B.ARK

Genre: Shmup

Players: 1-4 Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

B.ARK is a Shmup released on PC and Nintendo Switch in 2021. In this game, players take the role of one of four animals piloting a spaceship and fighting off hordes of enemies as they return to Earth to try to rescue humanity.

B.ARK makes use of cartoony 2D visuals with some appealing character designs. It’s nothing especially noteworthy, but it works well enough for the game. These visuals are backed by a pretty catchy energetic soundtrack. All in all, the presentation here is decent but nothing spectacular.

For the gameplay, each of the characters offers a different style of upgradeable weapon, and players can hold down the attack button to fire rapid shots or release it to charge a more powerful shot. In addition, there’s a dodge move and a special attack move. Nothing truly revolutionary for the genre, but it’s enough to provide a decent amount of variety and well-paced action.

Unfortunately, this game is way too hard for its cutesy presentation – players can take multiple hits, but doing so causes them to lose the power they’ve accrued. And there’s so much action going on that it will be very difficult to avoid taking hits. Veterans of the genre may find this game suited to their skill level, but they’ll also likely find that this game lacks any significant new features to entice them… and meanwhile, more casual players will likely find the difficulty of this game saps the fun out of the experience.

As a result, B.ARK is a game that has some good qualities, but it’s hard for me to really say who would enjoy this experience overall. On the one hand you have an adorable presentation and a few decent gameplay elements but nothing especially extraordinary, and on the other hand, you have a punishing difficulty level that runs directly counter to this game’s cute exterior. Perhaps there are some Shmup fans who may enjoy this game, but there are far too many better games in the genre on the Nintendo Switch, regardless of your skill level.

tl;dr – B.ARK is a Shmup that has you playing as one of a group of spaceship-flying animals fighting to save humanity. The presentation is cute, but that cuteness runs counter to a punishing difficulty level. This combined with a lack of anything truly innovative make this a game that, while not bad, doesn’t seem like it’ll hold any strong appeal for anyone.

Grade: C

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