Nine Parchments

 Switch
User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 55 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 55
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 55
  3. Negative: 10 out of 55

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  1. Joshua123
    Dec 5, 2017
    9
    I see this game as Magicka if the spell selection was NOT clunky. The adventure was a blast, and the characters were likable. Granted, the single-player mode was a bit frustrating at times, but not so much that I had to rage-quit. Besides, it was worth it just to at least TRY to unlock all the characters and staves. Wanted to play a game similar to both Trine and Magicka on the NintendoI see this game as Magicka if the spell selection was NOT clunky. The adventure was a blast, and the characters were likable. Granted, the single-player mode was a bit frustrating at times, but not so much that I had to rage-quit. Besides, it was worth it just to at least TRY to unlock all the characters and staves. Wanted to play a game similar to both Trine and Magicka on the Nintendo Switch? Go for this game; you won't be disappointed.… Expand
  2. DigitalCaffeine
    Dec 11, 2017
    7
    So close to being so damn good!

    Overall, I'm pretty happy with my purchase of this game. For $20, your'e getting a gorgeous magic-filled dungeon crawler that you can take on the go. The combat can be punishing at first, but once you learn how to evade the enemies various attacks you can really start to fly through the levels with no trouble. I have spent time both playing alone and    So close to being so damn good!

    Overall, I'm pretty happy with my purchase of this game. For $20, your'e getting a gorgeous magic-filled dungeon crawler that you can take on the go. The combat can be punishing at first, but once you learn how to evade the enemies various attacks you can really start to fly through the levels with no trouble. I have spent time both playing alone and online with others, and online is definitely the way to go if you can.

    There are a couple points of frustration in Nine Parchments, and they're seriously ruining what would otherwise be an amazing experience. The communication while playing online limits you to a couple of odd phrases that fall short of conveying anything close to what you want to relay to your online teammates. Did your party almost wipe during a boss fight but a single player managed to survive long enough to revive the entire team? Too bad your only way of saying "thank you" on your chosen character is limited to "_____ is polite." Customization for quick communication would go a long way to helping coordinate or express strategies in and outside of battles.

    Secondly, and the single most frustrating part about this game, is the progression system of levels in the game. Say you've been adventuring alone and offline for a few hours, but then a friend (or little brother who lives far away in my case) texts to play with you. If you jump into a new run online with him, those hours you just put in by yourself are GONE. Your character's level and skill tree remains, but you have to start over from the academy again. I don't understand why there isn't an option to start from later levels if you've already completed them with that specific character. It honestly feels like you're being punished for switching modes like this. The only semi work-around I've found for this is to host an online match, wait for someone to join, then use that as my only point of progression. People can drop in and out, friends can join, but you can still continue to play alone. Just don't leave the house though, or you'll have to switch to offline mode and you'll lose your spot again.

    Honestly, I would easily give this game a 9 and recommend it to more of my friends if they fixed the above, but as it stands, I don't want them to be stuck with the same frustrations.    … Expand
  3. AreDaneel
    Dec 26, 2017
    5
    Unfortunate is the best description of the game. It feels like there is a great co-op game here but all of it's cons hold it back.

    First, the game is incredibly linear. Each stage is a straight line from combat encounter to combat encounter. There is NO exploration. There are no branching paths. The two types of secrets (quills and chests) are simply hidden in the scenery as    Unfortunate is the best description of the game. It feels like there is a great co-op game here but all of it's cons hold it back.

    First, the game is incredibly linear. Each stage is a straight line from combat encounter to combat encounter. There is NO exploration. There are no branching paths. The two types of secrets (quills and chests) are simply hidden in the scenery as opposed to secrets you have to go searching for. This leads to the game feeling like a slog. The design of enemies would look fantastic but they all are monochrome to indicate elemental type so every combat feels like a mild variant of the same thing. After each combat you simply walk to the next. Wash, rinse, repeat.

    Second, character progression feels non-existent. In theory, you will add small increments to spellpower, decrease cooldowns, improve resistances, etc... but after 15 levels I couldn't tell you how my character had improved. I felt I was slowly aiming him towards someone who traded strength for rapid fire cooldowns, but in actual game play he seemed to act the same way he did at the start of the game.

