles triggers your attacks, each colour is a specific attack, so when you’ve learnt what they represent, your fighting strategy gets better.
The exploration is an edge of screen style movement, run to the edge of the screen and you’ll move to the next room or area. Make sure to pick up all the side quests as you move around, it adds to the colour of the game, learning about the people of the world.
Sound and Graphics
Oh my, the music, so smooth..! It was calming and soothing and yet tense in all the right places, I was pleasantly surprised by how good the soundtrack is for this little gem.
And the art work! Each character is so well built and thought out, the buildings and the background are so intricate and well made. I loved the artistic style of the characters, are all so adorable in their own unique way, I found myself getting attached to them even in the short space of time I played this in.
Difficulty
Once you get your mind down on the different tiles, the battles are quite fun. I died a few times if I’m honest, but I learnt from my mistakes and came out on top after trying again. There shouldn’t be any problem with story lines or side quests, it’s all nicely laid out for you.
Some of the puzzles on the other hand, I don’t think I’m stupid or anything but man, did some of those puzzles have me scratching my head in thought. They take some thinking about, some trial and error in some cases, but they were enjoyable whilst being challenging for me.
Conclusion
I would say I liked this game, it was a fun few hours of my time spent on a little adventure puzzle game. I would recommend this to someone that has a few hours spare, or wants something they can pick up for a few minutes at a time. Either way, I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did if you do.
Final Verdict: I like It 
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