THE (SECOND) BEST SAMURAI GAME OF 2020!
I never watched Samurai Jack more than a single episode here and there, but I always liked the style of GenndyTartakovsky’s work. The original Star Wars: Clone Wars series was must watch television for me, and I always despised the 3D interpretations of Tartakovsky’s work when they rebooted the series so I entered this game with some trepidation. I can say visually this game captures the look of Samurai Jack well; it’s colorful and minimalist. It also had the cast return to voice cutscenes, making this an experience true to the original series.
PLATFORMS: PS4, XB1, SWITCH, PC
MSRP: $39.99
PRICE I’D PAY: $39.99
The game feels like an old PS2-era action platformer in the best ways possible. Fairly long levels with a fair amount of exploration and collectibles that maintain a good balance of combat and platforming. It is a breath of fresh air in a world filled with 40+ hour open world games to play something with more structure. The game still has leveling mechanics and the ability to purchase items, which at times may suggest returning to previous levels to earn more experience points (there’s a few different items used to gain new abilities so I don’t know what to call the combined collection of them) and money used to buy items and training which increases the power of weapons.
Jack can collect different weapons (both melee and ranged) and switching between weapons can exploit enemy weaknesses. This is where my main issue with the game comes in: the switching of weapons isn’t fluid enough to save combat from feeling monotonous. In short bursts this game is great, but over long periods it’s not as compelling as other games that feel similar, with Devil May Cry being the most obvious of comparisons in the way the game is paced. It’s by no means bad combat, and it could be far worse, it just feels dated. If the game feels like a PS2 game in the way it progresses (a good thing), it also feels like a PS2 game in the combat mechanics (which isn’t necessarily as good as it should be in 2020). There’s moments in the game where I feel like the developers acknowledge the monotony by sending out swarms of enemies that can be cut down in a single blow despite normally taking multiple hits as if to make the player feel more powerful or skilled than they really are, and while they do the job (because slicing through enemies in single blows is a lot of fun) it just makes the next time I have to fight that enemy feel like a slog.
Also, prepare to see some enemies a lot. Lots of beetle enemies. Lots of them.
I also had a slight issue with the leveling system. Defeating enemies and exploring levels would supply me with the main currency to level up as well as gemstones and other items that are used to level up later on in the skill trees but there was a mid-tier item that was doled out so frugally that I found myself feeling like I was no longer progressing.
However, don’t let my criticisms deter you from picking this game up. At $40 it has a lot to offer. I never found myself angry or bored revisiting previous levels. There’s a fair bit of content for that $40, it’s just that it isn’t perfect and one should know that going into Battle Through Time. Fans of Samurai Jack however will most likely love this game as it canonically takes place during the final season as Jack is trapped in time. I also think Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is great for both adults and kids (whilemost action games nowadays definitely leans to a predominately adult audience). Definitely check it out in that downtime between big releases as there’s plenty here to be impressed by.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