    Finally, the one large change in gameplay, acquiring new spells from the titular nine parchments, can deadlock you into an ineffective build. For example, my wife did not choose the one chance out of three to gain a fire spell. The game went from challenging but fairly difficult to an exercise in futility once we reached the snow level where a bulk of enemies were of the Ice type. We rage quit, and as parents whose entertainment time is limited I don't know if we'll go back to something that is more frustrating than fun.

    It's a shame, because the actual combat of the game is fun. Managing your spells and having to work as a team to figure out each individual combat was enjoyable, but ultimately the linear tediousness of walking from similar combat to similar combat, punctuated every hour or so with a boss fight and a new spell isn't enough to keep me interested.    … Expand
  4. Nahna
    Feb 29, 2020
    10
    Do you want a game to have FUN? Enjoy a CHALLENGE? Couch and online coop? Nice visuals and soundtrack? You will find this in this game, just give it a chance. I promise you.
  5. Voodooseeker
    Dec 5, 2017
    10
    A wonderful dungeon-crawler game...full of magic, colours, cool characters, awesome scenary ect. - Sometimes it feels like a meeting of Diablo 3 and a very colourful magic box - and I like it very much. The soundscape....ohhhh adventure music of it's own, just the way it should be.
    The game offers a okay single player story (you just want to unlock hats, staffs, spells, toons....) and    A wonderful dungeon-crawler game...full of magic, colours, cool characters, awesome scenary ect. - Sometimes it feels like a meeting of Diablo 3 and a very colourful magic box - and I like it very much. The soundscape....ohhhh adventure music of it's own, just the way it should be.
    The game offers a okay single player story (you just want to unlock hats, staffs, spells, toons....) and then the game offers a huge various options for local play or online, with/without friends.
    Very good job from Frozenbyte indeed - thank you for bringing this gem of a game to the Nintendo Switch. I'm looking forward for more content in 2018 :)    … Expand
  6. ConsumerBatman
    Dec 6, 2017
    9
    Okay, I don't think this review is premature.

    I put an hour into the demo. I downloaded it last night, and played another hour this morning. This gorgeous, mythical, mysterious world that Frozenbyte has created, and how the characters interact with it... it's engrossing. It's SERIOUSLY engrossing. Now, I'm not gonna misrepresent the game and say it's as engrossing as a AAA game. I    Okay, I don't think this review is premature.

    I put an hour into the demo. I downloaded it last night, and played another hour this morning. This gorgeous, mythical, mysterious world that Frozenbyte has created, and how the characters interact with it... it's engrossing. It's SERIOUSLY engrossing.

    Now, I'm not gonna misrepresent the game and say it's as engrossing as a AAA game. I am, however, getting some solid Diablo 3 vibes off of it. So, think Diablo 3... but at Hogwarts. If you're a Harry Potter fan ALONE, this game is a recommended instant buy. Buy it now.

    The game does have some fair flaws. I haven't played multiplayer yet, but in reviewing the dual joy con setup, it will be a bit difficult to control using one joy con each. I appreciate the "last chance", and that you can keep track of deaths, and friendly fire, etc. That said... it's kind of stupid that just falling into water IMMEDIATELY kills you.

    Seriously? Students who are immersed in study can't just learn how to swim? I know that instant water death worked well in the NES, Genesis, and SNES days, but it seems unnecessary here. Maybe a breath meter or something? But I can also acknowledge the additional sprite and model work that would be required to change this. I also can't say I care for how easy it is to fall into some pits that also insta-kill.

    This game is good. Seriously good. I think I found ONE parchment, with ONE wizard, and it's already worth the $20. I hope they make DLC. I hope this becomes a series. :)    … Expand
  7. itsamonster
    Dec 10, 2017
    5
    A good idea executed poorly.

    I played the demo of this magic oriented dungeon crawler a few days before launch, and I thought it could be a great game. I decided that it was worth the risk, and bought the game on launch. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the game does not live up to its potential, and the promise of the demo. I played online with a friend, and while the combat is fairly    A good idea executed poorly.

