Pang Adventures (Nintendo Switch) Review

For those who never played a game in the series, the basic gameplay idea consists of running back and forth on a small 2D stage, where bubbles bounce around, shooting various different weapons to pop them out. There's a time limit to race against on each stage, and a mixture of different bubble types to shoot down. Red bubbles slowly bounce like a ball, hitting the floor, up in an arch, down again and repeat. Blue bubbles bounce unaffected by gravity, ricocheting around the screen like a DVD logo on a screensaver constantly aiming for that corner. There are special bubbles too, such as lightning bubbles drop bolts of energy as they're popped, or bubbles with a shield that require multiple hits to first destroy the shield.

Starting out, the Buster Bros. are equipped with a harpoon gun of shorts. Firing a spike attached to a steel wire, should the bubbles hit the spike or the wire they pop, so it can be used not just as a bullet but in making a makeshift wall. When a bubble hits it, though, not only does the bubble pop but the projectile vanishes too. As it does when it hits a ceiling.

There's a host of other weapons to play with. Six shooter pistols that take a few seconds to reload; rapid firing machine guns with limited amounts of ammo; flame throws which are waved in an arc above the head. Shooting a bubble splits it in two. Halving the size but double the amount and often increasing the speed. Something to always take into account, calculating where the split bubble may land.

Upon starting, there is a single mode available - 'Tour Mode.' This sees the Buster Bros. once again trekking across the world, bursting bubbles from Bora Bora to Death Valley, then onto Scotland, then the Arctic, Hong Kong, and, finally, the asteroid that has given birth to the bouncing menace. Each point on the world map has 15 stages within it. The standard ones are all easy, and will pose little problems to the majority of players, but scattered here and there, is the occasional stage with a gimmick that is genuinely tricky.

It's just a shame that in so many stages, so few offer up a real challenge. There's a score requirement for each stage which is a little more difficult to achieve every time, but still no real challenge. Also for some reason, that requirement is not really a requirement, it would be better if the level had to be retried until it was met. The score is what adds a level of difficulty to the game as there are bonuses for keeping combos going and for not missing a shot. But it's sadly just bragging rights. This is why the Switch needs a trophy or awards system.

Between each point on the map is an alien boss battle. Each boss is the same basic battle; a giant floating eyeball, equipped with flailing tentacles that belch out the familiar bubbles, and each tentacle has to be destroyed, then the eye to finish it off. Later bosses increase the number of tentacles and change up types of bubbles they summon. As with the stages themselves, each of the bosses are all rather easy, simple patterns to memorise and little threat, each repetitions of what has come before - all except for the very last boss. This one actually offers up a decent fight with multiple stages, one that is really enjoyable.

Outside of the main mode, there are two extra ones to play after the first has been completed. There's an arcade-style mode entitle 'Score Mode' which offers up the same stages as Tour Mode, but gives just three lives to take on the world. Lives can be recovered during it and this mode gives a real amount of challenge. Then there's Panic Mode, possibly the best part of the release - an endless onslaught of bubbles that gets harder and faster. This Switch version is great for multiplayer. The visuals are big, bright, and vibrant, looking beautiful in handheld and docked mode. It's impactful enough to be fun to play without the dock and in tabletop mode, with each player grabbing a single Joy-Con and settling in for some anywhere co-op fun.