Override 2: Super Mech League

Genre: Fighting Game / Arcade

Players: 1-2 Competitive (Local Split-Screen), 2-4 Competitive (Online)

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Review:

Note: This review has been directly sponsored by a kind donation from Jamie and His Cats. Thanks again for your generous contribution!

The first Override game, released in 2018, presented players with gameplay that combined Fighting Games with Arcade-style gameplay that had players fighting as giant mechs in enclosed arenas. It arrived to Nintendo Switch a year later than other platforms, coming in 2019, but suffered the same lackluster response. In 2022, the game was delisted from digital storefronts, though players wanting to play this game for some reason can still hunt down a physical copy.

The sequel, Override 2, released in 2020 on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, and it is still currently available in all formats, so perhaps this is a case of trying to ensure the target audience was shuffled to the newer game. In any case, this sequel upped the character roster from 16 to 20 (or 24 if you purchase the licensed Ultraman DLC expansion), and features faster-paced gameplay, new moves like the ability to grab and throw enemies, and less of a focus on story, instead focusing on the action.

Before getting into the presentation, I should mention that I feel like the eShop images for this game do not accurately reflect the way this game looks on Nintendo Switch, and I suspect those images are of a version of the game running on another platform. For reference, the above image was taken directly from my Nintendo Switch, and the following is pulled from the eShop:

While the Nintendo Switch version still features the same nice 3D character models, the resolution is much lower, making everything look like it’s seen through a lens smeared with Vasoline. What’s more, the framerates drop at times and even freeze for a brief moment every now and then. In short, this is not a great-looking game on Nintendo Switch.

At the very least, the metal clanging sounds of combat are pretty good, but even in the sound department, this game has issues with the sound mixing – in what little story mode this game has, the voiced “agent” character speaking with you is hard to hear over the ’00s-style electric guitar playing in the background. As a result, everything about this game’s presentation seems like it had the potential to be impressive, but was sloppily ruined at the last moment.

The gameplay, likewise, seems like it has the potential to be fun, but ends up feeling like it’s completely lacking strategy, as players will undoubtedly find one or two moves they like, and just keep spamming those. This wouldn’t have been horrible, except the game’s camera is atrocious – either it is locked on to an opponent, wildly moving around as they move in relation to you and ignoring nearby terrain as it gets in the way of your view… or you can have it move freely, but then it requires constant babysitting.

I suppose the final note here is that the game’s heavy focus on online play just makes it clear that no one is still playing this game now that you’re only ever matched with bots Oh well.

Please don’t misunderstand me, I don’t think Override 2 is a terrible game, and there is some simple dumb fun to be had here, but the Nintendo Switch version is eye-wateringly bad to look at, and this is made worse by the terrible camera. Add to this the game’s shallow gameplay and lack of online competition, and I feel like you have to really struggle to enjoy this game now.

tl;dr – Override 2 is a game that combines Fighting Game and Arcade-style action with players fighting each other as mechs in enclosed arenas. While the gameplay is enjoyable in a shallow way, the performance on Nintendo Switch is atrocious, the camera is horrible, and the online play this game wants to highlight is a ghost town. The result is a game that’s very difficult to recommend.

Grade: C-

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^{This month’s sponsors are Jamie and His Cats, Ben, Ilya Zverev, Andy Miller, Homer Simpin, Johannes, Francis Obst, Gabriel Coronado-Medina, Jared Wark, Kristoffer Wulff, and Seth Christenfeld. Thank you for helping to keep the reviews coming!}