A change of genre…

Squid-like aliens are invading the Doughling homeworld and its up to you to save your comrades from the evil invading race. Here’s Leigh’s Switch review of Doughlings Invasion, a great addition to the series, but is it as good as the original?

A copy of Doughlings Invasion was supplied by the game’s developers.

So I reviewed a game from Hero Concept a while back called Doughlings Arcade, which was very similar to Arkanoid (the classic arcade game). The main goal of the game was to bounce balls off a paddle to cure your fellow Doughlings of a sickness that was plaguing them. I gave the game a positive review because it added a twist to the traditional arcade genre and I thought it was enjoyable.

Now though, there’s a new game on the block from Hero Concept called Doughlings Invasion. As the name suggests, Invasion moves away from the machines of Arkanoid and turns to that other arcade icon: Space Invaders.

Invaders… from space.

Invasions’s story follows on from Doughlings Arcade- a meteorite had crashed into the Doughling’s planet, spreading a toxic gas. The gas resulted in an epidemic that affected all of the Doughlings. However, our main hero- Doctor Morpheus- saved his Doughling friends by curing them with his medicine spheres.

Nevertheless, the meteorite was just the start of their problems. The good Doctor found a device hidden within the crater and soon realised this wasnt just a huge rock that fell from the sky, it was a weapon of mass destruction! With most of population still sick, there was no way the planet could take another direct attack! Just as the Doctor thought this, the sky of the Doughlings’ home world became full of strange squid-like aliens. The Doctor knew a new threat was now unavoidable and that he was the only Doughling that could send them packing!

It sounds like Space Invaders but…

Upon starting Doughlings Invasion (DI) there is a single player main campaign, which takes you across 45 stages including boss encounters.

The gameplay sees you moving from left to right shooting your gun with the Y button and dodging incoming shots from the alien invaders. Each alien has there own colour just like in the previous game. Weak aliens are in blue and take one hit to kill, whilst stronger aliens are in red and take four hits to defeat. Different aliens will be introduced as you progress through each new level. Unlike the last game though, the core mechanics in DI are all about shooting multiple enemies, whilst increasing your score by hitting combos. If you like comparing yourself to your friends, then combos are important because your best score can be uploaded to an online leaderboard.

I know what you’re thinking, this just sounds like Space Invaders. However, there are some differences to the enemies. Some of the aliens dive bomb you whilst you have to protect other Doughlings. I like this change to the traditional Space Invaders structure because it seemed to happen randomly. It meant I was always on my toes, having to switch up my strategy every time one of the little buggers came at me.

Even though the kamikaze aliens were tricky, I was never totally defenceless. Of course you can shoot back and use structures to hide behind. Furthermore, there are caged Doughlings dotted throughout the levels. If you free them you can gain an extra heart, which is life saver if you’re low on health.

Gameplay that feels a little too doughy.

Gameplay is slower in DI than in Doughlings Arcade and it took me a while to get used to it. Honestly, the doughy gameplay was a bit of a turn off for me as I loved the high tense, twitchy gameplay of the original game. I felt DI only emulated this feeling towards the end of levels when there were less enemies and they sped up. It made levels feel like a drag until the very end as I was slowly and meticulously chipping away at enemies. It’s a shame because I loved the other changes Hero Concept made to the game, such as the new aliens and Personas. I just wished they kept the same twitchy, fast paced feeling from the original game.

Furthermore, I was sad to see the level editor was not included in DI. It would have been cool to create your own alien swarm patterns, share them with your friends and see if they could survive. It would also have added some longevity to the game and something to do after beating the main campaign.

Persona on the Switch??

The campaign was fun though and I especially liked looking for DNA. Collect enough DNA strains and it’ll transform you into a new Persona for a limited time. To be honest, it feels like there’s less Personas in DI than the original game. In DI there are only 4 extra Personas to unlock such as the Cyclops and Indiana Jones. Each Persona has its own standard attack and spotlight attack. For example, Indiana has the ability to bounce bullets off walls and slow down time for more precise shots with his spotlight. I liked each of the Persona’s attacks but I still think there was a greater variety in the first game. Nevertheless, by collecting a mysterious looking red liquid you can upgrade both the Doctor’s and the Personas’ abilities at the end of each level.

Sprinkled into the mix are boss encounters that spice up the standard shooting. These bosses are all well designed visually and have there own unique attacks that must be avoided. Nevertheless, there wasn’t much to actually beating them, you just had to chip away at their health bars until they were defeated.

A Bald Geodude.

Graphics in DI still maintain its cartoon character designs and backgrounds. Everything is bright and I found the character designs to be quirky and fun, especially those of the Personas. However, I do think the Doctor looks like a Spynx cat version of a Geodude. The sound effects are functional for this sort of game but didn’t have any lasting impact on me.





Summary

Douglings Invasion by Hero Concept is a fun romp to play on the Nintendo Switch. It’s nothing that’s going to sweep you off your feet, but with it’s moderately cheap price of $9.99 it does offer a good substitute to Space Invaders on the Switch. Personally, I wish the game was faster like the previous game in the series. However, overall the game is still solid enough with new Personas, a new core concept and online leaderboards spicing up the game and making it feel different enough from the original.

In total honesty, if I was to suggest a Doughings game to you, I’d suggest Doughlings Arcade because I had more fun with that game and it is also available on the Nintendo eshop. However, if you want something a bit newer with a quirky story and Space Invader mechanics, then Doughlings Invasion may be for you.

That’s why I give Doughlings Invasion by Hero Concept my score of

What did you think of Leigh’s Switch review of Doughlings Invasion? Are you craving a Space Invader game on the Switch? Does the Doctor remind you of a bald Geodude too? Let us know on Twitter or come and join the SIF community on Discord.

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