League of Evil (Nintendo Switch) Review

Ever since the rebirth of the 2D platformer genre, some things have become almost dogmatic truths: fans of the genre like challenges, and fans of the genre like simple graphics. League of Evil plays on these to the edge, and maybe goes too far.

What people like is often not the challenge in itself, but rather the fun gameplay surrounding it and to master the game. What people like is not simple graphics per se, but pixel art because of the nostalgic memories it brings back. Seriously, great pixel art is something wonderful to behold.

League of Evil does very little to focus on the "fun" part in challenges. Here, they are too often based solely on muscle memory, especially if chasing for the time bonus stars or the briefcases that serve as bonus objectives. Practice and muscle memory are the keys to succeed.

This is a feature very few enjoy in gaming. The kind of challenge many enjoy comes from good level design and mechanics that are meant to do more than just kill the player, giving the game a hook and something to keep improving on. This is something that is very much missed in League of Evil, as the gameplay and theme is as bland as it gets. It has genre staples such as double jumps, wall jumps, and a little forward attack, but it's nothing spectacular or out of the ordinary.

While the gameplay leaves things to be desired, especially compared to some competitors, it has a good and easy to use level editor. It must be complimented as it finds a perfect balance between being simple enough for everyone to use, and meaty enough to create fun and interesting levels. This is a part of the game where people can sit for hours creating and sharing their own cleverly designed levels.

The level editor does not save it, though. The gameplay is too bland and generic to create any hype at all, and it is very obvious in a bad way when looking at the game that it is originally an iOS title and not a console release. While there is good fun to be had with these challenging games, there are far better options out there with more fun gameplay and better level design.