Balan Wonderworld Reviews
If you have a soft spot for classic 3D platformers and imaginative game worlds, you'll have a lovely time with Balan Wonderworld. With a heartfelt story, plenty of cuteness, a clever costume system, and oodles of stages to master; it's one incredible adventure.
For better or worse, Balan Wonderworld feels like an HD take on a PS2-era platformer. As long as you manage your expectations accordingly and accept the limitations that come with this, there's some enjoyment to be had with it. By modern standards, however, the game falls far short of expectations.
I think the best way to describe Balan Wonderworld in a short but easy-to-grasp way is by comparing it to Yuji Naka’s Sonic Adventure. Both are graphically impressive, both feature phenomenal soundtracks, both are packed with a lot of content… but both are pretty underwhelming when it comes to their gameplay, even though you can get used to their jankiness and still have a great time.
We're not going to mince words here, Balan Wonderworld is a waste of your time. Monotonous level design, awful performance, and shallow gameplay combine to make for an experience that is simply not fun to play. It may look pretty (when it's framerate isn't chugging), but there simply isn't enough good content here to justify your time or money, and this is doubly true when you take into account that this is a full-priced retail release. If you're looking for a good 3D platformer for your Switch, this most definitely isn't it.
Balan Wonderworld is a hodge-podge of half-formed platforming ideas that squander a whole lot of charm.
Balan Wonderworld will be divisive, but I actually had a pretty fun time exploring its whimsical levels and using the creative costumes to overcome its platforming challenges. The level design itself is on point too, whilst the wonderful soundtrack and addictive nature of grabbing all of the collectibles kept me coming back for more. Of course, there’s no doubting that it’s VERY simple in design, whilst a lot of elements of the gameplay and its visuals are pretty dated too. There was nothing on show across the game that you wouldn’t have seen done before by plenty of other 3D platformers over the years, with Balan Wonderworld falling very short of the evolution of the genre some gamers might be hoping for in 2021. Still, there’s no doubting that there’s still a good time to be had in the game, especially for younger gamers or those who appreciate the genre. It’s certainly no masterpiece, but Balan Wonderworld still offers a wacky yet wonderful escapade that might pleasantly surprise those who give it a try.
No amount of good cutscenes or music can salvage a game with bad gameplay. Balan Wonderworld is average and mediocre at best. For a AAA 3D platformer with a AAA price, that’s not acceptable at all.
Balan Wonderworld contains elements of what could have been a stellar platformer with its compelling ideas of advancement notions. However, its ineptitude with several gameplay design decisions makes it a constant struggle of unfun progression, questionable execution, and ultimately a heap of lost potential.
If you’re the patient sort, chances are you’ll have a good time with Balan Wonderworld overall. Costume management is clunky, but you’ll deal with it in order to find the secrets hidden within each world, and you won’t be too perturbed by the eagerly respawning enemies and repetitive Balan Bout sequences. For most players though, everything combined will probably prove to be a little too much. Balan Wonderworld is a game that’s capable of bringing out both delight and dismay in its players, though it serves up a little too much of the latter at times to be easily recommended.
Painfully average in most respects, Balan Wonderworld won't draw much admiration for its contents. Still, it's a competent game that does have its charms, few as they may be.
There's a lot of content in Balan Wonderworld, but the amount of backtracking and costume swapping makes returning to previous levels feel too demanding. Pairing Balan Wonderworld's small environments with its lackluster 3D platforming fails to provide the AAA entertainment players come to expect from similar modern titles. The main issue with the game isn't its outdated take on an already niche genre, but that its core gameplay isn't fun and its supporting elements aren't amusing. Balan Wonderworld is hard to recommend to anyone outside of diehard genre fans considering the quality of other 3D platformers on the market.
It is not often that I feel lost for words when reviewing a game but Balan Wonderworld has almost left me speechless. There is so much wrong with this game that it is a wonder that it has passed any sort of quality control. The controls are stiffer than a board, the lack of any narrative is frustrating and the game is just so badly put together that I cannot think of any reason why I would recommend this to anyone at all. Overall Balan Wonderworld is possibly one of the most disappointing games I have played on Nintendo Switch. What were they thinking of when creating this game? Very little it would seem and far from being a world of wonder, this is a total nightmare.
Balan Wonderworld is a dull game and a boring experience in a lackluster world.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The unwavering cheerfulness that permeates every ounce of Balan Wonderworld can't overcome the shallow gameplay and questionable design choices that come every step of the way.
What could have been another of Yuji Naka's great successes has finally turned out to be a standard game that doesn't stand out or stand out, inspired in its designs and visual style but without leading the title in the right direction. The best? the soundtrack, the large number of costumes and the imagination that overflows in each section. The worst? the numerous problems it has that wouldn't have been difficult to solve.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
In so many ways Balan Wonderworld feels like a weird game that hopes the concept will make up for execution. With extremely little to see, a minimal story to explore, and visuals that honestly do little more than remind me of simpler times, it's hard to suggest what value Balan Wonderworld adds. It certainly isn't engaging, interesting and so many of the elements are painfully basic. Throw in needless costume-changing animations (I don't need a three-second animation every time I swap), extremely small worlds, and minimal… well, everything and it's hard to be optimistic.
Mixed feelings: graphics and sound offer a surreal and engaging experience, but gameplay wise, several camera hiccups and uneven level design may become frustrating. Balan is able to appeal your inner child... If that child is a patient one.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Exploring Balan Wonderworld's levels can be fun, but ultimately its single button gameplay and technical issues hold it back.
Balan Wonderworld tries to be an homage to nostalgic platformers from the PS2 era, but it forgets to be a good game in the process.
Balan Wonderworld features a range of interesting ideas that are plagued by dated mechanics. Even after losing yourself in the absurd universe, you are quickly brought back to reality due to the rigid movement and odd control scheme that oppose expectations of the genre. Although the game has a lot of charm, it does little to stand out amongst the crowd and due to this, it can be rightfully overlooked.