    I played the demo of this magic oriented dungeon crawler a few days before launch, and I thought it could be a great game. I decided that it was worth the risk, and bought the game on launch. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the game does not live up to its potential, and the promise of the demo.

    I played online with a friend, and while the combat is fairly fun, it gets repetitive quickly, and the maps are boring and even more repetitive. The environments, while visually quite pretty, are full of invisible walls and unseeable drops.

    Even more unfortunately, during my time with the game I experienced many bugs, including the inexplicable loss of all my unlocked characters (which amounts to around 8 hours of play time). And let me tell you, playing through the single player mode as I did, to unlock the characters, is really more of a chore than a game.

    If the game was more polished and free of bugs, I would give the gameplay experience of multiplayer a 7/10. For the single player, I would give it a 5/10.

    However, in its current state, I have to take the average of these two and remove a point for the many instances of frustration that I've had with this disappointing game- making it a 5/10 for me. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, unless you really think you will love it.    … Expand
  8. helpMeHelpYou
    Jan 29, 2018
    1
    The graphics look very good, its a decent game to play, BUT:

    After several hours of single player mode I wanted to try out the online player. Its NOT fun at all since your spells can damage your teammates and to be honest, most of the time there is too much going on on the screen so it gets confusing very quick. You have to watch out for enemies, select your spells, figure out where    The graphics look very good, its a decent game to play, BUT:

    After several hours of single player mode I wanted to try out the online player. Its NOT fun at all since your spells can damage your teammates and to be honest, most of the time there is too much going on on the screen so it gets confusing very quick. You have to watch out for enemies, select your spells, figure out where your own character is AND take care that you dont kill your buddies. The worst part: After starting online player once, your single player progess IS GONE. COMPLETELY GONE WITHOUT ANY WARNING OR EXPLANATION.

    You have to start a new single player campaign and start all over again. This is so frustrating and honestly I dont want to start over again because I tried out online player. This is BS!    … Expand
  9. TheFlannelFox
    Dec 6, 2017
    7
    OH SPELL YEA!

    Beginning as a young wizard learning your trade, there is an explosion that blows a hole in the side of your school. Sending Nine Parchments across the enemy ridden world, which you must explore to track them down. With gameplay reminiscent of the Diablo series with a twist, you aim your spells with the right joystick, then use them with the right Z button. Similar to    OH SPELL YEA!

    Beginning as a young wizard learning your trade, there is an explosion that blows a hole in the side of your school. Sending Nine Parchments across the enemy ridden world, which you must explore to track them down.

    With gameplay reminiscent of the Diablo series with a twist, you aim your spells with the right joystick, then use them with the right Z button. Similar to many twin stick shooters. However, when in the thick of it, it doesn’t feel like a basic twin stick shooter. You rotate between your varying array of spells with the L and R buttons and they have many different uses. Some you throw by tapping RZ, then tap again to have it land in a specific spot, while others such as fireballs you tap RZ for each projectile, then for elemental beams you hold RZ while aiming.
    Aside from attack style, each spell also has an elemental class. Lightning, fire, ice, or dark magic, with correspond to enemies. Fighting an ice demon, be sure to use your fireballs, because it will be immune to your ice magic. Which when enemies spawn a mixture of elemental classes you fire yourself strategically plate spinning through your tool kit of spells. When everything flows perfectly you feel like you're conducting an orchestra of magic to clear the battlefield.
    As you progress you level up which provides skill points that you can spend to upgrade your skills. You find staffs which can either be used for melee damage using LZ or choose the staff with helpful perks according to your gameplay style. Along with hats which are purely visual candy, but with each parchment you find you have the choice to add one of three spells. They are added to your artillery for that current play through. Also they will be able available with newly unlocked characters in future play through as a beginning spell.

    The Switching Hour
    When Switching from handheld mode to docked mode playing with a pro controller, there is an issue. While the Switch console recognizes the controller change, Nine Parchments does not. To explain a little further, you can’t move your character, press pause or anything in game. But you can use the HOME button to exit, close the game, then restart with your new controller of choice. Which is the only work around for docking, as I normally play during my commute then play docked when I return home. This caused some issues as I’m still learning the progression and layout of the game and accidentally restarted my playthrough, which is a huge bummer because I was halfway through with my first cornelius run and was having a blast.

