Tails of Iron

 Switch
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 30 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 30
  3. Negative: 5 out of 30
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  1. Honest-Review
    Dec 14, 2021
    4
    Tails of Iron is very much a love/hate type of game. It starts off with a generic but still interesting story where the first thing you notice is the stunning visuals. This is one of the best looking games that I have seen on the switch. It's not just nice pixels, but a feast of artistic talent on display that will make you want to come back to this game again and again.

    For me, Tails    Tails of Iron is very much a love/hate type of game. It starts off with a generic but still interesting story where the first thing you notice is the stunning visuals. This is one of the best looking games that I have seen on the switch. It's not just nice pixels, but a feast of artistic talent on display that will make you want to come back to this game again and again.

    For me, Tails of iron is a total failure in the gameplay department, with uninspired weapons/armour and totally useless gameplay mechanics. This game relies on quick-twitch reactions to respond to the enemies attacks. You can not spam the A button over again, which is a good thing, but to use R and ZR buttons as soft/hard hit was the most ridiculous decision I have seen from a dev in a long long time.

    On the other side we have the L button set to health regen (Which takes forever to use) and ZL for block, oh and if you hold ZL and ZR you can push back your enemy (Which is needed often). Add A button for evading and you have a totally convoluted set of buttons. I just can not believe that they used the most spongy buttons of the lot, ZL and ZR for defence. The game demands quick reactions from yourself and using this control set-up for that is very hard.

    By the time I completed the game I felt relief that it was all over, I felt sorry for the artists of this game as they are the stars here. The map is very small but feels so much larger as the devs have you backtracking as often as they can (Which is a lot). It gives you a false sense of expansion. It is also not fun backtracking as the map is designed so badly, which means long trips walking with your slow awkward rat character. If it wasn't for the art I would have stopped playing.

    I know a lot of people will like this game because of the challenge, but is it really a true gaming challenge if you are being handicapped by bad decisions from the devs and not because the game is programmed as a way to test your skills?

