Desert Child Reviews
Desert Child has interesting ambitions that never quite develop into an enjoyable experience
A low-fi hoverbike racer with oodles of charm and style, but not a lot under the hood.
Though its pixellated visuals and bright environments do provide brief pleasantries in the first hour or so, the little variety in its missions and very reason to stay invested other than grinding until the climax results in a game caught between two minds, committing, sadly, to neither one in the process.
Overall, Desert Child provides high-octane, arcade-style fun, with its quirky story and style providing a delicious cherry on top. The soundtrack is also great, with a unique, funky hip-hop sound that complements its offbeat humour and presentation. Combine this with its retro visuals and you have a great addition to your indie collection, with a high replay value, particularly when playing with friends.
Desert Child is a confusing game and parsing whether it has deeper meanings that are unclear, or just non-existent, is exceedingly frustrating.
Desert Child certainly won't be for everyone, but players who approach the game without expectations will be treated to a lighthearted and amusing experience that doesn't overstay its welcome.
Desert Child is built upon the promise of solid ideas that don’t quite come together. And sadly, they’re so deeply intertwined that a mistake in one aspect of the game critically injures the other part of the game.
Desert Child is stylistically fantastic and has some of the more exciting racing gameplay we've seen this year, but it really suffers from its short length. There's an interesting, colourful world to explore in Olympia, but unfortunately things ends when it feels like Desert Child is just getting started. Still, it's an admirable effort from a talented one-man team.
Desert Child for the Nintendo Switch intends to be a simple, unpretentious racing game. Unfortunately, other than a pleasant art style and references to Cowboy Bebop, the gameplay on offer doesn't stand out or add anything remarkable compared to the existing catalogue. A rather dull experience, without a significant degree of challenge and very much unexplored by its development, Desert Child does not amount to a recommended racing game for the Nintendo Switch.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
There was a lot of potential in Desert Child, but the slick presentation and amazing soundtrack only seem to mask what ends up being shallow gameplay. Racing feels good at first, but an entire game where that’s the only thing you do gets tiring pretty fast.
Desert Child is one of those “love-it-or-hate-it” titles. On one hand, it's got a great soundtrack and excellent visuals. On the other, its gameplay is dull and repetitive. Be sure you know what you're getting into with this one.
At its best, Desert Child captures the feeling of working toward a big dream while struggling to even buy your next meal. Unfortunately, those moments come sandwiched between a lot of repetition as the initially fun races become a chore that you have to do over and over again. Desert Child's unique setting, filled out with great art and a killer soundtrack, is fun to explore for a while, but the game runs out of gas a little too quickly.
Desert Child has its moments, but most of the experience feels shallow. The repetitiveness of wandering through the town after each race was more of a distraction than anything. The retro-inspired pixel art is enjoyable, and most of the game's music works within the racing setting, but I had to mute the game when walking through the town.
Desert Child is a real tribute to some of the greatest 90s pop culture, and it is also a good and innovative racing game.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Desert Child strikes is a fun indie title that balances being a racer, a RPG, and being unconventionally cool.
Desert Child is certainly a different type of release that puts you in the shoes of a young guy who must find the balance between racing (work) and fixing his vehicle and eating (life). This release is not for everyone, but it is still enjoyable as a unique style of experience.
From the gorgeous pixel art to the incredible soundtrack, Desert Child looks outstanding. Looks can be deceiving though, and it's clear that much more time was spent on crafting a distinct style than fine-tuning gameplay. If you've so much as watched a trailer for Desert Child, you've already experienced everything worth seeing in the game.
Desert Child is indeed a very special release. It’s not only unique in being an M-rated indie on the Switch, but it’s also perhaps the most impressive indie title that I’ve played in years. Every aspect of the game is teeming with originality and the passion of the developer comes across clear as day. That’s to be expected though, as creator Oscar Brittain created nearly every aspect of the game himself. The relatively short gameplay certainly detracts from the game’s overall score, but I can mostly look past this given how impressive my time with it was. I’d say that this one lies somewhere between a 4.25 and a 4.5 on the review scale. Desert Child released for all major platforms on December 11, 2018. I played the Switch version, but it can also be downloaded on PS4, Xbox One, and Steam. At just $11.99 on any of them, I can’t recommend it enough.
There seems to be a seed for what could be a decent game in Desert Child but it honestly feels unfinished. If the focus had been on the action of the racing and slowly layering more elements to that action with some progression I would have probably been fine just stopping there. At least it would have had a clear focus and the central activity could have remained interesting through slowly and smartly evolving. Instead you’ll quickly find yourself wasting your time walking around a city for no really good reason beyond demonstrating some artistic flair with different angles in each area and playing through variations on the same theme over and over again. Perhaps an audience can dig in and find the enjoyment but with so many better conceived games on the eShop it’s hard to give Desert Child a recommendation.
Desert Child's final outcome is not enough to secure a completely satisfying experience. While its game play can be pleasant, but equally limited. After several hours its game play loop ends up disappointing and the initial curiosity to explore its beautiful city and mechanics loses itself on what is a forgettable quest, despite the excellent soundtrack.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review