Ninjala: The colorful and confusing conflict of Fortnite and Splatoon

I can’t even start to imagine how developers are now trying to bring another battle royale to market.

In the case of developer GungHo, it seems that they took the last-person fun of Fortnite and merged it with the neon-like chaos of Splatoon. The result is the crazy free game “Ninjala“, this new game successfully (perhaps inexplicably) imitates many of the magic of other games, but somehow managed to cultivate its own curiosity.

Although its appearance and sound resemble the game from which it drew inspiration, Ninjala peculiar fighting technician undoubtedly stands out. In order to maintain its PG veneer, our pint-sized ninja does not use guns or swords to fight, but uses foam katakana and yo-yos and novel bats to cause damage, and uses its er ninja gum for ultimate attacks and skill shooting.

There are three PvP modes to choose from. “Quick battle” eight-player battle royale, “Ninja War” allows you to set your own scenes-and rules-for unlevel fun, “room battle” is exactly the same as battle royale, but you play 4v4. There are only eight ninjas in each hall, which sounds quieter than the battle royale you would normally expect, but Ninjala

The problem is that there are too many reasons that cannot be explained. Yes, there is a teaching mode where you can experiment with weapons and special abilities, but some of the learning comes from watching links to granular YouTube videos in the game, while others are just obtained through trial and error. For example, the game tells about the importance of smashing drones-they will recharge your S-gauge so that you can use ninja gum to shape larger weapons-but it cannot notify you of the pop-up prompt that you and the enemy are trying to simultaneously Perform the same action. It makes your first few battles confusing and unbelievable.

In addition, matchmaking feels unbalanced unnecessarily. In my first contact, I matched up with competitors ranked 6, 9 and 11. In my second contact, I was rivaling 12ers and 14ers class competitors. If Ninjala is a traditional battle royale game that balances the odds, it doesn’t matter, so every player starts the game with the same equipment (or lack of equipment), but since many of your battle strategies are learned dynamically, The higher your level, the more things you can unlock-enabling you to find the weapon that best suits your play style-inexperienced players have little chance to compete with those who have already discovered their own weapons.

Therefore, this will make some early (and even more regrettable) rounds unbelievable, sultry flushing and repetitive production and elimination, without the opportunity to try your skills and special moves to build little motivation.

That is, killing-oh, I mean knockout-is not the only way to improve your score. At the end of each round, the player who destroys the most drones and the player who gets the most IPPON (executing the elimination round in a particularly peculiar way) will also receive heavy rewards. This makes the test load crucial, because the more impressive your combo, the better your chances of getting the most important bonus at the end of the game.

Although it is not particularly adventurous-the previous episode asked me to guard the school bus, the other episode was in the isolation zone until I destroyed all traces of the nasty space ninja, and then moved on and did exactly the same thing again-the final battle Pleasant, full of color and chaos. You are holding a huge Coke bottle-think of Mr. Staytay from Ghostbusters, where you are-a long snake-like blue tongue stretches a few blocks. This is a crazy, crazy battle, full of opportunities to sprint and sneak to gain tactical advantage. Unfortunately, you are forced to play the default role of Van instead of your own personalized ninja.

Gum and bass.

I admit that everything is too noisy for me. Palette. sound effect. User Interface. The fight itself. I appreciate that this game has no one who likes to play like me (you are looking for someone who is transplanting every black flower blooming on the island of “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” to create a custom gothic garden) , But I want to know how children who desire Fortnite can manage complex UI and combat systems. These children will undoubtedly be attracted by cartoon visuals, lively scores and zero price tags.

Coupled with irregular pairings, it is difficult to recommend Ninjala without having to bear all the warnings first. Yes, it has gorgeous aesthetics and cute conceit. Yes, the whole idea of ​​building a secret ninja school with ninja gum is also very new and interesting. But despite all its promises, with the exception of the highly truncated story mode currently locked behind the pay gate, Ninjala is a superficial experience in terms of all its polishes and neon paint, and it’s not playable. As interesting as it seems.