Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time Reviews
Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is a surprisingly fleshed-out action game that should please both the Toonami faithful and those who miss a simpler time in the action genre.
Story and character do not drive the action like in Tartakovsky’s series — air flips and fist punches do. A sense of exhaustion sets in almost immediately, while a hunger to get just a little more Samurai Jack in my life kept me soldiering on. By the standards of tie-in games, that feels like a success.
Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is a weak adaptation of the series, but the action mechanics just aren't all there either, dragging it down even further. With a few tweaks it could be a fun little weekend mascot game, but as is, this adaption isn't going to appeal to just about anyone.
Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time truly feels like a blast from the past. Instead of playing into modern action game trends, the game revisits the style and feel of old-school action games with great success. There are a few frustrating elements that come from that dated design style and hamper the experience, as well as an ultimately unnecessary weapon-durability system. Still, for fans of the original cartoon, this is a trip down memory lane well worth taking.
With characters and a story so true to the source material, Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is an excellently executed adaptation that Samurai Jack fans will adore.
Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is a love letter to the animated series and a throwback to classic platform action games of the PS2 era, in the best possible way.
What's on offer here is a version of what would only have been available, back then, from a top-flight studio; a haven for those who crave a hit of Tartakovsky; and a hack-and-slash hardly ahead of the curve but happy to polish the past.
Although Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time has the occasional frame rate drop, and it doesn't pose that high a challenge, Soleil's game direction has proved worthwhile. Having all the tools to shape your experience provides a thoroughly enjoyable experience for the player, and it'll keep long-time fans of the series happy seeing Jack's old allies in action once more. However, with such a short time-to-complete and weak story, it will have you yearn for more.
Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is a hack and slash adventure with a few platforming elements. If you like taking on punishingly difficult hordes of enemies and proving your fighting prowess, you'll enjoy this game.
Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is a competent, if linear and somewhat unbalanced, action adventure. You can tell that the game studio was made up of true fans who poured their love for the show into this game. But the scope and grandeur of the Samurai Jack IP are sadly limited by this game's low-budget restrictions. It's fun for what it is, but it left me hungry for more.
However, don’t let my criticisms deter you from picking this game up. At $40 it has a lot to offer. I never found myself angry or bored revisiting previous levels. There’s a fair bit of content for that $40, it’s just that it isn’t perfect and one should know that going into Battle Through Time. Fans of Samurai Jack however will most likely love this game as it canonically takes place during the final season as Jack is trapped in time. I also think Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is great for both adults and kids.
A relic of another time, Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time feels dated by today's standards of character action games but still represents a mighty fine way to replay as one of Adult Swim's most notable heroes.
Ultimately, this isn't the Samurai Jack game of your dreams. But despite its flaws, this is a good action game that will please fans, and its simplistic nature may even introduce the property to a younger audience.
Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is a mediocre trip down memory lane. Although interacting with beloved characters is amusing, its core gameplay is dull and repetitive. Fans may enjoy the new narrative that extends the epic conclusion of season 5 but be prepared to endure some blunt, boring combat.
The game lacks for Samurai Jack's smooth, stylish animation and deceptively deep characterizations.
Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is an enjoyable nostalgia trip both in gameplay and story, but it's just not quite $40 worth of game.
It may feel like it's a few years too late, but Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is a worthwhile experience that properly celebrates a beloved IP while being a darned good action game in its own right. A striking art style, well-executed combat mechanics, and a challenging level of difficulty make this one an easy recommendation, but with the caveat that it's a little light on original ideas and that performance can often dip to sub-par levels. It may not be perfect, but Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time acts as a great companion piece to the legendary cartoon; don't dismiss this as just another tie-in.
Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time feels like it's stuck in the past. As a game in 2020, it feels like a relic of a bygone era; Jack lost the battle through time ten years ago.
Finally, after years of waiting, Samurai Jack fans finally have a game that captures the look, feel, and spirit of the cartoon series. It's not a perfect experience, mind you, but fans who've ever wanted to control the charming samurai now have an opportunity to do so.
Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time can help you live out your dream and play as everyone's favorite samurai. It's an action-packed adventure that for the most part lives up to the legacy of the source material.