PROJECT NIMBUS: Complete Edition Review for Nintendo Switch

Developed by Japanese game developer GameTomo and released on the Nintendo Switch on May 16, 2019, PROJECT NIMBUS: Complete Edition is certainly a loving tribute to the mecha genre of anime. Everything about the game absolutely screams “anime aesthetic,” namely the character designs, the fact that it’s a mecha game in general, the particle effects flying all over the screen at every moment, and of course, going to space because it had to be done, complete with a giant space elevator you have to defend from other mechas.

Essentially, the conflict of the game rests on a war between the United States and the “Children of Fallen Nations,” a coalition of mainly European countries (mostly Russians), who use these mechas to fight each other and gain dominance in the wartime sphere. The conflict constantly shifts perspectives between the US (led by plucky mech pilots Morgan and Mirai), and the COFN (led by Yuliana Alexandrov and Andei). There’s also an implied connection between the two that causes them headaches when they’re on the battlefield together, kind of like Marvel Future Avengers. Suffice it to say, the story kept me interested, but it isn’t the highlight of the game. That would be the gameplay and presentation.

Speaking of the latter first, the graphics look really good. They’re very colorful, nothing struck me as distractingly low-resolution, the character portraits are nicely drawn and detailed, and I experienced almost no slowdown throughout the entire experience. The music has a very techno-meets-orchestra feel to it, especially the themes for intense battle sequences which feature a very orchestra-heavy sound to them, and it’s all pleasant to listen to, although not especially memorable. The voice acting…is very hit or miss. Some voices, like Yuliana and Oro, sound great, while others like Jennifer Carera sound rather bored and phoned-in. Ultimately, I found it serviceable, though.

But now we get to the gameplay, which is fairly simple. You control your mech with the control stick: forward goes forward, back is back, left is left, and right is right. You move up with the X button, descend with the B button (assuming this is a Nintendo Switch controller), and boost by holding ZL and pressing the direction/button input. You also have command of a bevy of weapons you can cycle through by pressing up and down on the d-pad, locking onto enemies with the R button, and firing with the ZR button. There’s also a quick select option in the form of holding said up or down d-pad element, which slows down time around you a la Ratchet and Clank’s quick select ring post-Going Commando, which prevents cheap hits while selecting your weapon. You can fire flares with the L3 button to stop missiles tracking you down, and use left on the d-pad to go into a first-person perspective, should you need it. When playing the game, generally your main goal is to destroy all the enemies, although on occasion they mix it up with an escort mission or defense mission, which keeps the gameplay fresh. All mechs on the map are marked with either green for allies, orange for enemies, and purple for important enemies, with the latter being the main thing needed to destroy to complete the mission. Your allies can help by shooting down enemies, but the majority of the work is going to be done by you. And it’s not easy!

I played PROJECT NIMBUS: Complete Edition on the hardest of three difficulties, and the enemies do not mess around. They attack quite relentlessly, they have insane amounts of health, and they move very fast which makes it rather annoying to hit them with your weapons, especially when the game throws in a time limit, which did frustrate me on occasion, namely the mission where you have to destroy a high-speed probe along with about 25 other enemies constantly shooting missiles. But it was still a rather exhilarating experience when I finally conquered the trials and advanced through the story, and that’s the hallmark of an engaging combat system. However, you can turn down the difficulty if you so choose.

Ultimately, I had a lot of fun with PROJECT NIMBUS: Complete Edition. The good story, the excellent presentation, the fun characters, the sublime gameplay, and the perfect level of challenge all kept me coming back to play it even after I had done quite a lot of playtime. I don’t see this game leaving my mind for a long time to come, and I feel extremely comfortable giving this game a recommended score. If you have the chance to play it, please do so as soon as you can. You will not regret it, I promise.

Check Out the Project Nimbus: Complete Edition Launch Trailer:

For more information on Project Nimbus: Complete Edition, please visit the official website.