Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Overdrive

 Switch
User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 5 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 1 out of 5

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  1. thaesino
    Dec 17, 2017
    9
    TL;DR: Give an 8.5 for short Story Mode. Arcade mode is a ton of fun. Character differences give the game high replayability, so do the 5 difficulty modes. Nintendo promises to bring Online Multiplayer soon after release. Game is $10, and that's a good thing. Switch version has two extra characters: Makise Kurisu and Frau (Steins;Gate and Robotics;Notes, respectively). Music is nostalgic.TL;DR: Give an 8.5 for short Story Mode. Arcade mode is a ton of fun. Character differences give the game high replayability, so do the 5 difficulty modes. Nintendo promises to bring Online Multiplayer soon after release. Game is $10, and that's a good thing. Switch version has two extra characters: Makise Kurisu and Frau (Steins;Gate and Robotics;Notes, respectively). Music is nostalgic.

    I give it an 8.5. The only reason, to be honest, is because the Story Mode is short and resorts to cheap gimmicks in order to be short. But also.. I never got to fight the big bad boss we're chasing after the whole time. I completed the game, credits and all. Maybe I missed something???

    Now, Story Mode aside, this game is fun as hell and offers a ton of replayability due to the cast of characters all having different play styles, but also due to the fact that the level up system is never "set in stone," so you can retract points and use them on different Stats or Abilities whenever you want.

    The game looks nice on large screen, but naturally looks even better on Handheld, and was the main reason why I got it for Switch instead of PS4. (Some early reviewers or previewers mentioned only the PS4 version had Online MP.. this is entirely false - Switch promises to have it soon after release). The Switch also has some extra content not available in the 2015 PS4 version - Makise Kurisu and Frau (Steins;Gate and Robotics;Notes) - as has been common with many old games now ported to Switch.

    The music is decent. Some of it takes you back to Street Fighter, while some other sounds more like it would be at home in a SNES Kirby game. Definitely nostalgic.

    The actually mechanics of the game are what make it so much fun. There are weak, medium and high attacks. You can link these together to perform combos. There are also grabs that are a ton of fun to get in there, especially when surrounded by 15 enemies. There are also specials - as many Beat 'em Up games have always had - but in this game they do not have a set limit. The limit is based on whether you use your "Special" bar or not, since other things can deplete this.

    As for more replayability, there are 5 difficulty modes; these are unlocked as you beat certain aspects of the game. You only start out with Easy and Normal, but beating the story will get you the Hard setting, and so on and so forth. All in all, for $10 bucks, this is a no-brainer and may even get you back into nostalgic Beat 'em Up games, as I see a certain future for them on the Switch.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 6
  3. Negative: 1 out of 6
  1. Worth Playing
    May 1, 2018
    75
    The mixing of fighting game mechanics with a more modern beat-'em-up set of mechanics works well thanks to the fact that you're flooded with varied enemies. The leveling system and the inclusion of a good roster of characters adds replay value, while local co-op play makes up for the lack of online play, especially since the Switch has been touted as being big on local multiplayer. Overall, Battle Grounds Overdrive is another good choice for the console.
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  2. DarkStation
    Mar 9, 2018
    40
    I wasn't the biggest fan of this one. It's a simple game that quickly left me bored and never got much better. The game is alright in some areas but it suffers from being mindless and simple, which isn't what I look for in a game. Phantom Breaker serves a purpose, though the Switch is so loaded down with games at this point that space on the console is better off being used for something else.
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  3. Cubed3
    Jan 22, 2018
    70
    Looking lovely and colourful on the TV or portable Switch screen, Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Overdrive is a quality little chibi beat 'em up that deserves a chance by any genre fan. There are plenty of characters to choose from and make available through various difficulty modes, and the ability to level up, unlock moves and build stats, compete in leaderboards, and battle in multiplayer means there is huge scope for replayability that not many other brawlers have. It can take a little getting used to, but once the mechanics are down, the depth and uniqueness in terms of each fighter is second to none, and the outlandish and just plain weird enemy designs give it its distinct personality. The one major pitfall is keeping online play at bay until Nintendo launches its paid service, which hopefully won't backfire when the time comes.
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