    They shall not pass!
    Nine Parchments was designed as a co-op and multiplayer focused game with the option for a single player game, but that is not the peak experience. However, given that a lot play in handheld mode, where you may not have access to the internet or friends willing to invest the proper amount of time into a grindy RPG. Most of my time was spent in single player mode and while the co-op and multiplayer mode is fun, it doesn’t pick me up on the level I left off when in single player mode. In fact you abandon your progress in single player playthroughs in order to play multiplayer, so if you want twenty minutes of fun multiplayer action, you have to give up on the 5 hours you've already put into your single player game. Which is quite disheartening, when you have to play through the beginning of the campaign again and again and again. I wish I could warp to worlds already cleared by a certain character in order to complete the campaign as each of them.

    Nine Parchments is an addictive action RPG, that when in the zone, feels amazing. However some very serious control connection issues, that hopefully will be patched out in near future and a confusing game progression; that constantly bumps you back to square just one for trying a different game mode. Leaves me feeling torn between what I hope the game could be and what it is now. While I will keep an ear to the ground awaiting future updates, the bread and butter of Nine Parchments is so solid. Bouncing from elemental spell to elemental spell, slaying ice, fire, and lightning creatures then leveling up, collecting new spells, and unlocking new characters. This Diablo like will keep my hooked for quite a while longer.

    Watch my video review on YouTube channel TheFlannelFox    … Expand
  10. Schibes
    Dec 6, 2017
    6
    I got this game for Switch yesterday on its release day and am through about a third of the main story so far. Unfortunately I can only give it 6/10.

    Pros are: Gorgeous and colorful graphics Good control scheme, reminds me of a twin stick shooter Good voice acting, what little of it there is Interesting boss encounters Only $20 Cons are: Crappy loot (just staves, hats don't    I got this game for Switch yesterday on its release day and am through about a third of the main story so far. Unfortunately I can only give it 6/10.

    Pros are:

    Gorgeous and colorful graphics
    Good control scheme, reminds me of a twin stick shooter
    Good voice acting, what little of it there is
    Interesting boss encounters
    Only $20

    Cons are:

    Crappy loot (just staves, hats don't do anything). Treasure chests almost always give hats or very small chunks of XP so are all but pointless. I'm not asking for a Diablo 3 clone here - just a little bit more in the way of itemization. How about some robes? Or magic charms/orbs? None to be found anywhere. Just hats and staves.
    Some poorly designed spells - basically all the "orb" ones which have you chuck a ball of magic across the screen, you can't control how far they go and unless you bank them off a cliff they will almost always fly offscreen somewhere useless
    Merciless difficulty curve for co-op - from the very first level, gigantic fire breathing monsters run rampant and one-shot you and your friends. If YOU don't kill your friends first, with friendly fire. The default characters suck and can barely fight their way out of a paper bag. If you value your friends and want to keep them, best to unlock some better characters in single player first, level them up, and equip better gear before inviting friends over for couch co-op
    Repetitive enemies - aside from the bosses, all the enemies I've seen so far are either "taken em out head on with the opposite element" or "blink through them and shoot them in the ass". I'm only 1/3 of the way thru the game but that's literally all I've seen so far. Of course it's exciting when there's 7 of them on the screen and you have to decide what order to take them out but there's still not enough variety

