Slime-san (Nintendo Switch) Review

For the uninitiated, Slime-san looks like a super cute, retro-themed platform experience, coming complete with a rocking chiptune soundtrack, and packed to the brim with charisma. To be honest, that is not too far from the truth, with one important omission, though - although cute, it will make you cry. A lot. Die and then cry, actually - followed by a bit more of that dying malarkey. Is that because Slime-san has poor controls? Could it be that the levels are extremely poor in design? Perhaps the game is just downright unbalanced and unfair? Nope, none of these are true, since Fabraz' basic-yet-deviously-tricky title is expertly crafted, meaning that the only reason for deaths is purely down to a lack of gaming prowess.

Now, fear not, as it is not anything to be ashamed off since not everyone is an expert. The first few stages even try to hand-hold less experienced players, helping them to grow accustomed to jumping over objects, bouncing their way up walls, dash-jumping to leap over dangerous chasms… It may prove fruitless, however, as things get harder, quickly. It is not long before those in control are being introduced to concepts such as morphing to pass through special walls, slowing down time marginally to aid with careful traversing of stages, dash-falling off ledges and using a mid-air jump to reach the previously thought unreachable, and so on, then using various combinations of all known moves in a short space of time, with extremely tight time constraints. It ramps up rather quickly, to say the least, and dilly-dallying, trying to figure out how to carefully and gradually edge towards the final goal is not possible, as a lava flow starts heading Slime's way after a short space of time. Yeah, so there is a time limit, with a bar at the top that empties, indicating there is a wave of molten hot lava due to come at you and end Slime's life...until the inevitable respawn, of course. Technically it is stomach acid, not lava, since Slime-san has been swallowed by a worm, but let's not split hairs, right? It's a wave…that gets triggered after a set time…and it eventually kills you…end of story.

Anyway, that is the gist of Slime-san - pure brilliance; dastardly hard, but never unfair. Dive in, repeatedly die trying to find smart ways through stages, picking up special coins and apples that can be traded for goodies later (including screen filter swaps - anyone for a bit of Virtual Boy black-and-red or Game Boy green-and-black action, for instance?), and carry on through the worlds on offer until finally escaping from the hungry worm that Slime is currently residing within after being gobbled up. Throw in new play-styles to unlock, outfits to purchase, mini-games, multiplayer arcade games, online rankings, as well as Speed Running, Boss Ruch, and New Game+ modes available after completing the main romp, and there is not only plenty of enjoyment to be had, but amazing value packed into this humble-looking package.