Robotry Switch Review – A QWOPing Good Time

Robotry, also stylized as Robotry!, is an interesting physics-based platformer from Lockpickle that can be played with up to four players. It is weird to control and awkward at times, but it can be hilarious with the right people.

So is Robotry an amusing cooperative title that will enhance your game night experience? Or is this one just frustrating enough to toss into the bin? Let’s find out!

The story of Robotry is an amusing and simple one. Little orange astronauts are doing fun experiments on different planets as you try to swing, flop, and wiggle your way across the cosmos. It is a bit farfetched, but it is silly fun nonetheless.

You start off watching one of these one-legged robots merrily going about its way until the bridge beneath them collapses. They are joyfully repaired by one of these orange astronauts, and then they continue to assist you on your journey through each stage and each planet throughout the cosmos.

This is a nice little introduction, and the continued story throughout is comical and entertaining. It is nothing to write home about, but the effort should be commended, as the addition of this little story elevates the overall experience. However, Robotry is a physics-based platformer at its core, and that is where things are most interesting.

When it comes to gameplay, Robotry plays a lot like quirky and hard-to-control titles out there like QWOP, Getting Over It, and Happy Wheels. Everything in Robotry is dependent on the left and right sticks controlling the legs. Initially, you only have one leg, which is incredibly difficult to control, but you will quickly receive your second leg and that’s when things become more entertaining.

The stages are relatively short in Robotry, which is great, especially considering how bizarre the controls can feel. I wouldn’t say it is as frustrating as previous titles mentioned, but the frustration is still there and dealing with clunky and awkward controls across tons of stages can become taxing.

Thankfully, there are other caveats to maintain interest, and they come in the form of finding sneaky astronauts hiding in certain stages and collecting gems. Those hiding astronauts reward you with a chip that can ultimately open up doors in the hub, while the gems can be used to purchase hats and such for your robot.

There are a decent amount of worlds to explore, and the hub is a fun place to chill, practice your goofy walking or rolling, and purchase a variety of hats for your robot. This keeps things fresh when you are feeling tired from play, and beyond the awkward controls, Robotry really does play well and offers a decent amount of gameplay. The fact that it has local multiplayer for up to 4 people also adds some value if you have friends who don’t mind yelling at your screen as they try to figure out how to move and function.

Robotry has a lovely look and feel about it, too. The art style is rounded and soft, giving the impression that the world is safe and cute, and the colors used pop really well and help tremendously in seeing different aspects of a stage clearly. The little orange astronauts are also incredibly adorable, and their fun little antics and quips will have you smiling and laughing throughout.

Equally, the sounds and music of the game are just lovely. The music consists of simple and repetitive rhythms and riffs, which keeps you trucking along through the stages. Also, back to the little orange astronauts, their little voices and the noises they make are so darn cute that it is difficult to stay mad at the frustrating controls.

Robotry can be defined as a diet QWOP. What I mean by that is that the game does have awkward and at-times frustrating controls, but the softer and gentler approach makes this much more accessible to the average gamer, and the inclusion of local co-op makes the experience even more entertaining that you can do it alongside friends and family.

The game being split into shorter stages, too, allows for successful feelings despite the weird control scheme. This is why I think Robotry may be the most accessible physics-based plaformer on Switch that expects you to get around with difficult controls.

If may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you enjoy a good laugh, like the challenge of strange controls, and want to put your closest friends through the ringer, then Robotry is an absolute! This is an experience that is a perfect fit on Switch and one that could easily invade your game nights.

Robotry Switch Review provided by Nintendo Link
Publisher: Lockpickle
Release Date: October 26th, 2022
Price: $12.49, £11.29, €12,49
Game Size: 422 MB