Platform: Switch
Publisher: Frozenbyte
Developer: Frozenbyte
Genre: Action, RPG, Multiplayer
Players: 4
Release Date: December 05, 2017
From the quarter-fueled chaos of the Gauntlet series to the loot mountains of Diablo, there’s no denying the hold that multiplayer dungeon crawlers have over so many players.
That tradition is maintained beautifully in Frozenbyte’s spell-slinging Nine Parchments for the Nintendo Switch. The Switch’s particular brand of “jump right in” multiplayer is wonderfully represented here, as are some of the more time-honored traditions of the action-adventure genre.
Whether you’re a lone wolf hungry for action and extras, or group looking for some cooperative mayhem, Nine Parchments is a beautiful and entertaining addition to your indie Switch catalog.
There and Back Again
Frozenbyte studios are certainly no strangers to making apparently lightweight games look spectacular. Makers of the highly praised Trine series, the team has a knack for adding a layer of high-resolution polish and epic presentation to their work.
Nine Parchments is a wonderful continuation of the team’s effort on this front. Everything from spell effects to enemies to landscapes are wonderfully detailed and crisp, in both docked and handheld modes. What’s more, the game’s visuals don’t detract in the slightest from its performance; Nine Parchments runs smooth no matter how many players and enemies duke it out on-screen.
Graphical impact aside, the game’s atmosphere is delightfully diverse and epic in scope. Environments blend seamlessly between individual levels and create the sense of a lush, vibrant world even within the limited scope of the static isometric camera. The first time you see a boss you’re clearly about to fight crawl through the background as you make your way across perilous walkways, you get a sense of a world that is much bigger than you’d expect.
Sound design, story, and dialogue are mostly what one might expect based on Frozenbyte’s portfolio. Characters banter snarkily to each other in multiplayer modes, and awkwardly to themselves in solo play. There’s some light narration as you progress, but its sparse to the point of almost breaking the immersion when it appears.
There’s really not much to say about Nine Parchments’ plot. An explosion at an academy filled with apparently incompetent wizardry students scatters nine spell parchments to the winds, and the students promptly gallivant off to collect them. That’s really it; the stage is set within a matter of minutes, and the game doesn’t really waste too much effort on keeping up appearances here. Parchments are “collected” without any real pomp and circumstance throughout the game, and the wizard students’ don’t develop much as they travel.
For all it’s atmosphere, Nine Parchments’ wry, self-deprecating humor is somewhat out of place, but in a way that maintains a minimal amount of charm. I got much the same feeling as I did playing the original Trine, though the humor certainly takes a backseat to the action this time around. Overall, while I would have liked to see a bit more storytelling effort here, I found the action and engrossing visuals more than enough to sustain me throughout the campaign.
Yer a Wizard, Harry
Nine Parchments offers the kind of single-screen gameplay you’d expect from a four-player dungeon crawler: pick your wizard and you’re given three starting spells to hurl, controlling movement and aiming direction with the controller joysticks. You can cycle spells on the fly while you jump and blink past enemies, making positioning and understanding which spell to use key to success.
All spells in Nine Parchments are elemental: ice, fire, lightning, death, or healing. Elements affect their opposites as you’d expect, so ice spells take down fire foes quicker and vice versa. It’s elegant logic that plays out in interesting ways; that healing font you drop for your allies will take out death-tinged foes as well.
Things get interesting quickly when other players join in. Both all your and enemy spells affect the battlefield equally. Friendly fire is an ever-present concern, but this is true of enemies’ spells also. There’s potential for interesting combos if you communicate; you can stun enemies with thunder to give your allies time to hit them with their elemental counter, for example. The whole system makes for truly thrilling team play, but learning the ropes can be frustrating and you’ll almost certainly blow up a few of your friends along the way.
In all, Nine Parchments is a fantastic testament to everything that makes co-op dungeon crawlers great. Fun teamplay and no-nonsense action, with just enough character progression to make the whole thing feel like progress.
Tools of the Trade
At first glance, Nine Parchments might seem a little light on extras. The game’s campaign is it’s some play mode, and I’d certainly love to see something like a horse or arena mode if the team has any new content planned.
Characters are unlocked by progressing through levels and unlocking achievements. Players have access to two characters from the start, but along the way, you’ll encounter the staves of other wizardry students along the way. These staves have skill bonuses attached, and completing quests or challenges with a student’s staff will unlock the student for play.
Each student has three variants to unlock from different challenges as well, giving the roster a very hefty feel. Each variant starts with different spells, which makes it easier for groups to coordinate their loadouts while still playing their favorites.
Alongside staves and new characters, players will stumble across cosmetic hats that any character can wear. They don’t provide any play benefits, but…well, they’re hats in a post-Team Fortress 2 world. Enough said.
The real draw of Nine Parchments lies in its multiplayer options. Up to four wizards can team up locally or online, or a combination of the two. The game supports this extremely well, allowing a local player to pop into an existing game with the touch of a button.
That said, the option could use some post-release polish to be sure. Starting an online game will always reset any level progress from an existing campaign, single player or otherwise. This means that you can’t run one campaign solo and another with friends at the same time. The devs have said they plan to address this in an upcoming patch, though.
Still, the game’s natural arcade feel makes it less of a pain to start over and unlocks do save across multiple playthroughs, so there’s not a huge sense of loss here. Plus, levels can go by fairly quickly with 3-4 players, so its unlikely to take long to catch up on a previous playthrough. Also, local players can pop in and out of any running game at will, so the restart issue is largely isolated to online play.
Conclusion
Nine Parchments really strikes at some of the best elements of arcade-style brawlers and hits the mark on most of them wonderfully. Combat is thoughtful and challenging, and amount of content on offer here is just enough to create value without overburdening players in collecting gear and optimizing skills.
The learning curve may be a bit of a grind for new players at first, but finding a rhythm here really does become part of the game’s haphazard fun. While there’s plenty to enjoy from playing Nine Parchments solo, the game and its quirks really shine in multiplayer, which is blessedly approachable both online and off.
While it lacks a bit of plot and truly memorable characters, Nine Parchments is a near perfect quick-play adventure that unfolds wonderfully as it progresses. It could use a few quality-of-life features to create a bit more lasting value, but it’s certainly a welcome addition to the Switch’s impressive library of indie games.
