Chipmonk developed by Niemi Bros Entertainment and published by QUByte Interactive is now available on PlayStation 4/5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S Xbox One and PC. A Nintendo Switch code was kindly provided by the developers for us to check it out. Here are my thoughts.
Chipmonk is an action fighting game, similar to the Golden Axe and the Streets of Rage series except you’re now a rodent on a quest for vengeance. It all starts when the gluttonous gray squirrel has stolen all the land’s food stores which is affecting the animals of the forest. Players will embark on this epic quest, either as Grey, Cheeks or Red who each have individual and fun powers that are entertaining to use. The objective is to recover the stolen food and restore peace to the forest once and for all. The story here isn’t in your face as much as some games, you learn of the objective and then start fighting onwards to save the forest, rather than having story filler between scenes. This feels like a game that is based on its gameplay first, however, the Little Vengeance story is quite an interesting one that is easy to understand for those looking for a more story-lite game.
The gameplay is where Chipmonk shines the most, as mentioned above it is quite nostalgic, similar to games like Golden Axe and Streets of Rage. Players are offered multiple modes Adventure, Duel and Onslaught. In Adventure, you’ll take on the original story, either solo or with multiple players, Duel for some 1 on-1 action, and finally Onslaught where you will be pitted against waves of enemies. One of my highlights was being able to do this all in multiplayer, it is a really nice game just to sit down with someone and fight through the game. Chipmonk offers a host of characters to choose from as mentioned above, each with different abilities and styles, I personally loved Grey the most with his powers of the ocean, one of his powers makes it rain whales which is strange but hilarious. While traversing the levels you’ll see lots of different enemy types each with different abilities, you’ll have to learn as you go which strategy will be best for each enemy which I really enjoyed, it never felt like I was just button-bashing and hoping for the best. Each level has its little quirks, I especially enjoyed the level going through a river or lake, each gives you different challenges which kept the game fresh.
Chipmonk really shines with its graphical design, I can’t stress enough how good Chipmonk looks, it really takes me back to my SEGA days with its retro feel. Each level you go to is designed in certain ways that really just amplify its already fun feel. From medieval villages to lakes, forests and beaches, it all looks and feels so unique and runs perfectly smooth on the Nintendo Switch. The enemy and character design is also fantastic, each enemy from the forest you face looks and feels different which offers up a lot of variety, but none of it felt copied and pasted. Audibly the game never fails, I love each and every song that comes on, it aids the gameplay so well, and yes sorry, I’m mentioning nostalgic again, but Chipmonk really captures it so perfectly well, even the combat sounds just like side-scrollers of old.
Verdict
Chipmonk is a fun and exciting look to the past, while short, it does offer a bunch of modes for players to try either solo or with others and with such a low price, I can’t recommend it enough if you enjoy side-scrollers. I ran into no issues during my playthrough; exploring the game was a fun experience.
9/10
Where to buy:
PlayStation – HERE
Steam – HERE
Nintendo Switch – HERE
Xbox – HERE
If you liked our review, why not check our previous review of The Walking Dead – Chapter 2: Saints and Sinners HERE?
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