ARMS

Original, stylish, and accessible fighting game will entertain you in local multiplayer. Alas, the Arms game suffers from a desperate lack of content and functions. [Issue#274]

ARMS is a fun and creative game, but lacks the depth and precision to last as long - or remain as exciting - as we'd hoped.

Original, stylish and user-friendly combat game, that will entertain you with its gameplay in local multiplayer. But Arms suffers from a desperate lack of content and functions. Basically, there is nothing that you would expect from a full price modern combat game.

ARMS is a truly unique experience that digs into my nostalgia with games like Punch Out! I just hope the free DLC will make it feel more fleshed out. Quality cannot be argued here, but content definitely feels far too light at launch.

If you play enough Arms, you’re bound to have the occasional thrilling, close-fought bout. These brief moments are fleeting, however, and the game simply doesn’t give you enough reasons to keep coming back.

Where Splatoon's motion controls elevated the game's precision as a shooter, the motion-based fighting in ARMS reveals that Nintendo doggedly pursued one core idea and built the rest around that foundation, whether or not it was an improvement on a pre-existing genre. ARMS is nothing of the sort. Instead, it's simply different; sometimes with frustrating compromise, and other times a refreshingly unique take on fighting games. Surprisingly, there are few surprises about how the final product turned out, so if you think this game is for you, it probably is. If not, it's worth a few rounds at a friend's place or a rental — if only to see what the latest idea Nintendo thought was crazy enough that it might work, dedicated to seeing through, and delivered as a highly polished product.

Overall, ARMS is delightfully quirky, surprisingly deep and, most importantly, strikingly self-confident. Whilst its vibrant and over-the-top aesthetic might have some expecting a shallow and simplistic experience, persevering with and embracing the game's sharp initial learning curve reveals a strong-willed and very detailed gameplay core. Nintendo made the right choice in highlighting the motion controls, which is by far the best way to play.

It's hard not to admire the daringness with which Nintendo shakes up a conservative genre with the creation of this entertaining new sport.

I had a lot of fun playing the game in small bursts at a time, but it’s hard to keep invested when all I’m doing is beating someone up for each and every round. Let’s hope that ARMS will continue the path that Splatoon laid before it by giving players new content and new things to do via free game updates. I really hope so, because I really want to see this game in a more fleshed out form!

Arms is a really weird game. At its core it’s a simple, accessible fighting game with a really strong gameplay loop and room for player growth competitively, but a pair of fundamentally flawed control schemes, a lack of decent modes and a glacially slow random unlock system for items that fundamentally change how characters can function make it a really tough package to recommend. Which is a shame, because there’s such a good game in there

Arms, an exclusive game for the Switch, aims to do for the fighting genre what “Splatoon” did for multiplayer shooters: create a space for new players while enticing traditional fans with new gameplay mechanics.

So credit to Nintendo’s development teams for thinking outside the box. Unfortunately that’s about all the good I’ve got to say about Arms. I didn’t much enjoy this fighting game at all, to be honest.

Nintendo has produced a game which is occasionally elating, often frustrating, but which definitely feels like nothing we've tried before. Assuming you're willing to overlook its flaws, ARMS could be a welcome addition to your growing collection of Switch games.

After playing over 30 hours of ARMS, it is hard not to be excited to see where the community grows from here. Still, players need to understand that they are coming in on the ground level of an experimental fighting game that will only feel more rewarding as time goes on.

Part of the problem is that, outside of online rankings, there’s little in the way of long-term objectives. Players slowly earn currency while fighting that can eventually be used to unlock more arms for each of their fighters via a kind of lottery system, but it takes a long time to earn enough for even a single chance to unlock new arms. And there’s a chance you might earn arms you already have.

ARMS is a shallow yet approachable experience that could have used just a bit more depth, detail, and personality.

Stretching your limbs across the battlefield to stop an impending throw is good fun, but there's absolute anarchy when you throw in an extra body. The mediocre mini-games, and antiquated single-player further block the punch of Arms.

ARMS is without doubt a mixed bag, but its laundry list of upside and paid-off risk-taking do render it worthwhile if you crave creative and purely fun local multiplayer on Switch.

Arms has a lot to love, and unfortunately, a lot to forget too. After a year of planned updates, I imagine the Arms we see a year from now will be a drastically different game. A fuller one, at that. In the meantime, though, while it has potential with layers of depth, the core game simply doesn't have enough variety among its many arms and fighters to keep the experience feeling fresh for long.

Nintendo aims to expand the game with free updates after release, but for now Arms lays a solid foundation for the future. The vibrant cast of characters, accessible mechanics and couch friendly co-op offer a distinctive fighting game that feels right at home on the Nintendo Switch. The battles eventually become routine but offer an alternative to other complex and competitive fighting games.

Motion controllers isn’t always the best way to go, but in Arms they really add something to the gameplay. It may not be perfect – certainly not for those who prefer to play alone – but it feels like a fresh, and accessible, take on the fighting genre.

ARMS takes a fresh look at the old fighting game. By giving it the twist of friendly Nintendo games, it allows everyone to enjoy its new way of fighting each other. However, its roster of look-alikes make us think that the game certainly won't last long for the most demanding players.

Arms is a strong, substantial fighting game that takes a while to really hit its stride. Its barrier to entry is unlike anything else in the genre, but it's one worth tackling in order to get at the game's fascinating take on fighting. It may not have the same skill requirement as other fighting games, but the flexibility and fast thinking it requires secures it as one that works on its own terms and opens the genre up to a wider audience.

ARMS is a clever idea with polished core mechanics that ends up feeling underdeveloped and lacking in identity.