Exorder (Nintendo Switch) Review

By Athanasios 17.10.2018

Review for Exorder on Nintendo Switch

Turn-based strategy Exorder has been around since the early 2018, but it sort of went under the radar, and very few amongst genre fans cared about it. Was it because of its generic-looking medieval fantasy aesthetic (insanely common in most Smartphone "strategy" titles), or were there deeper reasons? It's time to give a look at it to see what the deal is in the new, Nintendo Switch version.

One common mistake in videogames is when developers include a story... but not really care about it, when it would be much better if they didn't bother with it at all. Exorder is exactly like that. It starts with the rivalry between the two heirs of the throne - a heroic, battle-ready princess, and her worthless, hunky (in an exaggeratedly cartoony way) brother - a tale that soon goes through some typical twists and tales of no importance.

Dialogue is read, not acted; the characters are lifeless beyond belief; and the actual plot is nothing to write home about. Does a subpar narrative matter so much? Yes, because, while playing the campaign, characters can't seem to shut it. Those in-game, mini cut-scenes aren't very long or anything, but they do ruin the pace of what, unfortunately, isn't such a good experience to begin with.

Anyone who has ever played such a game will feel right at home. There are units to move around, buildings to capture (with some creating income, and others spewing out foes), and keeps or mercenary camps where one can buy warriors of various kinds, whose diversity in terms of abilities, by the way, is the only good thing to say about the game as a whole.

Screenshot for Exorder on Nintendo Switch

First of all, the campaign tends to feel more like a strict puzzler, as stages can be very unforgiving, and way too soon, to be honest, whereas this mode had always served as an introduction to the much tougher multiplayer portion. This lack of freedom to play in your own way is bad enough as it is, but the campaign also has the nasty habit of making frequent ambushes, which can really destroy the whole match, as there's no smart way to scout ahead and prepare for them.

Furthermore, apart from a few (mostly small) flaws in the UI in terms of user-friendliness, this is a real chore to play with the gamepad, as the directional buttons make the pointer jump between units and structures in a way that feels more awkward than natural. Sure, one can simply use the touchscreen to do everything, but that doesn't help much when your Switch is docked, right?

The real problems, however, begin when you finally make the leap to the core of it all, the Skirmish battles - whether against the CPU or a fellow human being - and that is simply how... barebones this is. There are no races, hero units, and, generally, unique mechanics to make the "fun" last a little longer. In the end, Exorder does so little, that even similar strategy games from the early '90s feel more complete than this.

Screenshot for Exorder on Nintendo Switch

Cubed3 Rating

4/10
Rated 4 out of 10

Subpar

Not only is Exorder's campaign and storytelling uninspired, and even annoying at times, but, in its attempt to be an extremely simple TBS that can be enjoyed by everyone, it just ends up being bland and forgettable.

Developer

Solid9

Publisher

Fat Dog Games

Genre

Strategy

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  4/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  0 (0 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date Out now   Australian release date Out now   

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