Stranger Things 3: The Game Review (Switch eShop)



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  Stranger Things 3: The Game Review - Screenshot 1 of 4

There was once a time – finally, to be more precise, there is a generation or so – licensed video games n & # 39, were not the only field of LEGO . Virtually every film had its own video game equivalent, usually doing nothing more than offering players a simple way to increase their score or their number of trophies. Of course, it was when television was the movie's low-budget cousin, so the game equivalents of your favorite shows on the box were rare.

Nowadays, television has a big budget. Dragons and excessive nudity at big budget. So we are finally starting to see some of the most popular small screen licenses leap into the world of interactive entertainment. And on paper, Stranger Things is one of the easiest translations. Located in the 80s? Check . A lot of references to nostalgia and pop culture? Check . Many monsters and splashes of horror? Square control . In short, it contains all the ingredients necessary to create a companion product of Stranger Things that truly justifies its existence.

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The Texas-based studio, BonusXP, is not * ahem * a alien to the franchise either, after developing and publishing a game based on the first season for mobile. With a descending pixel art style designed to evoke the beginnings of the NES, this role-playing / arcade game has managed to combine the fantastic storylines of character love for D & D with the adventures of the NES. horror story in which they found themselves. . Stranger Things 3: The Game is a natural evolution, with an updated aesthetic that presents a more SNES-esque presentation (we received more than a few flashbacks from the excellent Zombies Ate My Neighbors (19459007)) and an expanded approach to quest and craft.

The basic principle is the same: the entire game recreates the events of the third season, alongside some pretty scenery that is not included in the show. If you have not watched the show yet and want to avoid spoilers, we advise you to look at it before you see it redone as a sprite. Being able to see the recreated show in an interactive format will certainly appeal to those who are already crazy about this franchise, but the quests begin to get a bit repetitive after a while, as most missions are limited to "finding that key for open this door "or & # 39; turn on this generator to progress.

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You will start playing with Mike and Lucas, but you will eventually meet more familiar faces and add them to your party. Only two can be present on the screen at any time, but you can switch between the two by pressing "Down" on the D-pad or flicking through all available group members via "ZR" and "ZL" . Each character has his own weapon and special abilities. It is therefore a question of learning how to best combine their skills. Dustin, for example, uses an insect bomb for a weapon, which is ideal for hitting an enemy both at a distance and at close range. It also has the ability to hack locked doors and open keypad-sealed chests with a small QTE mini-game. As you advance through the story, you'll unlock more and more characters with ever-increasing abilities.

You can play all the game solo (the AI ​​controlling the other member of your team) or team up with some local players. cooperative action. The friendly artificial intelligence is competent enough, but most of the time, it stays up and continues to launch its own basic attack until the enemy collapses or falls. This creates a great distraction, but it can be a bit of a pain when this tactic ends up exhausting your partner's health. Playing in a local cooperative is much more enjoyable, and you can really enjoy the unique traits of each character.

Nancy's scissors scissors make her ideal for inflicting critical damage very closely, while badociating her with Lucas and her wrist from a distance. -Rocket allows you to afflict enemies even before they reach you. Some characters are a little more useful than others, but it's fun to see Hopper, Eleven and the rest of the gang included. There are 12 characters to find and use in your group, which is a nice update since the first game. You can also create (or buy) party trinkets, which imbue your team with pbadive abilities (such as increased attack or defense stats).

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As varied as these characters are, the fight itself rarely stands out from the pattern of "knocked enemies up". that they fall on ". You can block (and receive a brief attack accordingly), and use specific abilities (such as Dustin's exploding robots) to cause greater damage, but battles rarely have the same effect as hitting boxes for find objects and cash. Stranger Things really really wants to be an arcade fighter in this regard, but it's not doing enough to rise beyond these decades-old tropes.

Conclusion

Stranger Things 3: The Game isn We are not going to set gold standards for video game badociation, but it does capture all the elements that made the show of television such a phenomenon. Exploring Hawkins and interacting with the widest cast will really appeal to franchise fans, but repetitive quest designs and insidious battles can make it a hell of a walk if you have not caught the Stranger Things virus yet. Nevertheless, thanks to its attractive graphics, accessible gameplay and atmospheric synthwave soundtrack, there are probably many worse ways to spend your summer.

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