Reviewed on: Nintendo Switch

We live in a world where video games are very commonly associated with adrenaline and the kinds of emotions we couldn’t experience in person. But at the same time we often forget that there are other styles of play, some that seek to deliver different experiences. WorldNeverland – Elnea Kingdom sets out to do something different, giving you the chance to live a life in an alternate world.

Mechanics: 6

WorNeva is a simulation game with RPG elements and a good dose of Slice of Life. You can work, gather materials, battle to earn your Citizenship in the kingdom, explore dangerous places, fight monsters, build a network of friendships, start a family… But, in the end, what matters is that everything that happens in Elnea is the result of your decisions. This is your story, and it will certainly be different from that of any other player around the world.

The premise is interesting and the game shows it has an extensive world and a great variety of characters to interact with and activities to carry out… But the vast content doesn’t make up for the (lack of) depth in its mechanics.

The game seems to try to highlight its RPG elements, but venturing into the Dungeons is an autopilot activity where your character (and possible companions) walk in a straight line and face a series of encounters with progressively stronger monsters. The fights are equally tedious and even include an auto-battle option that does exactly everything you would do manually: use the first 4 actions to attack and the 5th to switch to a defensive stance.

On the other hand, the side of experiencing the day-to-day life of a fantasy medieval kingdom offers more variety and interesting options, but still with serious problems in its polish and in the depth of the activities performed.

Audiovisual: 3

WorldNeverland – Elnea Kingdom is the adaptation of a smartphone game… And that is painfully clear at every moment. The visuals manage to impress… negatively. With models and textures that seem to be from a couple of generations ago, the game fails to develop any graphic appeal. Overall, the scenery can still produce pretty scenes, although it always makes visible that this is a game well below what is expected for the Switch.

The songs are charismatic enough, but the soundtrack seems limited to a small number of tracks and this ends up making the audio quite repetitive. The sound effects don’t make a good impression, and in general seem generic – as if they had been obtained from a public library.

Fun: 6

It’s hard to explain exactly why, but despite all its problems WorNeva manages to entertain. The dialogue, even though repetitive, gives life and charisma to the inhabitants of the kingdom of Elnea. The immense variety of activities, characters and quests manages to create that feeling of really writing your own story, experiencing a lifestyle completely different from what other players must be experiencing.

Again it’s worth stressing that even its best qualities are weakened by repetitiveness. The game imposes some barriers to your progression (usually in the form of high money costs) to extend its lifespan, but not every player will be interested in defining and following a daily routine to be repeated for days and days just to be able to buy an item or progress a little in their citizenship/career process.

Final Considerations

WorldNeverland – Elnea Kingdom is a game full of good intentions and an even larger number of execution problems. The proposal of living an alternate life and having total freedom to write your own story is quite attractive, but its slow progression, repetitiveness and overall presentation far below acceptable standards end up making it hard to appreciate the title. For those who can wait, it’s worth waiting for the arrival of new Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon or, more specifically, Rune Factory on the Switch.

Score

Mechanics = 6

Audiovisual = 3

Fun = 6

Worth the 30 dollars? No. The price doesn’t match the game’s level of polish. If possible, keep waiting for a better-established title like Rune Factory, or even Harvest Moon or Animal Crossing for the Switch.

Overall: 5

Played on the Nintendo Switch version