    I fully intend on playing more of this game because there are so few others like it on Switch but don't be deceived by the cheerful music and colorful visuals, this game is a long, grueling, and above all else unforgiving test of wizarding footwork and fisticuffs.    … Expand
  11. SuperkenGaming
    Jan 1, 2018
    6
    Nine Parchments
    About 9 mistakes made too.
    Nine Parchments is a top down dungeon crawler like rpg where you play as basically a wizard from like a harry potter school out to gather 9 parchments and make it back to save the school… This game cane be played single player or online.. However theres a giant issue with this… MY biggest issue with the entire game is that multiplayer isn’t    Nine Parchments
    About 9 mistakes made too.
    Nine Parchments is a top down dungeon crawler like rpg where you play as basically a wizard from like a harry potter school out to gather 9 parchments and make it back to save the school…
    This game cane be played single player or online..
    However theres a giant issue with this…
    MY biggest issue with the entire game is that multiplayer isn’t drop in and drop out…
    Though you keep your characters progress.. you lose all other progress entirely if you decide you need some help to get past an area…
    You cant decide to open up your story to allow others to join you if you start single player…
    You lose all campaign progress in a campaign that is about 10 hours long.. a massive mistake…
    Mutiplayer and campaign progress issues aside.. 9 parchments is a very just okay dungeon crawler…
    As you progress through the games 10 hour campaign youll only run into a handful of different enemies…
    enemy variety is essentially just unshielded enemies and flowers that throw magic at you, healer enemies, and then annoying shielded enemies both tiny and large…
    and your job is to take them out with the magic you have…
    all while completing feats to unlock new characters collecting chest for experience, hats, and staffs that give you a bonus in game like health when you dash, or magic recharge…
    that’s right.. your magic does have to recharge which in paper is fine…
    youll have like 12 magic attacks to scroll through by the games end…
    Where it gets annoying though is that enemies are all for the most part elements based..
    Theyre immune to certain elemental attacks.. and later on some will have a ring around them making them invulnerable to 2 elements..
    And this game only features 4.. fire.. ice.. death.. and lightning…
    if you don’t have a powerful attack for each of those elements.. youre going to have a tough time in certain spots.. as you do pick your attack you unlock after defeating 1 of the games 9 bosses…
    thankfully the game is decently generous with its checkpoints… and giving you an extra life if youre playing solo… so youre allowed to die twice without restarting and there are healing spells…
    however checkpoints are very inconsistent and at times youll be asked to go through 3 or 4 really difficult waves of enemies.. the game definitely offers a challenge… especially in its boss fights…
    But the game is so samey throughout that ever level feels exactly the same and the challenge starts to get more annoying and grind feely than fun…
    Speaking of grind your character does level up as you go on for you to dump skills into a skill tree…
    However you cant actually grind…
    This is a game where you defeat every enemy in an are and move on.. no respawning…
    Nine Parchments has a little magic in here.. its fun at times…. But the fun isn’t lasting.
    I give Nine Parchments
    a 6/10    … Expand
  12. SylvaConnect
    Mar 11, 2022
    9
    Game is freakin awesome.
    Not sure Id play solo but for coop its very reminiscent of FFXIV when its boss fight time. Difficulty is good on hard mode, not painful nor boring.
    If you played FFXIV Id gage the bosses somewhere between a normal level dungeon boss and a summon boss(hard). Not extreme mode. Youll probably clear them blind on the first attempt as long as you’re not a complete    Game is freakin awesome.
    Not sure Id play solo but for coop its very reminiscent of FFXIV when its boss fight time. Difficulty is good on hard mode, not painful nor boring.

    If you played FFXIV Id gage the bosses somewhere between a normal level dungeon boss and a summon boss(hard). Not extreme mode. Youll probably clear them blind on the first attempt as long as you’re not a complete idiot. So….complete idiot, meaning all the morons with no skills rating this game too difficult. (Seriously? Go back to WoW you liquid brains)

    I play this with my fiancé no problem. Its not difficult enough that you cant keep going no matter what. And no you arent screwed, at all, if you dont pick the right spells….. Some people. Jeezus

    It also has very good opportunity for laughable moments in coop, like slapping your loved one around with a wand is animated very well, and pretty damn hilarious. The friendly fire aspect is not an issue honestly, if anything its funny as hell and makes you pay attention just a tad more. Not major.

