⚔️ Samurai Riot Nintendo Switch Review 7/10 "The Pause Menu Is Your Friend" ⚔️ @wakofactory #GameDev #IndieGame

Samurai Riot is a side-scrolling 2D Beat’em up where you control one of two chosen warriors in a single-player mode or you can team up with a buddy in local co-op.

Once you begin playing this game you will immediately feel like a badass warrior with an array of attacks at your disposal. The music is great and gives me Wu-Tang Clan vibes with its ancient Japan in the near future loops that play whilst you're taking on the hordes of enemies in a classic side-scrolling beat 'em up style.

The game actually offers up eight different endings for each of your characters and that also includes two characters' specific endings which is kinda cool. I really enjoyed the choice of narrative as I went through the game which is something I did not expect to see in this style of game.

The two characters you will get to choose from at the start are Tsuramaru and Sukane. Tsuramaru uses a katana as his weapon of choice and also has a nice kick move to finish off opponents with a kick sword kick combo. T also has a nice grenade which is activated through the use of a charge attack which is a welcome change of tactics when you become a little jaded of the repetition of bashing baddies. T also has a mid-air knife attack which is another switch up to the tactics destroying everyone in your path.

Sukane majors in martial arts and fights with her fists and her lethal feet. Sukane also has a pet fox who has its own series of attacks. Ye olde foxy can attack in mid-air, become a bomb or charge toward an enemy in order to dish out damage. Mr Fox is a wrecking ball but he also has a cool-down period so that you can't always rely on your ginger buddy.

You'll also get to choose a bonus when you choose your character. I found that the double jump (Frog) bonus was a godsend on my runs through the game. There is also an in-game rage meter that will give you a fighting flurry of kicks and punches in order to clear out particularly tricky encounters where you are outnumbered.

Whilst negotiating levels you will come across the usual array of enemies that often repeat themselves. That was my one main gripe with the game if I'm honest. The variety of enemies and the sponge-like bosses slightly let it down but then again that does often come with the territory when playing a side-scrolling beat 'em up.

In true retro side scroller style, there is no tutorial and I only came across the various variations on the combat through luck and experimentation. Subsequently, I did actually find out that the Pause Menu contains a good section which details the Controls & Combos that will help you smash up those baddies!

At times I did feel like the graphics were maybe not as detailed as they could be, especially when entering a different section of the level. This manifests by showing you walking towards a doorway or a hole and the kind of appearing on the other side with no animation or graphic sequence in between.