Gordian Quest

Gordian Quest is a straightforward and fun game. I liked it all while I played. But I also kept wishing I was playing on my PC, which is… probably the game’s biggest weakness. It feels like a PC game ported to a console (which, let’s be real, it is) and it is a bit limited as a result of that. However, if you want the game in portable form and don’t have (or want) a Steam Deck? It’s a great addition. Sure, you will have to wrestle with the game’s interface a little bit and there will be the odd moment where you feel like something should have worked but you couldn’t see a bit of text that indicated otherwise. But the game is good enough that a bit of interface jank hardly pulls it down, in the end.

Gordian Quest runs well on Switch; it’s not the Switch’s fault I didn’t fall in love. The deck battler combat and roguelike elements are well made, carefully thought out, with good execution. But from the moment I began the tutorial I knew I was in trouble. Gordian Quest starts rocky and picks up steam, but forced grinding midway through creates a wall. The non-combat parts, like buying and selling items or mini-games, didn't appeal, and the story encounters fell short of the mark I was looking for.