Samurai Riot: Definitive Edition Review for Nintendo Switch

Samurai Riot is a side-scrolling beat-em up game that was originally released back in 2017 on PC. Developers over at Wako Factory have created a fun little package here. It certainly feels like it had a bit of a tight budget, with its questionable animations at times. But the gameplay mechanics are solid and the overall look and presentation is pretty decent. Although I found the potential for replayability to be high, I do question if other gamers would stick around for more than a single playthrough.

As the synopsis says, you play as Sukane or Tsuruamaru, two charismatic warriors who are torn between their duty and their beliefs, and follow your own path of Honor to one of eight unique endings. That’s right, there are eight endings and there is a surprising amount of story and dialogue in-between each level. During these parts of the game, you will be confronted with choices, these choices will in turn give you that different ending but also mix up the order of the levels you play in. There are seven levels, unfortunately those seven levels don’t change depending on the choices aside from the order you play them in, which seems like a missed opportunity in my opinion. There are four difficulties to choose from, depending on your comfort level on this genre I’d probably suggest leaning towards normal or easy, where getting and losing lives are more forgiving, because if you do run out of lives you do have to start completely over.

The levels themselves are all distinct from one another and look decent enough to not gripe on too much. They can also be played solo or co-op which is always appreciated. The length of time to play through each level is around maybe ten to fifteen minutes, depending on your skill level. So, you will likely beat the game in around an hour, the extra endings do give a level of enticement to have you play “Samurai Riot” again, but like I said, I do have concerns many will be over it with just a single playthrough and this may just be something for the completionists out there. The variety in the two playable characters is fairly decent, both play very different from one another. The male is the more standard methodical samurai type, while the female is much more of an acrobatic ninja. It’s even different enough to where as the male you may throw a grenade, but as the female using that same button will summon a cute little fox companion to help fight your enemies.

I don’t have too much to say about this Samurai Riot: Definitive Edition. It’s a fine little package, while it isn’t at all in the pantheon of memorable beat-em up games, it’s certainly very serviceable and if you’re having an itch to play something in this genre then this one may scratch it for you. For a $10 price tag, you certainly won’t feel robbed of your money.

7/10

For more information, visit: https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/samurai-riot-switch/

Related: Reviews by Nick Navarro

Nick Navarro

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Gaming since I was given an original Nintendo as a kid. I love great storytelling and unique ingenuity. When both collide in a single game, I'm a happy gamer. Twitter/IG @NickNavarro87