    Its fast based back to back dungeons and bosses. That is a GOOD THING.
    Open world games are slow dull and boring with exceptions of witcher 3 or conan exiles etc. Even ffx had done a little open world and was done good

    Its GREAT this game doesnt have exploration. Even if you normally like exploring. Would buy again or part 2    … Expand
  13. Rtheom
    May 7, 2018
    7
    A fine enough game, but pick it up on sale. It's too limited in scope to be worth the full $20, but if you have some friends to play local co-op with, you'll get $10 of fun out of it. It's also very difficult to play in handheld mode, so if you're the kind of person, like me, that mostly uses the Switch as a portable, this game won't be very good for you.
  14. wemelchor
    Jan 3, 2021
    3
    Online is non existent. The entire point of this game is too have a functioning online multiplayer. The only way to get this game to be playable at all is through local multiplayer. Otherwise don't bother playing the game solo and better yet don't bother buying this game in the first place.
  15. TheGeekLantern
    Jan 30, 2018
    8
    Si bien se puede jugar onlie, este juego es una experiencia entretenida que saca todo su potencial en el multijugador local. Mi queja es que no puedes cambiar de personaje sin perder el progreso, lo que le baja puntos a un bien videojuego.
  16. werdup
    Jan 31, 2018
    9
    >100 hours in the game

    The game has improved dramatically after the January update. Before this, multiplayer did not work well enough to play the game. The game may seem short, but has a lot of fun for the completionist. Beating the game takes 2-4hours. However, you will find that beating the game simply opens up more characters to play and unlocks new staffs that alter your gameplay a    >100 hours in the game

    The game has improved dramatically after the January update. Before this, multiplayer did not work well enough to play the game. The game may seem short, but has a lot of fun for the completionist. Beating the game takes 2-4hours. However, you will find that beating the game simply opens up more characters to play and unlocks new staffs that alter your gameplay a lot. Definitely the most fun I have had on switch.

    Single player is a bit dull, it's far more fun in multiplayer as the encounters scale up in difficulty. Multiplayer also gives you the opportunity to access levels far into the game without beating all the challenges on the way to that level.    … Expand
  17. jikflet
    Jun 20, 2018
    8
    I started playing this game alone many months ago when was released. and I was kinda disappointed. so I stopped playing for a while. I pick the game again now playing cooperative with my family, and oh boy, its a joy!!!!!!! I have to say this game should be coop only. its so much fun to play . it might get a little bit repetitive, but it also gets more difficult and challenging. II started playing this game alone many months ago when was released. and I was kinda disappointed. so I stopped playing for a while. I pick the game again now playing cooperative with my family, and oh boy, its a joy!!!!!!! I have to say this game should be coop only. its so much fun to play . it might get a little bit repetitive, but it also gets more difficult and challenging. I just finished the game yesterday and I can finally give it a score. solid 8. I wish it has more depth and more character customization options. The ability to buy armor, clothes and other stuff like in a rpg. I really miss games like Nox. I wish some developer will create something like this with a couch coop mode. so my recommendation is if you play alone, is just an ok game. if you play couch coop is amazing !!!! definitely try it!.… Expand
  18. inkling_girl
    Mar 17, 2018
    10
    Nine Parchments is a gorgeous looking game. It's charming and addictive. I've been playing it solo and it's an absolute blast, you don't really need to play it with other to enjoy the game. I recommend it.
  19. nusco
    Mar 28, 2020
    8
    Nine Parchments is like a small Diablo, minus all the cliche fantasy doom and gloom–or, if you wish, like a less sedate Harry Potter. It's a game that focuses on combat, but very little of that combat is hand to hand: you mostly select elemental spells from your list and unleash a barrage of ice rays, fire bombs and electric projectiles on your enemies. You go from fight to fight,Nine Parchments is like a small Diablo, minus all the cliche fantasy doom and gloom–or, if you wish, like a less sedate Harry Potter. It's a game that focuses on combat, but very little of that combat is hand to hand: you mostly select elemental spells from your list and unleash a barrage of ice rays, fire bombs and electric projectiles on your enemies. You go from fight to fight, traversing mostly gorgeous environments, and you get a boss fight and a brand new spell every few levels. There is also a RPG-style upgrade mechanic, although it doesn't seem to add a lot to game.

    When played solo, Nine Parchments is OK–but that's really not the way it wants to be played. Instead, it's clearly a cooperative game through and through. In that respect, it deserves more recognition as one of the best co-op games on the Switch. It supports mixed co-op, with multiple players on both the same Switch and online, and it provides enough challenge (and friendly fire mishaps) to keep any team of 2-4 aspiring magician busy for a while.