    Good luck people, please prepare for frustrations and maybe then you can begin to take some pleasures out of this game. I only wish the devs were as talented as the artists.    … Expand
  2. Kwar
    Oct 3, 2021
    10
    I really love this sweet game. I think the level of challenge is perfect. I've had to return to bosses a few times, to learn their moves in order to take them down. The music is enchanting. The equipment and gear is lovely. And the artistic detail is well thought out and, beautiful. i love this game. I think I might be half way through. It's a game where I like to take some breaks, toI really love this sweet game. I think the level of challenge is perfect. I've had to return to bosses a few times, to learn their moves in order to take them down. The music is enchanting. The equipment and gear is lovely. And the artistic detail is well thought out and, beautiful. i love this game. I think I might be half way through. It's a game where I like to take some breaks, to savour it. Thank you developer for such a lovely game.… Expand
  3. Snake257
    Sep 19, 2021
    9
    I REALLY love this game. It feels super simple, like any other 2D sidescrolling(I hate this word) souls-like, but once the combat opens up, it really does become much more complex and it REALLY starts to shine. The parry system is *perfect* and feels very rewarding. The weapon and armor system in place genuinely makes a difference in how you play. The artistic approach that they took looksI REALLY love this game. It feels super simple, like any other 2D sidescrolling(I hate this word) souls-like, but once the combat opens up, it really does become much more complex and it REALLY starts to shine. The parry system is *perfect* and feels very rewarding. The weapon and armor system in place genuinely makes a difference in how you play. The artistic approach that they took looks absolutely incredible, and the voice works by the same guy who voiced Geralt in The Witcher is nothing short of amazing. This game has such a charm, and the rewarding gameplay will 100% keep you playing. Games like this were made for the switch, it runs and looks great. My only complaint is that there isn't any sort of leveling system which I feel would really put the cherry on top and I would definitely give this game a 10. I recommend!… Expand
  4. Ramoten
    Sep 27, 2021
    4
    I had some expectations for this one, as I usually suck everything souls-like up like a dry sponge. The thing is though, while having great voice acting and a distinct visual style, the game is by no means a souls-like. While every hit in a From Soft Souls-game comes with such impact and weight, in this game, it feels like throwing a ball through an open window. For the most part, II had some expectations for this one, as I usually suck everything souls-like up like a dry sponge. The thing is though, while having great voice acting and a distinct visual style, the game is by no means a souls-like. While every hit in a From Soft Souls-game comes with such impact and weight, in this game, it feels like throwing a ball through an open window. For the most part, I actually found myself constantly fixating on the enemy health bar, because I was so unsure if my sword slashes even laid a scratch on my opponents. If the core feeling of the combat is this flawed, the rest of the game can have ever so great voice-acting, visuals and atmosphere, yet the experience will wear thin in an instant, which sadly is the case here.… Expand
  5. AyTay
    Sep 19, 2021
    5
    Ultimately mediocre. Gameplay doesn’t change throughout the entire game, you’ll be doing the same slash’s, dodges and rolls you did in the tutorial. Weapons only ever get marginally better and they get thrown at you so often you end up using a weapon or armor for about 10 minutes before you find a better set. So much backtracking. “Side quests” are not side at all, because you need theUltimately mediocre. Gameplay doesn’t change throughout the entire game, you’ll be doing the same slash’s, dodges and rolls you did in the tutorial. Weapons only ever get marginally better and they get thrown at you so often you end up using a weapon or armor for about 10 minutes before you find a better set. So much backtracking. “Side quests” are not side at all, because you need the gold earned to progress the main story line. The only redeeming factor is the art style. The art carried this whole game. Without it, I wouldn’t have played longer than an hour. It’s an especially beautiful scene when you go back to town to see the rat folk rebuilding their broken homes. But that’s about it. Absolutely mediocre, which is such a shame because it’s a good enough concept You’re better off buying anything else, especially since their asking price is very optimistic and not worth it compared to games like hollow knight or dead cells that sell for about half the price… Expand
  6. Iommi
    Sep 28, 2021
    10
    This is my game of the year 2021. The tale of the rat kingdom and young king redgi was amazing. The combat is great, the art is beautiful and charming and the narration the icing on a very scrumptious cake.
  7. Three_Trees
    Nov 22, 2022
    4
    It commits one of my gaming cardinal sins: it doesn't let you change the difficulty during the game. Why would I know what difficulty to pick when I haven't played the game yet?! Plus this is the Switch there aren't even any achievements!
  8. sinantos
    Jun 26, 2023
    9
    Let's start with what is bad in this game. First, the controls are so different and very difficult to get used to. I was so annoyed with the controls to the point of giving the game up in the first hour. However, when you get used to the controls, they are fluid and precise, especially in battles. Simple jumping from one edge to another edge requires very delicate precision, I fell downLet's start with what is bad in this game. First, the controls are so different and very difficult to get used to. I was so annoyed with the controls to the point of giving the game up in the first hour. However, when you get used to the controls, they are fluid and precise, especially in battles. Simple jumping from one edge to another edge requires very delicate precision, I fell down countless times. Fast traveling from one town to another is not so fast, loading scene takes too long. Let's continue with what is good. 2d art is very cute. A very good story with a voiceover warms your heart. The world is not large but there are still things to explore. What makes this game special is boss fights. Each boss seems unsurmountable, impossible to beat in the first encounters. Then you start to recognize the pattern, you change your gear best fitting the enemy type, you change your weapon. Then you surpass the unsurmountable with a nice satisfying feel in your mouth.… Expand
  9. Cancery1987
    Nov 4, 2021
    10
    This is a solid MetroidVania and Soul game

