"Utopia 9"

"Utopia 9"

Reviewed By: Carless Yen

Publisher: WhaleGun

Developer: WhaleGun

Platforms: Steam and Switch

Utopia 9 is a roguelike twin stick shooter sort of like another we reviewed this week "The Walking Vegetables". You have one life, and if you die you start over. The big difference with this one is your old character becomes a nemesis. A stronger version of your previous character, and if you can defeat him you retrieve your previous gear from that character. He stays in the same area as well so you know where to find him easy. So that is good because Utopia9 is loaded with tons of different shields, weapons, and armors 40 plus weapons to be exact..Only thing is you really end up choosing the same, because the difference is really not that noticeable, and they all seem kind of bland. To be honest a lot of the unlockables do not really seem to matter. It was one of the things that kind of ruined it for me. It just feels like there isn't much unlockable content, so the replay value just isn't there. There are also mutations that grant you different skills making you stronger as you go. It has Procedurally generated levels so it stays feeling fresh, and different each playthrough. The thing is they all kind of look and feel the same still. Another thing is the ending it really isn't all that satisfying either, and neither is the boss battles. Maybe it is the Switch port, because I've see n decent reviews for it on the PC. It just didn't blow me away on the Switch. Even the controls seemed kind of off on it.

Games like this usually have some pretty cool 8bit songs but that isn't here on this either. It's just like a bland emptiness. Same goes with the look. It just isn't that appealing. The camera seems to high, and most the enemies just look like random colored blobs. I hate to be so critical of someone's art, but Utopia9 just really didn't do it for me. I found myself hoping to just finish it , and be done with it for most parts. I had no one to play with, and it does have 4 player couch coop that may have added something to it, but I truly doubt it. I feel most the fun would probably just come from gaming with friends.

Maybe its just fatigue from playing another roguelike twin shooter before this one, and I'm being overly critical. It really doesn't feel that way though. It really feels to me Utopia9 lacks depth on the Switch anyways. I can't speak for the Steam version. I became bored with it rather quickly which sucks, because from watching trailers and reading reviews I was a little excited to play it. The trailer actually shows more of a cartoon fun looking idea that doesn't really show in the game.In the end, maybe they would have added some cut scenes like that to game or even ending might have felt better, though it just left me wanting more, and not in a good way.

Pros: It has couch Coop

Procedurally generated levels

Unique Idea your old character becomes Nemesis

Cons: No catchy soundtrack

Level designs not that amazing

Not much content, everything feels kind of bland

Ending and Bosses kind of stale

Overall: 5.0 The game isn't bad really, it just isn't that great. It all comes off kind of bland and stale, and makes you question yourself, because there are alot of better twin stick roguelike games you could be playing on the Switch like "The Binding of Issac".