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EarthNight Review


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2093333394_EarthNightlogo.jpg.a76627ec4809669f3c05b8af7fa34e87.jpgSometimes it feels like the "save the world" scenario has been done to death in video games—how many more ways can a plucky hero save the planet from global destruction? Well, how about an old man and a young girl teaming up to liberate the earth from an invasion of space dragons? EarthNight from developer Cleaversoft puts this wonderfully surreal premise to good use, combining it with meticulously painted artwork and endlessly replayable autorunning gameplay thanks to its roguelike mechanics. It's one of the most unique games to hit the Switch this year, and it's also hypnotically addictive.
 
In the story of EarthNight, the planet has already been conquered by massive space dragons. The human race has been subjugated, but an old man named Stanley and a young girl named Sydney refuse to take this lying down, and instead fight back by skydiving from their orbital space ship to defeat dragons in the atmosphere and sky before reaching the big boss near the surface of the earth. It's such a delightfully bizarre premise that you can't help but be charmed by it—it's truly imaginative. Outside of the game's opening cutscene, storytelling isn't much of a priority in EarthNight, but there's still some personality and humor in the character of the (mad?) scientist who assists you on your dives by creating and upgrading power-ups. It's not much, but it keeps the game's off-kilter sense of personality alive when you're diving into the atmosphere again and again.
 
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EarthNight is an endless runner, so you only have control over a few actions. When you're on the back of a dragon you can hold left on the control stick to slow down a bit or push right to speed up, but either way you're always moving forward. More importantly you can also jump, which is pretty key since you defeat enemies by bouncing on their heads and you're able to reach platforms and other hidden paths to collect power-ups or junk items. Your ultimate goal is to reach the head of the dragon to slay it, but along the way you can pick up junk which will be converted to valuable water on your ship or grab temporary power-ups that grant things like a double jump or speed boost. Overall, the premise of the game is pretty simple: you're always moving, so avoid damage and reach the end of the dragon in one piece.
 
However, EarthNight doesn't make that so easy on you. Like most roguelike games you're expected to fail and retry for a while until you master the basics, which will let you get a little farther before you die, which will help you get better little by little, over and over. It's a simple but addictive formula, one that EarthNight manages well by making the gameplay feel challenging but still surmountable. This game doesn't have the discouraging sense of failure that other roguelikes sometimes get stuck in, and even though you do end up dying over and over the game always feels engaging.
 
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There are a couple of important aspects at play here. For one, a full run-through of EarthNight is actually pretty short. If you're able to survive it, less than thirty minutes will see you through the enitre journey, so dying halfway and losing fifteen minutes of progress doesn't feel like a huge loss. For two, the power-up system and the ability to upgrade power-ups by using valuable items picked up from each type of dragon means there's always a sort of side quest in the back of your mind while you're playing. So even if you failed to reach the end, you might have been able to collect the three red dragon eggs you needed to upgrade your double jump boots, so the run-through still feels like a win. Breadcrumb goals can be pretty important in keeping a roguelike engaging from one attempt to the next, so it's great that EarthNight keeps the player invested.
 
And the fact that each level is procedurally generated, changing the placements of platforms, power-ups, and valuable items like dragon eggs, means you always have to focus on what's ahead of you—you can't be too complacent while playing. The sense of discovery in finding new platform paths—even shortcuts to later levels and other secret areas—does wonders for keeping EarthNight engaging after dozens of attempts. Finally there's also the fact that Stanley and Sydney play differently. Stanley has a basic jump as well as a long jump, while Sydney can double jump or dash forward horizontally or at a downward angle—helpful for dodging hazards. They may not seem like huge differences but they're enough to change the way you approach each run-through and give the game further replay value.
 
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One minor complaint though is the way the loading screen tips work. You'll randomly see a tip or explanation of controls when loading a new run-through, but I'd highly recommend checking out all of the tips in the settings menu first, since there were some important details that I didn't see until after several run-throughs. It took me a while to realize that chaining bounces on enemies can actually heal you (before learning that I often prioritzed survival by avoiding enemies as much as possible), or that collecting dragon eggs will increase your damage when you attempt to kill the dragon's head. Definitely stuff worth knowing right off the bat.
 
What should be immediately clear from the screenshots is how uniquely striking EarthNight's art style is. It's vividly colorful, totally surreal, and makes you want to just watch someone else play so you can focus on the visuals instead of worrying about survival. There is, obviously, a fair bit of repetition since the nature of the game is in replaying it over and over, but the crazy graphics are fun to see time and time again. The only issue is that the game has some trouble keeping things running smoothly, and it's particularly disappointing to see frame rate hiccups in such a beautiful game. It's not a constant issue, but when there's a lot happening on screen you might see some stuttering, which is also pretty frustrating from a gameplay standpoint.
 
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The music, however, is solid all the way through. The soundtrack isn't huge but there are a lot of great songs that match the energetic, frenetic pacing of the gameplay. It's also fun to see that the game includes both a normal soundtrack and a chiptune soundtrack that you can switch between—you're even able to put the music selection on random so you don't know which version you'll get. It's a fun way of making the most of a catchy soundtrack.
 

EarthNight draws you in with it's bizarre premise and striking visuals, but you'll stay for the addictive, frantic gameplay that keeps you engaged one run-through after another. The simple formula may feel repetitive at times, but the procedurally generated levels and challenge of collecting materials to craft and upgrade equipment keeps the energy high as you dive through swarms of dragons. The frame rate hiccups are a definite disappointment, but otherwise EarthNight is a uniquely compelling autorunner.

 
Rating: 8 out of 10 Dragons
 
Review copy provided by publisher
 
EarthNight is available now on the Switch eShop for $14.99.
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