Nakana Bundle #4

Genre: Compilation

Players: 1

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Review:

Nakana Bundle #4, released on Nintendo Switch in 2023, is a Compilation of five games, previously released individually on the Nintendo Switch eShop in 2019 through 2021. Those games are Journey of the Broken Circle, Lydia, Mythic Ocean, Soul Searching, and Stilstand.

I should note that each of these games are included in other collections: Soul Searching is included in Nakana Bundle #1 (Soul Searching + A Night at the Races + Infini) along with A Night at the Races and Infini; Journey of the Broken Circle and Mythic Ocean are both in Nakana Bundle #2 (Mythic Ocean + Journey of the Broken Circle + Cosmic Top Secret), along with Cosmic Top Secret; Lydia and Stilstand are both in Nakana Bundle #3 (Eqqo + Lydia + Stilstand), along with Eqqo; And all five of the games in this Compilation are included in Nakana Bundle #6 (10 Games), along with A Night at the Races, Cosmic Top Secret, Eqqo, Infini, and Please, Touch the Artwork.

In other words, if you’re interested in multiple games in this bundle, check out the other Nakana bundles before making a final purchase.

I have reviewed all of these games. Here is what I thought of each of the games in this collection:

Game	Genre	# of Players	Score
Journey of the Broken Circle	Platformer	1	C+
tl;dr Journey of the Broken Circle is a story-focused Platformer that tells an abstract tale about relationships through its gameplay starring a circle missing a piece. This game has some good story dealing with its central topic, and uses gameplay mechanics in some clever ways to deliver that story, but both the story and the gameplay are uneven, with thoughtful examinations injected with cringe-worthy cliches, and good use of gameplay mechanics brought down by sections that are snoozefests and others with sharp difficulty spikes. Overall it’s still a good experience, but a very uneven one.
Lydia	Graphic Adventure	1	C+
tl;dr Lydia is a Graphic Adventure that follows a child into a world of nightmares both real and imagined. As a game, this is a brief, tedious, soul-sapping experience. But as a piece of art, this is a beautiful look into a horrible situation that’s all too real for far too many children. I doubt anyone will truly enjoy this game, but some may be able to appreciate it.
Mythic Ocean	Visual Novel / First-Person Walking Simulator	1	B
tl;dr Mythic Ocean is a game that’s part Visual Novel, part Walking Simulator (swimming simulator?), part personality quiz, with players advising various archetypal god figures in an abstract undersea environment. The game sets a great relaxed mood with an excellent soundtrack, and the characters you meet and choices you make are compelling, even if the abstract nature of the game makes everything feel somewhat nebulous.
Soul Searching	Survival Adventure	1	D
tl;dr Soul Searching is a Survival Adventure game with a heavily-pixelated look where you paddle an oar across an empty ocean. The game gives players little instruction how to play the game, what to do, or how to survive. Even for Survival Adventure games, this is a painful, pointless slog of a game, and I highly recommend you avoid it.
Stilstand	Visual Novel	1	C
tl;dr Stilstand is a Visual Novel about a woman suffering from loneliness and depression. And also there’s apparently a nice, kind-hearted reverse-Babadook. It’s a short story, with crudely-depicted characters. I suppose, to its credit, it does succeed in painting a particularly bleak and depressing picture for players. I’m just not sure what the appeal is here.

In short, the shining star of this collection is going to be Mythic Ocean, which I would argue is the only truly excellent game in the bunch. Every other game here is either niche in a way that only a small portion of players will enjoy it, lacking in a way that makes it fail to meet its potential, or outright terrible. Yikes.

So, let’s say you’re not discouraged by that and don’t just decide to get Mythic Ocean on its own, you want to get the whole kit ‘n’ kaboodle. Is this bundle a good deal? Well, at $25, this bundle is nearly $15 cheaper than buying all five of these games separately, so I suppose that yes, this is a pretty good deal.

Is it a deal you’ll actually want to buy though? I doubt it. If you’re a completionist looking to get as many of Nakana’s games as you can, you’ll just head straight to Nakana Bundle #6, which includes everything in this package plus five more games. And if you’re only looking to get the best games in this package… yeah, then you’re just getting Mythic Ocean, done and done. Look, just to be clear, I’m not saying Mythic Ocean is the only game here with merit, but if you’re one of the few who thinks you’ll appreciate those merits, why stop only getting the 5-game bundle, right?

Whether or not you want to do that, either way, I don’t think this bundle is worth your money, even if it’s collectively a good deal on the included games.

tl;dr – Nakana Bundle #4 is a Compilation of Journey of the Broken Circle, Lydia, Mythic Ocean, Soul Searching, and Stilstand. While some may find a few of those games to have some merit, for the most part the only truly great game in the bunch is Mythic Ocean. If you want that game, just get Mythic Ocean. And if you want a good deal on multiple Nakana games, you’re probably better off getting Nakana Bundle #6, which includes all of these games plus five more. As a result, I see little reason to get this Compilation.

Grade: C

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