Wizorb (Switch) Review

A Tedious Orbdeal

It’s always admirable to see developers go back to their roots and pay homage to some of their earliest works. Tribute Games have made a name for themselves with releases such as Flinthook, Steel Assault, and the recent TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge but their catalog dates back much further. Now, 11 years after its initial release Tribute Games presents Wizorb for Nintendo Switch. Is this title their unsung magnum opus or was it better left as a footnote in the developer’s history?

Cursed by demons, the kingdom of Gerudo is in great peril. Their knight in shining armor, Owain, never returned from his noble quest. All hope seemed to be lost until Master Wizard Cyrus arrived. Using the art of Wizorb it is up to him to fend off the demon invasion and perhaps uncover the truth behind what became of Owain. The plot plays off familiar fantasy tropes with some light twists to complement the gameplay, but there’s really nothing standout about it. Gameplay comes first here, so you won’t find much development of the plot until the very end.

Wizorb is a Breakout-style action RPG. The classic paddle and ball gameplay of Breakout and Pong returns with a few modern enhancements. The goal, like in Breakout, is simply to clear the screen of all obstacles and enemies without losing the ball. The big shakeup here is Cyrus’s magic meter. As Cyrus breaks blocks he collects vials of magic potion which can be used to cast spells, manipulating the ball and surrounding obstacles. Wizorb’s stage designs tend to lead to a slower overall game speed, with blocks that can tank multiple hits, unbreakable obstacles, mobile enemies, and status-affecting curses. The magic system attempts to counterbalance this design, but the meter is far too limited to make a substantial impact. Stages tend to drag on because of this as the ball loops the arena repeatedly missing some ill-placed bricks. Progression is further held back by the lives system. Players start with 4 balls and 3 total continues per world, if the balls run out, the player will have to redo the entire world from the beginning. This feels absurdly punishing considering worlds can take 40+ minutes to complete. I feel single-stage progression would’ve worked much better for a game with such an arcade-esque gameplay loop. Overall the gameplay suffers from a slow pace, combined with a low level of interaction from the player, leading to a lot of frustration. For a game so dependent on precision movement it’s clear console controllers aren’t the most effective control scheme.

Outside of questing, Cyrus can return to the Gerudo kingdom to help citizens rebuild. In-game currency can fund houses, landmarks, and other local services. These don’t have much of a gameplay function unfortunately and act more as a completion goal. I found that the money is better spent on upgrades during the campaign.

Wizorb’s presentation also embraces a retro style. The game’s sprite work is reminiscent of Super Nintendo RPGs, with an extra colorful and goofy shtick. Players will travel through abandoned towns, dense forests, dark mines, corrupt castles, and demonic netherworlds. While not the most original art style, everything is well-animated and easy on the eyes. The sound design on the other hand doesn’t leave much of an impression. Sound effects include the same generic beeps and boops heard in just about every retro-inspired title and the soundtrack never quite hits its stride.

While providing a few innovations to the Breakout formula, Wizorb doesn’t push its mechanics far enough to escape an unfortunate level of tedium. It’s a title fit for a precise niche, but in the grand scheme of the indie market or even just Tribute Game’s wider catalog, you can do better than Wizorb.

SCORES

GAMEPLAY - 4/10

VISUALS - 7/10

SOUND - 6/10

CONTROLS - 7/10

REPLAY VALUE - 2/10

OVERALL - 5.2/10

Learn more about Wizorb on the official Tribute Games website. A digital Switch copy was provided for review purposes. Screenshots were captured using native features of the Switch.