Reviewed on: Nintendo Switch

If there is something Nintendo masters, it is creating games with immense multiplayer quality. When the Switch was announced and we got a small glimpse of the first games the console would receive, many were surprised to see the boxing game with stretchy arms in there – something reminiscent of Punch-Out and the boxing in Wii Sports, but still quite different.

Over the months new details were revealed and, little by little, genuine hype formed around the game. When ARMS was finally released, its sales confirmed what many already expected: the game is a hit, worthy of joining the pantheon of great franchises from the House of Mario.

Fun: 10

Whether to serve as group fun at a gathering of friends, or to compete at events and tournaments, ARMS fits every taste and goal you can have with a fighting game.

Its simple, responsive controls ensure anyone can grasp the game’s premise and quickly get the hang of how to move, attack and perform the main actions in the game… But more attentive and dedicated players will quickly notice that the vast list of character and weapon options gives the game great variety and depth. As with Nintendo’s biggest hits, this is a game that is easy to pick up and play, yet so deep that only the most dedicated players can fully master it!

Mechanics: 9.5

ARMS is an unconventional fighting game. At heart, it is a competition focused on trading punches, like Boxing, but with a big difference: all the fighters have stretchy arms, which are launched to hit from a distance, even following curved trajectories!
Each character can be customized with a set of 3 weapons and, at the start of each round, the player can choose among these 3 options for both the right and the left fist. Each of these “gloves” has different weight, range and speed – and most have an associated secondary effect, such as Freeze, Explosion, Shock and many others.

The game supports every control option you can imagine, but the most widely promoted and encouraged is the one that uses motion controls. Don’t be fooled: this really is the most satisfying way to control your fighter and, believe it or not, it is also the most precise!
Movement is done by tilting the two Joy-Con in the desired direction, and punches are thrown by punching with the desired fist. Once in motion, punches can be curved by tilting each fist differently. There are also buttons for jumping, dodging and activating a special attack (which fires countless punches at high speed). Finally, you can guard by tilting both Joy-Con inward, which is the only problematic command (moving too fast can be read as a punch – a dedicated button would be better).
It may sound complicated described this way, but playing with motion controls is extremely easy and enjoyable. The Nintendo video helps demonstrate the beauty of simplicity:

[youtube link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE1jg9II_Kw” width=”800″ height=”480″]

Each character has a unique trait. Springman, for example, has his fists always in Charged mode when below 25% vitality, while Ribbon Girl can do up to 5 consecutive jumps (in the air!). The combination of 30 possible weapons in the right hand, another 30 in the left, for each of the 10 characters with different traits makes for a staggering 9000 different combinations (for now, because more content is on the way!). We always have new options to test and new tactics to imagine… And there will surely always be something we haven’t yet thought of or tested!

Besides the variety of characters and weapons, ARMS offers several game modes:

• 1-on-1 duel;
• 2-on-2 duel (the pairs are connected by a spring!);
• 3-player free-for-all;
• 4-player free-for-all;
• 1-on-1 explosive volleyball;
• 2-on-2 explosive volleyball;
• 1-on-1 target shooting;
• 2-on-2 target shooting;
• 1-on-1 human basketball;
• New weapon testing (single player);
• Endurance challenge (single player) against 100 opponents;
• 3-on-1 boss fight; (online modes only)

The variety is surprising and, although some modes aren’t as deep or interesting, their presence increases diversity, serves as practice and also helps us appreciate even more the perfect blend of fun and technique of the main modes.

The online lobby is surprisingly elegant and well implemented, especially considering Nintendo’s track record with online experiences. You are placed in a room with countless other players, and online matches happen among the participants of that room. You can see a summary of matches happening in real time, and small rivalries form and resolve over the minutes (or hours) we spend in a single room. Certainly an innovative solution that should serve as inspiration for future competitive games.

There is also a ranked online mode, in which wins advance your Player Level and losses slow your progress. Matches are balanced by level and, since the game may need time to find a suitable opponent, you can play other offline modes while waiting. Once again, surprisingly high-quality work when you bear in mind Nintendo’s murky past with online games/services.

Audiovisual: 9

The comparisons with Overwatch are no accident: ARMS does a sensational job of delivering exquisite character design. Each of its fighters has well-defined lines and colors, full of personality and creativity. The art direction is visually impressive, with vivid colors and well-detailed graphics that make the characters and settings very attractive. The game itself runs without any drops in frame rate (locked at 60fps for one or two players, or locked at 30fps for 3 or 4 players).

The music is energetic and matches the setting of each arena, but the fact that all of it is a variant of the main theme is both a blessing and a curse: at first the work seems creative and helps make the theme even more memorable, but over time it may make all the songs feel repetitive at once.
The absence of voice acting also bothers a bit. I’m not only referring to the fighters, who still speak short phrases at the start and end of fights, but to the announcer Biff. In the ARMS Directs that Nintendo released before the game, the character was voiced with a deep, serious voice, which made everything more fun – but in the game itself Biff just makes high-pitched, meaningless noises, forcing us to read the text box on screen… A much less interesting experience. I have faith that a future update will give the announcer the same voice used when the character was introduced to us.

Final thoughts

Being accessible and at the same time technically deep is a rare quality in the video game industry, but ARMS doesn’t stop there. The game brings surprising variety in every aspect: characters, weapons, arenas and game modes – all are varied, creative and genuinely interesting. More than an example of multiplayer game design, ARMS shows that perhaps we really are in a new era of Nintendo online services.

Score

Fun = 10

Mechanics = 9.5

Audiovisual = 9

Overall : 9.5

Nintendo Switch version