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Published on September 13th, 2024 | by Nay Clark

NanoApostle Review (Switch)

Hack and slash your way through a secret institution to escape your fate! NanoApostle is a dark sci-fi boss rush game developed by 18Light Game Limited, published by PQube, and released on Steam and Nintendo Switch on September 12th of 2024. The game features exceptional heated battles against robotic titans that are programmed to destroy. Use your unique abilities to dismantle your besiegers to attempt to void your captivity in a mysteriously abandoned facility. This task is not an easy one as you will need to master the skills of dodging, patience, and composure.

A war has broken out between humans and machines. Every time the humans seem to get the advantage, the hulking masses of metal break through it with ease. All hope for humanity seems to be lost. Meanwhile, deep underground in what seems to appear to be some sort of factory built to construct these automated beasts, is a young girl asleep in a pod among other robots. She awakens with an enigmatic biomechanical-like being attached and mentally linked to her. After meeting up with a curious girl named Wenny who seems to be overseeing the building and the programs within it, the newly animated child dubs herself Anita and decides to try to work her way out of the dangerous clutches of the alloyed monsters that traipse the torn down innards of the structure while slowly unscrambling her inconclusive past.

The story in NanoApostle finds that fine line of keeping you curious the entire time which makes you want to make it past the next encounter even more so you can find out what happens. The lore is compelling and the way the game gets into the layers of human consciousness, the inner workings of the fundamental concepts of kinesiology between the story and gameplay, and the examination of similarities and differences of humans and machines thematically really keeps the ball rolling and keeps you engaged with all of the different aspect of the game. The story is told through cutscenes, dialogue between Wenny, Anita and her biomechanical attachment Kuro, as well as logs stashed away on the nearby computer. Because the game is mostly fighting bosses, the story is constantly at the forefront and acts as a reminder of why you are decimating these golems in the first place.

Gameplay consists of moving around at a brisk pace to dodge incoming danger and attacks while also pressuring the enemy and staggering them so it has as less time to attack as possible. A good offense is worthless without a good defense so there is a balancing act that you must perform and sometimes it is hard to realize what exactly you have to do while teetering on that fine line of fun and frustration, but chipping away those last bits of a robots health up until the finishing blow will always be incredibly rewarding and satisfying. It is easy to get hooked figuring out the best strategies to take on these mecha maniacs and the precise movement and quick decision making that has to be accomplished in dire situations is stress inducing in a delightful way.

Your basic Light Attack doesn’t do a lot of damage, but is a lot more useful than you would think as it acts as the base of setting up particular chain reactions that can deal devastating blows to your opponent. Unleashing your Light Attacks build up your energy meter and with each energy node filled, an energy beam can be shot. Shooting inflicts Infected damage and landing Light Attacks will speed up the Infection process on the enemy. Attacking the enemy when the enemy’s Infected bar is filled will do a lot of damage while also allowing you to “absorb” some health which is very useful during the more difficult boss phases. Anita can also parry attacks, and perfect parrying attacks or sometimes setting up other situations will reveal the enemy’s Destruction Point. Striking the Destruction Point inflicts immense damage while also stunning the relentless fiend. A grappling hook can be used as a follow up attack that deals more damage and allows you to hone in on your opponent quickly; while that may seem incredibly useful, it is to be used wisely since it may not be a good idea to continue your barrage of flurries or you may need to use your quick moment of reprieve to heal yourself. Dodging is used often and by staying on your toes you can distinguish which attacks are dodgeable. Each boss has different elements to their battles that make each encounter new and learning their movesets is crucial if you wish to complete the optional goals to obtain skill points.

Each fight has bonus objectives like completing it in a certain amount of time, parrying a set number of attacks, or reaching a particular phase in the battle so many times. You gain skill points when you finish them and you can spend your points earned to gain a plethora of modules to equip such as gaining more energy when you parry or receiving a Charged Shot that uses up two energy nodes instead of one. There are caveats to some modules that force you to change your style of play to fully reap the benefits and establish a nice risk reward system. For example, there’s one that increases the damage output of your Light Attacks and you can destroy projectiles, but your attack speed is slowed. Or there is a module that allows your Absorb ability to deal 10 extra damage and you recover 5% more HP from it, but your Light Attacks don’t increase the Infected progress. There’s a lot of ins and outs to the combat system and it allows you to freely explore your options and strategize appropriately. Beside fighting bosses, there is the Training Environment where you are given challenge rooms to go through that help you build up techniques with your movement. Some challenges are gauntlets where you have to fight waves of small enemies and some act more like a time trial where you have to dodge environmental hazards. These are extremely fun and can be a nice break if you ever get frustrated by the intimidating bosses. 

I played NanoApostle on the Nintendo Switch and one thing I wasn’t fond of was how cramped my hands had to be at all times. I would have to take breaks between fights because my fingers would hurt a lot due to the control layout. I always had this problem in handheld mode which is a bummer because the last thing I want to do in a game about rushing bosses is constantly stop as soon as I am getting the hang of things. It is very demanding in how you actually have to constantly have to be on a lot of the buttons at the same time and it is unfortunate that I had such a high taxing problem when I just wanted to keep playing. There were also moments when I was reading the story logs where I couldn’t get fully immersed because sometimes the text would just roll off the screen instead of going to the next line causing confusion and making me go back and reread to figure out what the next couple of words might be.

The game looks and sounds fantastic. It’s truly a spectacle. The 2D style is handled really nicely and character models move smoothly and dramatically with flair and finesse. Particles and energy blasts impressively disperse within your confined battleground beautifully while also looking distinct enough to where everything is still readable without being a hodgepodge. The static artwork during conversations and cutscenes have an alluring style that translates well to the actual gameplay. The game’s music has a fast electronic rhythm to it with drums that puncture every daring step you take in the arena. The sharp metallic sounds from your sword are piercing and your energy blasts sound forceful. Clashing with these metallic behemoths radiates heavy clanking and hollow thuds that feel impactful due to the awesome sound design.

Final Thoughts?

NanoApostle is a grim and gruesome tale that implores you to dive deeper. The quick and elaborate combat charges your compulsive actions with a sense of fulfillment. The brutal sentiment of the world and state of affairs based on the characters’ views are absorbing. The engrossing challenges and fun replay value between strategies with the game’s modules will keep you entertained. Great artwork and energetic music help the flow of the game even more. Cramping may occur which may cause some awkward situations when playing this on the Nintendo Switch, but it never cramped my style as I was addicted to the gameplay loop of figuring out these bionic brutes’ movesets. NanoApostle is a dynamic and aggressive game that never lets up until the epic conclusion.

About the Author

Nay Clark Gaming holds a special place in my heart and I never stop talking about video games. I really love all types of games and have an interest in games that have complicated stories and lore because I enjoy untangling the mystery of it all. When I'm not gaming, I unsuccessfully try to control three amazing and incredibly bright kids.

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