Video Game Review: 3000th Duel

3000th Duel

NEOPOPCORN Corp

Action, Adventure

Nintendo Switch

3000th duel is a Metroidvania style game where you play as a mysterious masked fighter, battling their way through a dark, world. Originally on PC, the indie game has recently made its way over to Nintendo Switch. Surprisingly long for a hack n slash style game (it boasts over 40 hours of content), this is a game for people prepared to really immerse themselves in the world and experience.

One of the most problematic aspects I had with this game, unfortunately, was the length – bosses seemed far too overpowered at the lower levels for your little fighter leaving you with little option but to grind to up your strength, health, and stamina to stand a chance. Perhaps I was just not catching on to the skill side of the fighting and the difficulty curve could have been avoided for a more experienced player, but as someone who has played a reasonable amount of games, this seemed a little more on the advanced side. Grinding literally takes the form of repeatedly going back and forth between areas, as the various enemies instantly respawn when you do so, and fighting, again and again, to build up enough karma points to level up. It’s time-consuming and ultimately rather frustrating and impedes the enjoyment of a game that otherwise has a decent amount to offer. There are some puzzles scattered throughout to help break this up but the combat is where this game spends most of its time.

Visually the game is stunning – the world is vividly imagined, and whilst the enemies do get a little repetitive after a bit in terms of design they’re sufficiently distinct and imaginatively created. The bosses, in particular, are quite memorable and offer interesting challenges to keep you on your toes (as long as you’re strong enough to deal with them!). Lighting, in particular, is used very well to create a gorgeous world. There’s an element of mystery throughout the game too, as your fighter appears to have lost their memories and slowly throughout their exploration of the world, more is revealed as to the history of the place. The music too adds greatly to the atmosphere and gives that whole spooky mysterious vibe that the game portrays so well. The game works well on the Switch platform and is priced decently – considering the length of the game, it certainly gives you a lot of bang for your buck!

After a while, however, the environments start to get a little repetitive and the combat, while offering some new mechanics as you progress, often feels like you’re mostly just hitting things over and over until they’re dead. It’s unfortunate as this is a game with some great ideas and stunning aesthetics, but ultimately the experience felt a little overlong and ultimately, wasn’t really for me. If you’re someone who likes a challenging game with plenty of mileage however, then this is a game worth checking out.