When I learned that Rain Games were fellow Norwegians, I was even more intrigued when I sat down to play World to the West. As an independent video game company, they already have the renowned 2D puzzle game Teslagrad from 2013 on their backs. Placed in the same world as the aforementioned, World to the West is an action-adventure game where you actively play with four different characters, each with their own unique story, which eventually leads them to crossing paths and working together to fulfil a mysterious quest.
World To The West Review [Nintendo Switch]
Playing as Lumina, Knaus, Miss Teri, and Lord Clonington, these are characters with unique personalities, unique abilities, coming from different parts of the world. They come together in lovely harmony. The game is split into chapters, where each of them represents a new part of a character’s story. After playing some levels to get to know the characters and their abilities, they are eventually put together as a powerful team and are set to go out on more adventures.
So, we learn that they are a part of a mysterious quest, they are even pictured together on a totem pole, which functions as a checkpoint as well as a teleporting system. With this, you have the ability to teleport from totem to totem, for more convenient fast-travel around the map.
As the different levels usually require using several characters, they are not always as immediately available as I would like. When you teleport one character to a totem pole, the rest of the gang doesn’t automatically follow; and you don’t have the choice to select one or several characters to teleport either – so you have to teleport each character separately. Sadly, this mechanic gets a little bit tedious after a while, and the switching system might be the game’s largest flaw.
Seeing past that, World to the West is a visually charming and beautiful game. The scenery is vivid and alive with colors, and the details are simplistic, yet pretty. The levels underground were a bit challenging because of the lack of lights, and they got a tad too dark at times – I had some troubles seeing where I was going. But all my troubles were gone once I got back on the surface!
The story is well-written, and the characters’ commentaries are cute and funny – there’s an emphasis on the personality of each character. In addition to having their own unique skill set, they are fit to embark on adventures, fighting creatures and solving puzzles. It’s not as responsive as I would have wished, however – for example, when I played as Lumina, her dash was often slightly delayed, which meant that solving puzzles became very difficult.
The world is fairly big, so there are plenty of adventures to explore within the game. The cutscenes also grab the opportunity to show the beauty of the world in the game. The scenery is beautiful, and I love the art style. With that said, Rain Games definitely knows how to make a proper gaming title, albeit with a few flaws.