Arms Reviews

Arms is ranked in the 75th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Daily Dot
Top Critic
Jun 7, 2017

Overall, ARMS is a solid foundation for a game of its kind. Nintendo has already confirmed post-launch support in the form of new fighters, stages, and modes. With simple menus and bright colors, the presentation here is immaculate. After playing over 30 hours of ARMS, it is hard not to be excited to see where the community grows from here. Still, players need to understand that they are coming in on the ground level of an experimental fighting game that will only feel more rewarding as time goes on.

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5 / 10
Jun 7, 2017

Stretching your limbs across the battlefield to stop an impending throw is good fun, but there's absolute anarchy when you throw in an extra body. The mediocre mini-games, and antiquated single-player further block the punch of Arms.

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Will Greenwald
Top Critic
Jun 7, 2017

ARMS is an exciting, offbeat Nintendo Switch game that takes the tournament fighter genre and gives it a Splatoon-like quirky twist.

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85 / 100
Jun 7, 2017

While the motion controls work well, I unequivocally prefer using the pro controller. I felt much more competitive using it and was able to dash and punch not only faster but more accurately

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Unscored
Jun 7, 2017

Don't let the saccharine looks fool you: Arms is deep, challenging, and an essential purchase for the Nintendo Switch.

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5 / 5.0
Jun 7, 2017

It's difficult to describe just how good ARMS is. The best analogy I can come up with is that it is to fighting games what Splatoon is to third-person shooters. ARMS is a bright, colorful, and welcoming game. Newcomers can easily hop in and enjoy most of the matches and modes available. Meanwhile, the more dedicated will find themselves developing complex strategies based on characters and ARMS loadouts and captivated by the opportunities to challenge others online. I would not be surprised to see it spawn multiple successful successors.

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9 / 10.0
Jun 7, 2017

The fighting game that everyone can play, ARMS is Nintendo multiplayer gaming at its best.

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8 / 10.0
Jun 7, 2017

Oraoraora! ARMS is a fresh and welcome entry in the arena fighting genre that features interesting characters, solid fighting mechanics and one of the best implementations of motion controls that I've seen for any system. Admittedly, the campaign mode could have benefitted from a more robust story and the inability to remap your buttons is a bit frustrating. Despite its issues, however, ARMS is a wily knockout fighter that dishes out lots of fun and entertainment for the young as well as the young at heart.

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8 / 10
Jun 7, 2017

It's a rarity these days that you come across a game which feels like nothing you've ever played before, but ARMS is exactly that. It's fresh, vibrant and genuinely a lot of fun to play. It's a fighting game with depth, which even non-fighting enthusiasts can get into. I have some concerns about how long it will take for the game to become stale in its current state, but I'm equally excited to see where Nintendo takes the franchise.

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Jun 7, 2017

ARMS is a unique-feeling brawler with a surprising amount of depth. It also looks great, combining a colourful flair with some of the most realistic environments and characters the big N has made for some time. Its motion controls are also a resounding success.

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Emma Schaefer
Top Critic
8.5 / 10.0
Jun 7, 2017

A world where people fight with ramen noodles, DNA, and snakes shouldn't be this much fun. It may take a while to get the hang of the controls in Arms, but the wildly inventive characters, catchy theme music, and unique gameplay style offer enough to capture the attention of casual and competitive gamers alike.

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8 / 10
Jun 7, 2017

Arms does a lot of new things, but fails to offer a wide variety of options or characters. That will be improved over the time with free DLCs but as it is, Arms is just a nice new beginning with a lot of room for improval.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

Jun 7, 2017

All in all, ARMS feels closer to a half-attempt at a massive new IP by Nintendo – boldened by the success of Splatoon, but still holding themselves back for fear of overinvesting.

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IGN
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Jun 7, 2017

Arms' clever take on boxing provides a simple premise with a startling amount of depth for those who would seek to master the stretching appendages. Its rapidly evolving lobby system had me sticking around for “just one more match.” There may not be a lot worth unlocking right now, but planned free updates may just give Arms some additional legs.

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7 / 10
Jun 7, 2017

ARMS takes a fresh look at the old fighting game. By giving it the twist of friendly Ninteo games, it allows everyone to enjoy its new way of fighting each other. However, its roster of look-alikes make us think that the game certainly won't last long for the most demanding players.

Review in French | Read full review

Jun 7, 2017

'Arms' brings back the fun of the Nintendo Wii, but it's most fun if you don't take it too seriously.

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Jun 7, 2017

If you're looking for a great multiplayer experience on the Switch you don't have to look any further than ARMS. The fighting system and mechanics are deep and a ton of fun while the characters and world built into this game really immerse you while you're battling.

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9 / 10
Jun 7, 2017

ARMS is polished, addictive, immensely rewarding and - perhaps most important of all - establishes a solid platform to create a popular and long-running series.

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7 / 10.0
Jun 7, 2017

Nintendo's new all-ages fighter won't sell millions of Switches, but it does provide another novel experience for the system's early adopters

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8 / 10.0
Jun 7, 2017

Comparing Arms to Mario Kart 8 with regards to the online experience comes out favorably, though, as Arms' fresher gameplay style and highly polished online lobbies and infrastructure makes it a more active and engaging online affair. Even with the Grand Prix drawbacks, Arms is a fantastic start to a new franchise. Time will tell if Arms truly has legs, but it's definitely firmly planted at launch.

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