Nuclien (Nintendo Switch) Review

Nuclien is a bit of an anomaly when it comes to Switch games. It quite literally demands to be played in handheld mode, otherwise it won't properly start, and, outside of menu movement, the controls are entirely touch-based. While the mechanics are fairly simple, tapping away at numbers, the premise is surprisingly complex. After the end of the universe, it's up to an architect to rebuild everything and usher in a new cosmic era. While the story doesn't get much attention, it's a setting that establishes a tone and gives legitimate meaning to tapping numbers.

Nuclien's campaign is initially separated into four worlds: Micro-organisms, The Ocean, The Land, and Complex Life. Each world features its own method of stage completion. Micro-organism stages simply require tapping numbers as they appear, The Ocean stages' numbers need to be tapped from highest to lowest, The Land's need to be tapped from lowest to highest, and Complex Life's stages require a mix where numbers in squares must be tapped from lowest to highest and numbers in circles must be tapped from highest to lowest. In theory, the objectives are fairly simple. In practice, some stages end up brutally hard, demanding complete focus from the tapper.

Throughout each stage, a timer will gradually go down. Once it depletes entirely, the stages ends and must be restarted. The timer is almost never an issue during the early stages of each world. Normal difficulty stages always give more than enough time to mess up. Once reaching hard, however, those mess ups become critical as each mistake depletes the timer. By the time tappers reach the end of the world, a single error can lead to an immediate game over.

Thankfully, there are workarounds for those lacking in lightning fast reflexes. Completing each stage rewards currency in the form of Knowledge. Knowledge can be used for two key purposes: purchasing a Knowledge Bonus or a Time Bonus. Anyone struggling can simply play through the early stages of each world and acquire enough Knowledge to extend their timer so they aren't put on the clock as intensely. It does help quite a bit, which might be a reason to avoid spending for anyone thrilled by the challenge, but it's a nice alternative to road-blocking anyone lacking the skill to progress.

Clearing all four worlds leads to one final one that puts the rest to shame. Getting here, however, is no easy task, even with the time extension. If tappers play through the worlds linearly, they will notice a shift with The Ocean's design when it suddenly throws in smaller numbers that spawn under big numbers when tapped. This simple curveball completely changes the way stages in The Ocean need to be approached. Planning a course of action simply isn't possible anymore, and it drives home just how important focusing and reacting appropriately are in Nuclien.

While the main story doesn't take long to tap through, even with all the difficulty, there is a short Time Trial mode that adds a level of replayability. Unlike the main stages, there's no timer here. Instead, the goal is just to do as well as possible. If nothing else, it's a pleasant relaxer in-between the chaos of the later stages. Nuclien isn't likely to entice hours upon hours of gameplay, but it's a fun, cheap tap 'em up that's more than worth the time and money.