    A good story, brutal and cute at the same time. I love combat style, hard but fun Waiting for the Sequel
  10. Dominicl
    Nov 5, 2021
    10
    It’s like playing through a lovely medieval picture book. The sound is great. Really lovely game
  11. Zski
    Jul 21, 2022
    7
    Tails of Iron is a surprisingly well polished game that goes way too unnoticed. Essentially it’s a 2D Souls game. I originally expected this to be a very chill indie game with a pleasant art style, unaware of the challenging gameplay. The combat is challenging, and also rigid, much like the Souls games, which require some memorization of patterns the further you go on. It’s challengingTails of Iron is a surprisingly well polished game that goes way too unnoticed. Essentially it’s a 2D Souls game. I originally expected this to be a very chill indie game with a pleasant art style, unaware of the challenging gameplay. The combat is challenging, and also rigid, much like the Souls games, which require some memorization of patterns the further you go on. It’s challenging right out of the gates, and you really experience the sense of progression in your skills pretty quickly which is very rewarding. The armor and weapons that you find along the way adds some cool complexity to the game. The game really lacks a skill tree or something to give you a sense of progression, because for the most part, you’ll be doing the same combat start to finish, which makes the experience drag a little bit. The art style is very charming. But with that being said, the combat is challenging and extremely satisfying because it feel fully skill based. It was surprisingly more dark in colors and themes than I had anticipated. The narration pulls the story along well, and I liked the images that the rats use to communicate with each other. When it all pulls together, it feels like a fairy tale book that comes to life. It’s not a perfect game, but it’s an extremely under appreciated game. It had a lot of polish and finesse that you don’t often see in indie games. If it weren’t for the random sale at GameFly, I still wouldn’t know this game exists. I definitely recommend checking it out.… Expand
  12. MMPP99
    Jun 12, 2022
    9
    My rating: 8.7

    This game is something like the 2D of the Dark Souls. While this game is not hard to beat, it will take some many attempts to complete one single mission like some old school games. The graphics are pretty great, they are unique for being well illustrated and detailed. The fights are satisfied as soon as you master the game. The only thing I would say is not good in this    My rating: 8.7

    This game is something like the 2D of the Dark Souls. While this game is not hard to beat, it will take some many attempts to complete one single mission like some old school games. The graphics are pretty great, they are unique for being well illustrated and detailed. The fights are satisfied as soon as you master the game. The only thing I would say is not good in this game are the side mission which in some parts of the game, you will have to take these in order to advance the story, these sides missions are boring and almost identical.    … Expand
  13. WariosDad
    Sep 29, 2021
    9
    Beautiful game. I like the Redwall feel to it with the scrolling village populated with rats. Combat was fun and brutal sometimes with all the different choices available for weapons and armor. I did find some of the side missions to be more tedious than they ought to be as you have to travel back and forth from the sewer system. Besides that issue, I loved the game having put in over 8Beautiful game. I like the Redwall feel to it with the scrolling village populated with rats. Combat was fun and brutal sometimes with all the different choices available for weapons and armor. I did find some of the side missions to be more tedious than they ought to be as you have to travel back and forth from the sewer system. Besides that issue, I loved the game having put in over 8 hours already since launch. Would recommend it to anybody.… Expand
  14. Dungeon_75
    Dec 2, 2021
    10
    It's all about the art with Tails of Iron. The animations, the backgrounds, the sounds, music, and more... the art direction is simply amazing. For example, while fighting some of the frog bosses, you can see two little croakers in the background playing the drums that pound through the soundtrack. I was also a fan of the story, which is pretty simple but just different enough to feelIt's all about the art with Tails of Iron. The animations, the backgrounds, the sounds, music, and more... the art direction is simply amazing. For example, while fighting some of the frog bosses, you can see two little croakers in the background playing the drums that pound through the soundtrack. I was also a fan of the story, which is pretty simple but just different enough to feel fresh. You aren't simply questing for something or going to slay the BBEG, but rebuilding your kingdom piece by piece. As you do, Redgi (your character) gets stronger.

