ICEY

ICEY is an excellent action game with a great combat system. Although it doesn't last many hours, its incredible story will surprise you.

ICEY successfully joins 2D platforms, RPG elements and some amazing combat moments. Thanks to its humour-filled narration and to a fluid an intense combat system and marvelous visual environment, Icey manages to stand out in a very good way within the Nintendo Switch catalogue. While its lifespan could certainly be longer, the game's humorous interactions help offsetting this flaw.

ICEY is a great, if short, game that you will most certainly remember once you have put it to rest. Its clever and interesting take on both the genre and gaming, in general, keeps the surprises coming long after you have finished it. With combat being its main focus, the game is fun and satisfying with plenty of room to experiment and play about with. In any case, it’s definitely worth a punt if you have money to spare on your Nintendo eShop account.

Icey is a good action game, showing great visuals and and intuitive yet entertaining gameplay. However, its repetitive nature can push the player's patience to its limit.

Coming in at $9.99 USD, Icey delivers a fantastic 2D brawler with satisfying combos and hard-hitting combat. It’s multi-branching paths give you more story with the meta-narrative, but doesn’t quite flesh out all of the parts into a cohesive whole. But, at the end of the day, we play beat’em ups to do just that.

Battling your way through screens of mechanical enemies to reach the final boss won’t take very much time at all, but exploring the compact yet detailed world around you is enjoyable. Hidden are some thought-provoking snippets of narrative that touch on the hardships of developing games, for example, and the clever delivery of its storytelling is, at times, ingenious. However, the simplistic approach to battle and a confusing and convoluted story plot could prove bothersome for some who are looking for something a little more in-depth.

Furiously choreographed battles embedded an interesting story questioning the relationship between developer and player. The pacing is off sometimes, though.

Assuming that limited playtime isn’t enough to dissuade you, ICEY is a good game that balances its ambitions and its gameplay very well so it manages to stand out in an increasingly crowded eShop.

If you’re looking for an exciting 2D action game, ICEY is not it. However, if disobeying orders sounds fun, ICEY is all about that. In the end, it’s a game that actively wants you to break its rules.

ICEY has a lot going for it; the combat is fun, the story and writing smart, plus it has some great designs and animations. It's definitely an enjoyable little addition to the libraries of Switch players, but its flaws are evident to see. If only it was a little longer, or had a bit more of a replayability factor, and if only the voice acting was better... Still, more than just a good game, and well worth checking out.

This Switch port is non-offensive, but several of the coding and error window effects were definitely intended for PC. Still, ICEY is fine. If you are seeking a short, functional, and fundamentally different experience, then you will find a lot to love. If you want a traditional story, a long adventure, or lots of action-packed gameplay, then search elsewhere.