Author: Rich Meister
I’m an avid fan of Drinkbox Studios. From both Guacamelee games and the criminally underrated Severed, this studio has never missed and their newest release, Nobody Saves the World, is no exception. Their traditional mix of deadpan humor and addictive gameplay is a delight to play, even if certain ends of it hold up better than others.
Nobody Saves the World(Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, Pc, Gamepass)
Developer: Drinkbox Studios
Publisher: Drinkbox Studios
Released: December 3, 2021
MSRP: $24.99 (included as part of Gamepass)
In Nobody Saves the World, you play as the titular Nobody, a literal blank canvas of a humanoid lacking even eyes who finds himself thrust into the role of hero when the world’s archmage goes missing, and his subordinates are too idiotic to take charge in time. You snag the mage's wand and use it to transform into various forms to fight baddies in this dungeon-filled world.
These forms range from your basic Ranger and Rogue to a Horse, a Zombie, and even a Body Builder. You haven’t experienced pure bliss until you’ve walked backward as a horse through a dungeon kicking everything in sight.
The loop is deceptively simple; every move a form can use has one of three unique damage types. Some enemies are weak to a specific damage type while they might be utterly immune to another. You’ll have to balance this triangle of attack types while also switching forms on the fly to act efficiently. Still, the real fun comes in how Drinkbox successfully turns a grind into the main gameplay loop and manages to make it unbelievably fun.
Every form comes packed with form quests that allow you to level up your existing forms and simultaneously unlock others. You can also mix and match the abilities of the forms to make unique builds that suit the needs of the enemies you’re currently facing. For example, combining the Horse’s gallop ability with the Turtle form turns the water-based slowpoke into the fastest way to traverse the rivers of the overworld.
Nobody Save’s the World’s progression is simple and repetitive. Still, by constantly evolving and constantly rewarding the player, it manages to keep you engaged without ever shaking things up too much. You move from dungeon to dungeon in the Zelda-like overworld bashing in baddies and taking on optional objectives until you feel strong enough to move onto the next area. The only fundamental flaw in the world’s structure is that it can feel a little aimless. It’s easy enough to get displaced or distracted by either too punishing or untraversable areas early on.
Dungeons are procedurally generated, but opening and ending areas are typically stuck to a specific format, and you’ll see a particular floor layout repeated. Still, it’s not just level design with a random element, but gameplay elements can be randomized. For example, you might get stuck bashing your head against an enemy ward combo that is too much for the forms and abilities you currently possess.
Drinkbox has its typical and surreal, almost Ren and Stimpy-inspired art design on full display here, and the characters and overworld are a delight to take in. The deadpan humor is more of a miss for me, but your mileage on that may vary. I was spamming my way through the dialogue just to get back to wiping out hordes of enemies by the end, but I won’t begrudge anyone for getting a chuckle out of these interactions.
Verdict: Nobody Saves the World is another win for Drinkbox Studios. While the humor and tone might fall short, the gameplay delivers a steady feed of dopamine that turns a grindfest into some of the most fun I’ve had with a game so far this year. Don’t sleep on this one.
Buy it
[This review is based on a retail build of the game purchased by the reviewer]