-
Simplicity in games can certainly be a good thing, especially when you’re coming off of a bigger and likely a bit more exhausting title that has consumed your interest. I think Square Keeper takes it a bit too far though, and with its limited use of the Switch’s screen paired with its overly simplistic strategy play, I found it hard to get satisfaction when clearing its levels. The main hook is that your goal is always to escape a small grid-based room that is often filled with enemies, traps, and/or obstacles that you must deal with using your limited number of action cards. Whether movement, an attack, or what have you, each card also has a number associated with it that you’ll need to pay close attention to. If you overshoot, you die. If you don’t land precisely on the exit when your moves are through you die. The thing is, once you understand this the puzzles aren’t always terribly challenging, for me they almost felt like they could fall into patterns, and it always felt more to me like an exercise or chore to get to the next level more than a reward. If, however, you’re looking for a bare bones puzzler that’ll make you think a bit it will deliver that much.
Justin Nation, Score:Fair [6.1]