Rob Lake reviews Aground on Nintendo Switch...
Survival sims are often a bit of a mixed bag. They either fly high on the wings of success or disappear into a bottomless pit with the many other failed survival simulations. Aground is the latest game to attempt to break into the crowded survival sim genre and is out now on the Nintendo Switch.
Developed by Fancy Fish Games, Aground debuted on PC via Steam back in 2018 as part of the Steam Early Access program. Since then the Steam version has gained a wealth of impressive reviews. But, does this success transfer to the Nintendo Switch?
Aground is a progressive world builder with a fairly simple style of gameplay. However, whilst on appearances it may look a bit like your typical survival game, there are some RPG elements thrown in to mix up the formula.
Upon first impressions, Aground looks a lot like Terraria. But behind the pixel art style and familiar side-scrolling gameplay, Aground is so much more than a simple building and crafting game. The story involves your character who's been shipwrecked and is stranded on an island. Thankfully you're not alone as you'll soon find other survivors to band together with to build a new settlement in this strange world. As the settlement grows your ability to explore the surroundings, then enhance the growth of your budding settlement. Sooner or later, with enough technology, you're able to once again head into the unknowns of space.
Aground doesn't play like your typical survival game. If anything it's more of an adventure game with RPG elements. While the staple survival aspects are in Aground they aren't as heavily involved. Take food, for example, you can hunt but it's only used to replenish lost health and stamina, as well as to feed any pets you may have. There is no hunger or thirst meter, and if you die, then you reload the current save to try again. Its deceptively simple and feels very close to Terraria than, say Minecraft.
Throughout the story, you'll be given quests by your fellow survivors. Completing these serves to progress the story rather than simply fighting to survive. Your fellow survivors are also more than your average NPC. They aren't just static go-to people. They all have a degree of automony as they move about the settlement and contribute to resource gathering too! There is also quite a range of dialogue to be had, which not only serves the story, it also brings a human factor to the proceedings.
As I mentioned before Aground is more linear than other games of the survival genre. Whilst your free to mine and gather at will, the only real way to progress is via these story missions. These missions will have you gathering materials, mining and building, all whilst slowly developing your settlement and character. As you and your character progress the ideas of being shipwrecked at the start of the game are left in the past as you can end up being blasted off into space. Not many survival games can say that!
The visual representation is a little hard on the eyes, to begin with. For my playthrough, I had the Switch docked to a 55" TV, which was a bit overkill and didn't do the game too many favours. Thankfully playing in handheld mode looks far better and the pixel-based graphics feel more suited to the Switch's native screen. If anything the graphics are portrayed in a charming, retro-inspired way that goes well with the retro style soundtrack that accompanies Aground.
Combat also makes up a large part of the game. While it's pretty simple, a lot of the outcome is determined by our stats. With this in mind, combat is still pretty fun and you have a wealth of options at your disposal, such as; traps, melee, ranged and even pets. These options are expanded more as the game progresses and regardless of how you fight, there's plenty of weapons and tools to use.
Levelling up your character is pretty simple and you earn XP just by playing the game. How you level up your character is pretty fluid and it's you're choice in what you spend your attribute points on. Our skill levels all coincide with the traditional RPG elements. Everything from strength, defence, stamina, crit chance, bartering, and mining speed can be upgraded. There is no wrong or right answer to how you build your character, although I will suggest upgrading your carry weight as and when you can.
When it's all said and done, Aground is a pretty decent survival game. Whilst it's not as hard on the survival aspects of other games, it's still a game about surviving the harsh island that you call home. With a satisfying mix of exploration, mining and combat there is plenty here to see and do. Building both our character and settlement is a satisfying experience which nearly changes the game into something else altogether. If your a fan of Terraria, Minecraft or even Starbound I would highly recommend giving Aground ago.
Rating 8/10
A review code was kindly provided for this review.
Aground is out now and can be brought on the Nintendo Switch eShop by clicking here.
Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow Geek Culture Reviews on Twitter and Facebook @GeekCultureRev
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