Snack World: The Dungeon Crawl Gold

 Switch
  • Publisher: Level 5
  • Release Date: Feb 14, 2020
User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 75 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 50 out of 75
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 75
  3. Negative: 15 out of 75
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  1. marshallu2018
    Aug 28, 2021
    4
    Like many others, I was a huge fan of Fantasy Life and although I knew that this was more similar to Diablo than Fantasy Life, I expected better. It's not that the game is bad, necessarily, it's just... not fun.

    Probably the worst part of the game is the loot system and over reliance on RNG. I know a lot of people play these loot based games solely for the loot and maybe it's because    Like many others, I was a huge fan of Fantasy Life and although I knew that this was more similar to Diablo than Fantasy Life, I expected better. It's not that the game is bad, necessarily, it's just... not fun.

    Probably the worst part of the game is the loot system and over reliance on RNG. I know a lot of people play these loot based games solely for the loot and maybe it's because I'm not used to games like this, but I don't find it fun in the slightest to play through a level, make it to the end, and realize I didn't get any good items or a single weapon as a reward. For each quest, they show you a weapon, which they call the ultimate prize or whatever, but you're not guaranteed to get it when you finish the mission. The game gives you a certain amount of treasure chests depending on the number of static objectives you met during that quest, with each chest containing a random item. More often than not, the chests don't contain the ultimate prize. I can understand that - it's called the ultimate prize, after all. However, if you don't get the ultimate prize for that quest at the end, you don't get any weapons at all. Basically, that's the only weapon you can get from that quest, and you could potentially play the quest 10+ times and not get the weapon if you're especially unlucky with the RNG. I haven't played much Diablo, but from what I remember, I was at least getting a few weapons each time I cleared a dungeon. They might not have been super powerful, but I at least felt like I was progressing and being rewarded.

    To further slap the face of the player, this game is insanely miserly when it comes to giving out currency rewards for quests. Granted, I have only played about 7 hours and I just reached rank 3, so I'm not sure if the rewards get better as the game goes on. So far, the currency rewards are pathetic. I just completed a main story quest and I was given a whole 5.00 gravies (the game's version of dollars). This might not seem bad, but keep in mind that weapons generally cost 80.00+ gravies. So you rarely get weapons from quests and you don't get enough currency to be able to buy weapons frequently from the shop. What exactly are you supposed to do?! I guess on the bright side, as far as I know, there's no way to buy in-game currency with real money. Keep in mind, weapons aren't the only thing you can spend your gravies on, so it's even worse than it seems. You're expected to regularly upgrade your loot as well as your armor and accessories, but the game doles out gravies like there's a gravy shortage. I'm sure this system was designed to make you grind dungeons ad nauseam, but the combat isn't nearly good enough to justify that system. This leads me to my next point.

    The combat is not the greatest. It's passable, but it feels sluggish. Actually, other things outside of combat have some sluggishness as well. I think the sluggishness comes from input delay. It seems like I press the attack button, the character doesn't respond to it right away. Each time you press the attack button, it locks the character into that attack as well. Combine this with the input delay, and there are times where I've pressed the attack button a few times but decided I want to dodge mid-combo. The game doesn't allow you to dodge in the middle of a combo, so you have to wait until the combo is done and more often than not you just take a hit instead of being able to effectively dodge it. Again, this input delay is also present in other areas of the game, such as trudging through menus. Interestingly, I didn't experience any input delay while moving the character or holding the B button to run. I've even tried other controllers and the game behaves consistently for me, so I don't think it's a controller issue.

    Despite my criticisms, it's not all bad. The game has a few moments where the comedy really shines and I especially appreciate the pop culture references and character names. For example, there's a snack (basically this game's version of Pokemon) with a rock and roll aesthetic that's called Nikki Styx, which is a reference to both Nikki Sixx from the band Mötley Crüe and the band Styx. I also like the stylized, cartoon-esque art style.

    Snack World: The Dungeon Crawl Gold isn't a horrible game, but it feels half-baked. Comparing it to other Level5 games, like Fantasy Life and Ni no Kuni makes it feel especially lackluster. 4/10    … Expand
  2. snackworst
    May 13, 2021
    0
    ok i really dont know how to start this review since all this anger bottled up for months now. so i only made an account to tell you how **** and utterly trash this game is, the developers of this game made this game because they knew people would buy a game they think is a successor to fantasy life. Bro this game aint even 5% of a fantasy life i loved fantasy life and played it soooo muchok i really dont know how to start this review since all this anger bottled up for months now. so i only made an account to tell you how **** and utterly trash this game is, the developers of this game made this game because they knew people would buy a game they think is a successor to fantasy life. Bro this game aint even 5% of a fantasy life i loved fantasy life and played it soooo much on my 3ds its one iof the best games ever and then of course you think the developers of Fantasy Life on the next game on the far superior console will enhance everything fantasy life did, but nah bro these developers made a **** game thats one of the worst games ever made to just make quick cash of people that loved fantasy life. dude i tried to love this game i played it so much even tho i hated every minute of it just to get to the part where i could experience fun, but this game has no fun in it. Its all just a stupid grind without any purpose and everyone that writes a good review about this game just trys to justify their 50€ spend like i did but there aint no justifiyng a scam **** game that no one wanted. i will never buy a game of Level 5 again. These developers showed they dont care about you the player just about your money… Expand

Awards & Rankings

72
#72 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 44 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 44
  2. Mixed: 26 out of 44
  3. Negative: 2 out of 44
  1. RPG Fan
    Sep 22, 2020
    70
    There’s a lot to digest when it comes to Snack World, and like red bean paste, you either love it or can’t stomach it. If the idea of a glorified casino with a simple battle system and insane level spikes makes your mouth water, Snack World is a dungeon crawler worth delving into. There is in fact a significant amount of content with side quests, crafting, and collecting that gives prospective explorers plenty to take part in. But the gameplay still turns up incredibly repetitive, and the smorgasbord of comedy styles makes it even more tedious getting from one dungeon to the next.
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  2. Cubed3
    Aug 19, 2020
    60
    Overall, there really is nothing fundamentally wrong here, but with its reliance on deriving humour from treating RPG standards as dated and ripe for mockery, Snack World: The Dungeon Crawl - Gold pretty much shoots itself in the foot. Leaning into these tropes, and really investing the time into a combat system that is as much of a treat as the rest of the game could have really elevated this above a saturated market. Collecting 'Snacks' and using them as party members is fun, and a worthwhile curiosity, plus visually it has charming designs, reminiscent of Final Fantasy: My Life as a King, which both enthrals and delights. Sadly, though, without a sturdy and, more importantly, fun battle system driving this forward, this may leave a sour taste for those expecting something of the calibre of Level-5's past RPG efforts.
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  3. Nintendo Force Magazine
    May 1, 2020
    60
    It's just a shame that half of the crawl is getting past the game's process – and ego. [Issue #45 – March/April 2020, p. 68]
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