    All in all, Nine Parchments is a hidden gem on the Nintendo Switch, and recommended for fans of cooperative action.    … Expand
  20. appledinger
    Jun 13, 2019
    3
    This game doesn't seem to know what it is. It's kind of a roguelike, kind of an action RPG, and kind of a couch co-op pick-up-and-play game. Unfortunately, it only does each of these halfassed. The game is too long for a roguelike, too shallow and grindy for a good action rpg, and too difficult and frantic to just pick up and play with people of various skill levels.

    What being said, I    This game doesn't seem to know what it is. It's kind of a roguelike, kind of an action RPG, and kind of a couch co-op pick-up-and-play game. Unfortunately, it only does each of these halfassed. The game is too long for a roguelike, too shallow and grindy for a good action rpg, and too difficult and frantic to just pick up and play with people of various skill levels.

    What being said, I had fun on my first single player playthrough. However, once I finished that I realized the replayability options sucked. I could either play the main campaign that I had just beaten again, either with the same character or a different one, or do the "astral arena". The astral arena said I should be at least level 40, while my character was level 32 after beating the game. I would either have to replay half the campaign with the same character to get to 40, or just restart the game at level 1 with a new character. Neither of those sound fun.

    There are also some other minor issues - it's hard to see treasure chests against the background, the movement is slow and boring except for blink, which recharges way too slowly, there's usually about 20 seconds of just walking with nothing to do between encounters, there are dangerous elements like cliffs and flames that are difficult to distinguish against the background, too many enemies are built solely for co-op play and are boring and tedious to beat single player, and nothing you unlock really seems to change the game in any meaningful way.

    This game has some good ideas, but it tries to be too many things at the same time, and never really does any of them well.    … Expand
  21. Tomicsavo
    Aug 23, 2022
    8
    Kind of hard game but a good experience in co-op. Nice maps. We had more fun with this, than with overcooked 2
  22. chirashi
    Dec 30, 2020
    10
    Great couch co-op and the graphics are super pretty. Some reviews mention friendly fire being annoying, but you very quickly learn which spells might bounce off the enemies and also how to position yourself so you don’t hit each other, it just makes the game more challenging and interesting.
  23. DevMetacritic
    Mar 22, 2023
    1
    2023 review on Nintendo Switch (playing handheld) with joycon controllers: TLDR: As a game using keyboard and mouse - sure no problems. As a game on switch with the crappy joy-con analog sticks? Do NOT buy. This game is not well ported to Nintendo switch controls. If you’ve ever used the joycons you know that lose and imprecise feeling of rotating joycon L/R sticks in circular motion. This2023 review on Nintendo Switch (playing handheld) with joycon controllers: TLDR: As a game using keyboard and mouse - sure no problems. As a game on switch with the crappy joy-con analog sticks? Do NOT buy. This game is not well ported to Nintendo switch controls. If you’ve ever used the joycons you know that lose and imprecise feeling of rotating joycon L/R sticks in circular motion. This game requires a high degree of precision with free aiming required at all times 360 degrees. This game is NOT a good mix with Nintendo switch joycon controller.

    I also own PS5, XSX, PC, and steam deck so you could say I game a little.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

59
#59 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2017
16
#16 Most Shared Switch Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
66

Mixed or average reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. Destructoid
    Oct 19, 2018
    60
    With a stronger connection to the world and a more rewarding progression system, Nine Parchments could have been more than a fleeting arcade fancy. If you can find it on sale (which it has hosted many times since launch) and can wrangle up three other people, it's a decent party game that will fill a single afternoon.
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  2. God is a Geek
    Feb 9, 2018
    70
    Given that the PS4 version is 1080p 60fps, I wasn’t really shocked to see this half the frame rate but what impressed me a lot is how well it runs and how good it looks on the Switch. There’s a demo you can check out for an idea of the performance but with the latest patch allowing for no save overwriting, Nine Parchments on Switch is an easy recommendation for a co-op game.
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  3. XGN
    Feb 1, 2018
    65
    Nine Parchments is beautiful and elaborate. It's also incredibly frustrating and unbalanced.
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