Digital Shorts: ‘Monkey Wall’ Review (Nintendo Switch)
In DIGITAL SHORTS we review some of the latest video games that are only available digitally (at least in the UK), in a short-form review format. In this edition we take a look at Monkey Wall – a Japanese puzzle game now available on the Nintendo Switch, whose concept might be familiar to game show fans.
Remember that weird British game show Hole in the Wall – where players where tasked with contorting themselves to fit through cutout holes of varying shapes in a large polystyrene wall moving towards them? Well that was based on a Japanese game show, Brain Wall (aka Human Tetris) and now that same concept has come to videogames with martial arts action/puzzle game Monkey Wall – which won the highest award for game art at the Xiamen International Anime & Manga Festival’s Golden Dolphin “Create the Future” Game Development Contest of 2018, and now comes to the Nintendo Switch
Monkey Wall sees players select from four characters, each with four different costumes to choose from, and proceeds down the training path. Break through the walls as they approach by quickly determining the pose that matches the space to continue – the aim of the game is to move in rhythm to the music and continue your training, hoping to get a high score AND keep up the pace as game gets faster.
Graphically Monkey Wall looks exactly like what it is – a mobile port. The Minecraft-esque blocky character actually suits the Tetris-like gameplay, with bright colours and clearly defined graphics making it easy to see what shape you need to make… To make the suitable shape you merely click the corresponding blocks in the graphic in the sidebar, the titular monkey then makes the correct pose to fit the hole and slides through. Which would make the game easy, if it wasn’t for the fact that the sidebar block-selector rotates left to right AND the game alternates between simply tapping one missing block to tapping missing multiples at random!
Something of a pick up and play, when-you-have-a-spare-minute, kind of game, Monkey Wall is not the type of game your going to play in long drawn-out sessions – though if you’ve got a short attention span this one could definitely be for you!
Monkey Wall is available on the Nintendo eShop now from Cosen.
