Arc System Works is a developer known for their fighting games in the Dragon Ball Z arena, among other anime titles. How does their new game Code Shifter fit their change of pace? Well, let’s start with the obvious question. What is Code Shifter for the Nintendo Switch?

It’s safe to say Code Shifter is not a fighting game like other popular titles from the Arc Systems Works library. In fact, everything from its music to the cartoonish art style points to a much more casual experience from the get-go. In Code Shifter for the Nintendo Switch, you play Stella, a game developer who works at the ‘Awesome Rainbow Corp’. It’s your job, or Stella’s job really, to debug games.

To debug games, Stella creates a debugging software called, wait for it, Code Shifter. Stella’s digital avatar ‘Sera’ literally beats up bugs in a digital side-scrolling experience. In the 8-bit world of Code Shifter’s levels, you work hard to keep ‘Awesome Rainbow Corp’ games bug-free. Plus, you get to meet some familiar faces along the way.

Despite the change of pace in-game via 8-bit pixel art, there are plenty of faces you might recognize in the Arc System Works world. Stella comes across a ton of favorites from other games by the developer, including characters from the Guilty Gear, BlazBlue, and River City series. It’s a fun touch for fans of those titles, and newcomers will still enjoy the diversity in their different looks and quirks.

Unfortunately, the fun crossover character appearances and decent-enough premise are where Code Shifter‘s positives end. The levels where you debug code are side-scrolling platformer levels. The controls feature a simple jump and attack layout, which feels clunky from the first level until the last. There isn’t so much a delay in the character’s movements, as it is that each jump, dodge, and attack feels almost like a fake action game you would have played in grade school so you could learn fractions.

I love the visuals and 8-bit art style, however. The game looks good from the start, but unfortunately, the backgrounds and enemies all look the same throughout the game, more or less. That means after about 25 minutes, you won’t see anything else that really grabs your attention. It’s a bummer, given how good Code Shifter looks and how promising its story starts off.

I think Code Shifter is a great premise for a game that unfortunately, suffers from poor execution. The gameplay feels no more advanced or enjoyable than something you would have gotten on CD-ROM from a cereal box in the 1990s. Furthermore, the game’s lack of dynamic visuals and encounters made my time with the game a trudge rather than a triumph. For nearly every Switch owner, I’d say this is a hard pass.

A Nintendo Switch Review Copy for Code Shifter was provided by Arc System Works for this review.

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Code Shifter

$14.99

5.5

Score

5.5/10

Pros

• Great dual visual styles of 8-bit and anime
• Good premise for a story
• Fun character cross-overs for Arc System Works fans

Cons

• Repetitive gameplay
• Shaky controls from the get go
• Nothing works in terms of execution as intended
• Reuses environments far too often