Game Review #103: Planet RIX-13 (Nintendo Switch)
Reviewer: Frankie W.
Developer: Sometimes You
Publisher: Sometimes You
Category: Adventure
Release Date: 1.16.2019
Price (at time of review): $4.99
Buy Planet RIX-13 from the Nintendo eShop here.
Too Straightforward?
A lot of times, when it comes to adventure games, most of my complaints fall on the game lacking direction, the solutions to puzzles being extremely unclear or convoluted, item combinations not making sense (things you would never ever consider without being told or hinted at) and the like. Planet RIX-13 is extremely straightforward for an adventure game. It sets out to tell a short interactive story without much in terms of puzzles, but is it enough to justify the price tag? Let's talk about Planet RIX-13 a little more in depth!
Planet RIX-13 falls under the wide umbrella of adventure games, story-based games which feature gameplay generally consisting of combining items or giving things to key story characters in order to move forward with the story. I will be honest, I beat this game in about 30 minutes with zero problems, because it is extremely straightforward. I generally complain about how convoluted these games are, but this game showcases the other extreme of that spectrum by not really throwing you for a loop at all, and outside of a few cases, clearly mapping your path ahead of you and spelling out what to do.
In Space, There Are Apparently No Sound Effects…
Planet RIX-13, story-wise, is the story of a man who crash landed on a planet that has been, for the most part, undiscovered and unexplored. You awake among the wreckage of your ship without much idea of what to do, but a research facility on the horizon calls to you to explore it, and maybe find someone who can help you to escape this planet! Planet RIX-13 features VERY little in the way of sounds. There is no music to listen to as you walk from objective to objective—at one walking speed—and there are minimal sound effects, mostly related to the various ways you can die. This game features lots of decision making, where death can be an outcome, but upon death you will just restart on the same screen, so it never feels like a major setback of sorts.
Graphically, the game utilizes a pixel-art style, but it is very basic, lacking any really detailed pieces, with very little to no shading. It's not the most pleasing to look at, but it works. I would say that the alien artifacts, and one of the last scenes in the game are the most the game has to offer, artwork-wise. There are a few basic puzzles, but mostly everything in this title is very self-explanatory. The story just kind of ends as quickly as it starts, offering very little explanation to any events that happen in the game. It offers two endings that are, essentially, just slightly different dialogues from one another—don’t worry, I checked! It was only 30 minutes long, so running through it again only took about 20 minutes, knowing all the things I needed to do from the start.
Wrapping Up
This game makes a decent attempt at telling a sci-fi story, but it falls flat in many aspects. You will find yourself bored as you silently walk with no music between vaguely different-looking locales. Reused assets with different colors abound, there is not a lot here to actually keep you playing. I give Planet RIX-13 a 3 out of 10. It's not offensively bad or anything, it's just wholly unimpressive as an experience, and just kind of all blends together, with very little defining aspects to it.
Score: 3/10
Buy Planet RIX-13 from the Nintendo eShop here.
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