HunterX | Nintendo Switch Review

Developer Orange Popcorn boldly brings to us an anime Soulsborne and Metroidvania hybrid done up in a 2.5D graphics style. A game about a devil hunter named Tsuki, and her sidekick devil pal, Marek. It follows the two protagonists as they descend upon a devil infested city overshadowed by a pink moon. Not immediately eluding to any prior plot points the journey forward is one of discovery wherein progress reveals what the hell is going on. As it were it seems Hunters were heroes of the Devil Wars. A group of individuals with occult powers that allow them to combat evil. Along with the aid of priestesses they do their bidding. In Tsuki's case she stumbles upon a city in ruins where hunters have mysteriously vanished. Thus Tsuki seeks answers through combat.

As Tsuki, an anime school girl with a sword, you play the role of an inquisitive hunter. Immediately at your disposal are basic actions such as jumping, high jumping, and combo slashing. As you progress killing lesser and greater enemies you'll find that they drop karma (Dark Souls Souls) which can be spent on stat upgrades at upgrade statues, and in turn unlock keystones which can be spent on a skill tree which will unlock further abilities and perks. With these newer abilities you will face off against the occasional boss, and the army of lesser enemies between. Boss battles are the key to completion of your end goal. Finding out who exactly is behind the rise of devils, and the disappearance of the fabled hunters. 

Through the main menu you will find Tsuki's equipment, and skill tree ready for use. Her equipment listing contains a slot for a single weapon, two occult abilities, and two accessories. The occult abilities are basically mana dependent projectiles unlocked from defeated bosses that can be used against all enemy types. Mostly elemental. Accessories, on the other hand, are as they sound. Jewelry that contains different buffs that add to attack, defenses, and resistances, among other things. 

Other than the equipment the skill tree is where you'll be spending keystones gained from upgrading through collected karma to unlock buffs, and abilities. Things like new attacks, new defensive options, dash extensions, extra potions, and even armor boosts are among the many things that will be afforded to you for spending the required keystones. In the way of upgrades Tsuki can upgrade four functionally different stats. These include Vitality, Strength, Mind, and Activity. Strength, and Vitality are fairly much self-explanatory. Mind, on the other hand, strengthens occult attacks and boosts both occult attacks as well as an alternate special attack. Activity, lastly, improves upon stamina which allows for more dashing, parrying, and attacking. 

Overall Tsuki's actions are governed by a handful of gauges. She has a health bar, a mana bar, a stamina bar, and a special action gauge. Health, and mana alongside some other potion base buffs can be refilled by using the Dpad accessible quick access menu. By scrolling through your assigned potions through left or right on the DPad you can position them in the center to be used. Following up with a pressing of UP will use that item. Some items are single use with no refills while things like health potions will refill at the save statues when you save your progress. Much like a Dark Souls estus flask.

In the way of progressing you are basically given a map which can be accessed with the left trigger button that showcases where you are, where you can go, special rooms, and hidden chests/item locations. Very much like a classic Metroidvania. Sometimes it takes taking an alternative route to unlock a gate, or find a boss to progress. The boss battles are the end goal of each area on the map, and will reward you with new occult abilities upon defeat. Something that you will need in order to defeat other bosses later on. As you continue onward fighting the good fight, and defeating devilish creatures that lie in wait there will be brief conversations between you, your companion Marek, and other key characters. This fleshes out the story, and adds those details to the main menu's archive of information. That and traces, or explanations which equate to tutorials you've stumbled upon.

The Verdict ...

While HunterX isn't the most impressive looking Soulsborne/Metroidvania it offers responsive mechanics, and fluid combat which becomes increasingly more fast paced and involved the more you advance. I believe it's a competent, and decently crafted 2.5D take on the hybrid genres, and though you can easily farm to make progress super easy it's still got that engaging fun factor about it. In docked mode on the Switch with a controller it plays perfectly, and looks good enough on a 4K HDTV. There are no noticeable hiccups in framerate, and everything moves along smoothly with little to no loading times. For what it is I do feel it's a good buy, only for fans of the two connected genres that are looking to try something new. It will whet your appetite until the next proper Soulsborne comes along.