Nuclear Blaze is an motion platformer for the Nintendo Change. This fireplace-fighting journey takes us by means of a burning facility, extinguishing fires and uncovering a harmful thriller within the course of. Sounds enjoyable, proper? It’s!
The sport begins with an explosion that’s quickly attended to by a group of firefighters. You play the function of certainly one of these heroic individuals who ventures slightly additional than the others. Your investigations lead you to a seemingly deserted facility filled with redacted notes and different misplaced messages that allude to an experiment gone awry. The additional underground you proceed, the extra the thriller unravels.
A lot of the gameplay entails transferring by means of this explicit constructing and placing out these pesky fires. It sounds easy, and it’s to an extent. You progress your little hero and direct the hose with the management stick. You too can soar and (ultimately) roll, together with different unlockable strikes. Preserving issues easy on this regard permits for different design options to face out.
For instance, you may have a restricted provide of water. Helpful tanks are scattered all through the ability, however you must nonetheless time your actions so that you’re not left stranded. Some fires should be extinguished inside a time restrict, with the seconds counting down earlier than your eyes. Should you don’t make it, the room explodes, killing you and forcing you to retry. This tense ingredient retains the adrenaline pumping. Some flames are attributable to electrical faults, that means your water is ineffective – in reality, soaking these flames will injure or kill you. You’ll have to deactivate the electrical energy inflicting the hearth by discovering a lever. There are additionally locked doorways and different blockades, including to the sport’s puzzle ingredient. It retains you considering whereas including selection.
The graphics are terrific. The retro aesthetic fits the temper, with pixelated characters and darkish buildings that permit the flames stand out. The sound results and audio all work collectively to seize the tense setting of an inferno. Visible cues additionally assist, equivalent to a brighter blue-tinged hue once you’ve cleared an space. You possibly can enable your self to really feel protected for only a second earlier than continuing.
One other neat characteristic of Nuclear Blaze is its accessibility. There’s a kid-friendly mode able to deploy up entrance. You possibly can tweak many settings in the primary mode just by accessing an in-game menu. Components embody how a lot water you’ll be able to maintain, how far you’ll be able to spray, and the way rapidly the hearth spreads. Adjusting these can take the sting off the issue; though it’s not insanely exhausting, it’s no stroll within the park by default. Fortunately, your heroic little firefighter rapidly respawns on the final checkpoint. These checkpoints are commonly deployed, minimizing any frustration at replaying.
I additionally love the way you stay in radio contact together with your group all through the journey. This communication not solely sounds genuine, it helps create a way of urgency. It additionally evokes a sense of isolation by highlighting the truth that your group can’t attain you.
Truthfully, the one draw back to Nuclear Blaze is its comparatively quick size. You’ll be performed inside a number of hours, though there are incentives to replay. Firstly, there’s an unlockable “maintain my beer” mode, offering extra challenges after the credit roll. Secondly, there are achievements to beat, with a useful listing obtainable from the title display screen. Lastly, there are 16 kittens to rescue. I solely discovered six on my first run by means of, guaranteeing one other foray into the flaming constructing to save lots of the remainder.
General, Nuclear Blaze is an absolute blast. The 2D platforming is complemented by distinctive fire-based puzzles that hold you in your toes whereas unraveling the thriller behind this deserted facility. There’s one thing satisfying about clearing a room of flames, to not point out rescuing cute kittens. Regardless of its quick runtime, I extremely advocate this to anybody who loves motion platformers.
