Nobody Saves The World is an action RPG from the creators of the Guacamelee series, Drinkbox Studios. After making some incredible metroidvanias, the studio tackles the ARPG genre bringing their superb art direction, memorable soundtrack, and comedy to create something new, and exciting. In our Nobody Saves The World Review we will see how well they did, and if this is another win for the talented studio.
Story and Writing
Guacamelee games are some of the funniest titles you can get on the market, and thankfully, Nobody Saves The World carries that same witty spirit. The Calamity has returned, and you are Nobody, someone who comes across a magical tool. This tool lets him change into various forms to fight that evil presence. It’s a simple enough plot, but it’s the strong writing, characters, and interactions that really sell the world.
I don’t think I’ve met a single character in the game that didn’t have something funny to say, and it wasn’t some random joke, but something contextualized by their environment, appearance, and role in the world. It’s a comedy that works, and there is obvious effort put into selling stereotypical roles with hilarious twists. Since you can switch between tons of roles, the world mostly adapts to your appearance too. Guards will refer to you by your current form. Sometimes entire quests rely on you switching forms on the go.
The strong comedic writing does a great job of creating a refreshing fantasy world, without falling into the usual tropes. All in all, there are plenty of memorable characters in the world that have some fairly unique quests, not all of which require you to be violent. I love the writing and feel like it is one of the strongest parts of this Nobody Saves The World review.
Gameplay and Controls
Nobody Saves The World uses a top-down camera that allows for movement in all directions. This is a game where you will be constantly switching forms to get the most out of their abilities. This does require getting used to its movement. Once you unlock a form, it will have certain quests, like using a specific ability to kill 50 enemies. Completing quests lets you rank up your forms and your overall level. Ranking up your current form lets you unlock new forms. After you have exhausted the quests for a form, it is required of you to play with the other ones. This is so you can not only unlock more forms but increase your character’s level as well.
The forms range from different fantasy classes, like the Guard, Ranger, to some really fun ones. These include the Rat that can go into smaller places with great speed, the Zombie that can infect, the Slug which can slow down enemies, and tons more. The forms are the selling point of the game, but you’ll be glad to know that you can have favorites. What I mean by this, is that if you really like a certain form, you can make use of it a lot. This especially holds true when you aren’t too focused on upgrading your other forms.
Now, after upgrading a few starter forms, you’ll unlock the option to mix and match abilities. I want to stress how convenient, and exceptionally this is implemented. If you want to use the secondary, or passive ability of one character for another, that doesn’t mean you’re taking it away from them. This little design choice allows you to create builds that suit you and your preference. If you like the speed of one character, but the secondary ability of another, you can have that ideal character. The game even incentivizes that by giving you quests that force you to mix and match different abilities.
Now, while most forms are great, there are ones that feel a bit OP, or just more fun to play. Sadly, the Ranger, or generally any ranged character feels a bit awkward to maneuver. It’s hard to aim around, even if you have a directional lock button. At times, the screen will be full of tons of enemies, and having to switch directions can be frustrating. This is a bit disappointing as I stopped playing with the Ranger altogether, and only played with it to upgrade it, and unlock newer forms.
Essentially, your main goal is to clear out these bigger dungeons, but since you’ll be under-leveled for most of them, you will be exploring the world, doing quests, and smaller dungeons. Similar to Zelda titles, you are free to do this in whatever order you please, and knowing that there is an end in an ARPG really helps. It never feels overwhelming, and you can finish the game in around 20-25 hours. The content in the game keeps things fresh, as you’ll be joining different guilds, doing tons of wacky side quests, and constantly meeting new characters.
Visuals and Audio
Nobody Saves The World is a gorgeous game, with some strong art direction. The entire world map is divided into different sections that feel varied, diverse, and stand out for their own visual qualities. The backgrounds are full of little details, and the world feels alive. The way shadows work in this 2D space really caught me off guard, and I enjoyed seeing how reactive the world is. Yes, you will be able to break barrels, pots, and tables, don’t worry.
I do think the enemy variety is a bit lacking, especially in the starting levels, but it makes up for how well animated and detailed everyone is. Speaking of detail, all the forms you have are incredibly different from each other. This isn’t just from a mechanical standpoint, but visually as well. The different movements and attack animations really stand out.
The music is from Jim Guthrie, who delivers a very memorable soundtrack for the entire game. Plenty of tracks, especially in dungeons really elevate the chaos going on on the screen. I appreciate the sound effects of this game quite a bit too. If you have a combat-heavy title, you really need every swing, and attack to feel like it has an impact. Everything that breaks, bursts, and explodes feels distinct enough that you never feel the same sounds repeating.
Both the visual and audio direction is a highlight of our Nobody Saves The World review.
Verdict
Nobody Saves The World is another outstanding title from Drinkbox Studios, and a worthy addition to the ARPG genre. With strong comedic writing, incredible art direction, satisfying combat, and a huge variety of forms, Nobody Saves The World manages to ease in new players, and satisfy fans of the huge genre.
While you are here, make sure to read out other reviews for recent titles like Solar Ash, Heavenly Bodies, and more.
Nobody Saves the World is coming out on PC, and Xbox Platforms. It is also available on Xbox Game Pass.
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This review is based on the PC version of Nobody Saves The World. The key was provided by Drinkbox Studios
