Riddled Corpses EX (Nintendo Switch) Review

By Albert Lichi 20.03.2019

Review for Riddled Corpses EX on Nintendo Switch

Finding a quality twin-stick shoot 'em up can be trying these days. With the rise of indie development, there is a seemingly endless ocean of these Smash TV-inspired action titles, and everyone eats them up because dodging bullets and shooting anything and everything that moves into fireworks of score numbers and gore is satisfying. Riddled Corpses EX is a new kid on the Switch's block that promises some electrifying zombie blasting entertainment, but does it deliver what zombie hunters crave?

At first glance, Riddled Corpses EX has a very simplistic, yet charming pixel art style that lends itself well to being a twin-stick shoot 'em up. Characters are just the right size, as the screen can be teeming with a barrage of enemy fire, and tons of slow moving zombies, without things getting confusing. Watching these undead pixels get immolated or burst into points, combined with the sound retro-crunchy effects is gratifying, evoking memories of the best overhead twin-stick action titles of yore. While it is not perfect, in fact it might seem a bit amateurish at times thanks to some awkwardly drawn larger enemies who barely have frames of animation, what is presented comes off strong enough.

What sets Riddled Corpses EX apart from its ancestral Smash TV, is the combos system, and how money is earned, which can be used for upgrades or unlockables. There are several characters to play as, each with their own perks and stats that make each one viable. Since each character also requires the same pool of points to be used for their power level, Riddled Corpses EX leans in heavily with lots of replay value. Expect to have to retry the same level many times just to earn enough experience points to make a more powerful weapon in order to make it out alive.

Screenshot for Riddled Corpses EX on Nintendo Switch

The points are never lost upon death, so even barely making it past wave one will net some progress - only the toughest and most diligent players will pass a stage at the lower levels. There are other ways to spend the points to ease the difficulty for those who may find this kind of game spicy; every character has a couple of special weapons that can hold several charges. Before each level the points can be spent to start a stage with a few advantages.

It can be easy to lose track of the time blasting away the undead hordes, since Riddled Corpses EX can be pretty addicting. It has a very fast paced game loop, and rewards those who keep going. The music is upbeat, and often intense, which creates an almost hypnotic trance to the action. There is a lot going for this package, since it has lots of modes that create value, and it even supports local multiplayer. The story is something that 99% of every human will always skip by accident, since entire scenes are skipped when trying to speed up the slow dialogue. What can be gleaned from the few moments that are seen, has something to do with the end of the world due to some kind of summoning ritual. Nobody is going to play Riddled Corpses EX for any kind of plot; people just want to shoot up some zombos, and that is what they'll get in spades.

Screenshot for Riddled Corpses EX on Nintendo Switch

Cubed3 Rating

7/10
Rated 7 out of 10

Very Good - Bronze Award

Rated 7 out of 10

Riddled Corpses EX is one of those very satisfying guilty pleasures. It may be simplistic and braindead like the zombies in it, but it does everything so exceptionally that it becomes a full recommendation. Its lacking qualities are more than made up for thanks to the expedited game loop that wastes no time, and constantly challenges the user. The co-op features make it so even when things are at their hairiest, as a chum can still swoop in and give desperately needed back-up.

Developer

Cowcat

Publisher

Cowcat

Genre

Shooter

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  7/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  0 (0 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date Out now   Australian release date Out now   

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