    I wish no one would use the phrase "souls-like" any more. The combat in this, as another reviewer mentioned, is like a dance. You do spend a lot of your time dodging and waiting for the right moment. You learn from your failure and come back stronger. I've been very frustrated with games described as "souls-like" in the past. To me, it is often synonymous with "unfair." The word "punishing" is often used. I know "git gud." (I hate that phrase.) In this game, I actually felt like I could get better through failure and repeated trial. It kept me from crossing the line into the red zone of "rage quit." At no time did I feel like the combat was unfair, even though some boss fights had a high challenge level.

    I will be playing this one again.    … Expand
  15. NindieSpotlight
    Dec 17, 2021
    9
    This is a title that hit me a bit out of nowhere, took my lunch money, and is now making me earn it back one challenging battle at a time… and for the most part you can count me impressed. While I’ll admit getting started my interest was a little shaky, just because I prefer titles to get down to business a little quicker, once I was set up with my basic gear and understood the flow ofThis is a title that hit me a bit out of nowhere, took my lunch money, and is now making me earn it back one challenging battle at a time… and for the most part you can count me impressed. While I’ll admit getting started my interest was a little shaky, just because I prefer titles to get down to business a little quicker, once I was set up with my basic gear and understood the flow of combat I was fully on board. I’m not sure I can emphasize enough that if you’re not down for a challenge this may rub you the wrong way, as though there’s not much to the combat in terms of moves, the expectation is that you’re on top of every dodge, parry, and counter in order to survive. Normally I tend to turn up my nose at anyone implying “Souls-like” combat, since in most cases the challenge comes from poor or frustrating controls, but in the case of Tails I’d say it would be well applied, at least for the big battles that will tend to hold you up for a while as you perfect your strategy. Mixing together an interesting art style, a somewhat unusual story of you trying to regain your rat kingdom from frogs and other villains, and tough-as-nails combat, Tails of Iron is worth a shot if you believe yourself worthy of hard-fought glory.

    https://www.nindiespotlight.com/2021/09/mini-reviews-september-23rd-edition.html    … Expand
  16. Guzidi
    Dec 28, 2021
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The graphics are great and I love the art style, but the controls are absolute mud. Not easy to dodge and roll when your so slow. I get this is another "lets be hard like dark souls" but I just find it a frustrating play.… Expand
  17. Birbinator
    Jul 15, 2023
    9
    I feel like the game has a few plot holes in the story or at least some things in the lore that could be more in depth but the gameplay is awesome. Feels like darksouls and cuphead mixed together.
  18. ReviewdaShopee
    Nov 22, 2022
    8
    Tails of Iron é uma grata surpresa para os amantes do gênero indie!! Uma ótima aventura desafiadora recheada de elementos soulslike e uma direção de arte 2D extremamente agradável aos olhos! Se você está em dúvida sobre adquirir ou não, pode ir com a certeza de que você terá pelo menos 8h de diversão
  19. M1sfiT
    Sep 3, 2023
    6
    Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaameeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 4 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. IGN
    Oct 2, 2021
    80
    Tails of Iron is a difficult, brutal and fascinating action-RPG, a black fairy tale that deserves attention, especially if you want an adventure with tight and powerful combats.
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  2. Pocket Tactics
    Sep 28, 2021
    80
    Tails of Iron is a thoughtful and detailed little game, with a brilliant visual style and an intuitive take on soulslike combat. Though it has its shortcomings, it's a strong and unique entry into the genre that serves up a great story and plenty of bug-slashing, frog-bashing fun.
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  3. Hey Poor Player
    Sep 27, 2021
    80
    Tails of Iron is not for the fainthearted. It’s a bloody, brutal, blistering experience from start to finish. Its combat smartly mixes skill and strategy. The game will push you to your limits, but it’s hard not to have fun skewering and slaughtering your way to redemption. While the game’s scope is unfortunately a bit limited, I have a feeling this won’t be the last time we hear from Redgi.
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