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Arms Review Thread

Seems like the kind of game that takes some time to marinate a little bit. Takes a little bit to click with you and then you are hooked.

Many times those games do not review well. Its a little concerning about the lack of content but I will definitely buy it whenever I get a Switch.
 
At least for me reading these reviews, I am most interested in how the gameplay holds up for people who have been playing for a longer time, and that doesn't sound like an issue for most reviewers, so for me this just gets me longing more for next week. All I care about in fighting games is the online 1v1, and I can't wait to jump into it as soon as possible.
 
Even if ARMS will receive the Splatoon treatment, Splatoon had a cool story mode at launch...it makes a huge difference for me, the lack of content isn't the same between the 2 games.
 
pswii60 said:
Well, compare it to other recent arcade fighting type games on Metacritic. Injustice 2 @ 88, Guilty Gear Xrd @ 87, Tekken 7 @ 82. All slightly better than where Arms is currently standing, but we're still waiting for more reviews. It's been a long time since we've seen a fighting type game over 90 though.
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But is this fair? All of those mentioned are sequels or already have some sort of base to build on. ARMS is entirely new. I would also entirely expect devtime to be devoted to getting the foundation down first, and then maybe adding in extra stuff later.
 
I thought MC for this game'd land around ~75 so this is good. I enjoyed my time with it during the test punch, but I wasn't blown away (I had several fun, intense fights, but I needed a break after only 40 mins.). It can only get better from here on with updates.
 
I get the comments in reviews about "light" on content. It should be noted that at least the game will be supported with free DLC that will include more arms, characters and stages.
 
Mixed bag as expected. My personal experience was it was fun for a couple of hours but after the second test punch I found myself getting bored. Something just didn't click for me, will pick it up when it is on sale.
 
Look like another must buy for me.

This is exactly why I got my Switch, for Nintendo's special games...

Mario Kart
Zelda
Splatoon 2
Arms
Mario

My collection and Preorders so far.
 
sinonobu said:
These reviews are exactly like Splatoon it's not that bad.

Also don't expect price drop within 2~3 years since this is Nintendo's first party title.
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Doesn't Target or Toys R Us tend to do a buy 2 get 1 free sale every christmas season? That is basically 33% off
 
Aostia said:
I sincerely think it lack "just" (to me is important, but honestly my score couldn't be that influenced by this element) are the ending cut scene/videos for each character when you finish the Tournament/Arcade mode.
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I agree.
That and maybe a few other modes.
Other than those, it's such a solid, original and above all FUN game.
 
Test punch was kinda fun but I don't think this game is worth it at full price, I'm not dying to play my Switch that badly. Will definitely be worth revisiting down the line if a real scene develops around it :)
 
Zemm said:
75-80 is around what I expected. Good reviews but I didn't like the test at all.
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Yeah, I'm glad people are enjoying it and hope it does well. The Testpunch didn't click with me, but I'll probably give it another try down the line, maybe after a few updates hit the game.
 
Regiruler said:
Because that makes the playerbase frontloaded. You need consistent engagement in an online title.
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No, it's just the opposite. You have to actually hook people with content and then keep releasing new stuff. Most people are going to get bored and then move on to something else. I really can't believe someone is advocating the "barebones + content" rather than the "content + more content" approach.
 
For those who have played the full release, If I don't opt in to Nintendo's subscription service next year is there enough content here to justify the price?
 
AcademicSaucer said:
Splatoon ended up with a 81 Metacritic btw
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Exactly this. I was getting a feeling of déjà-vue. And we all know how fucking awesome Splatoon got in time.

They are very polarizing games. I expect Splatoon 2 to score better this time since peoples now know what to expect.
 
commish said:
No, it's just the opposite. You have to actually hook people with content and then keep releasing new stuff. Most people are going to get bored and then move on to something else. I really can't believe someone is advocating the "barebones + content" rather than the "content + more content" approach.
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Before Splatoon, I probably would have agreed with you. The way that game rolled out content kept me engaged for all of 2015. If Nintendo handles ARMS similarly, it will work out very well for them. I think the only thing that could hurt the game's longevity is if everyone moves to Splatoon 2 when it launches.
 
commish said:
No, it's just the opposite. You have to actually hook people with content and then keep releasing new stuff. Most people are going to get bored and then move on to something else. I really can't believe someone is advocating the "barebones + content" rather than the "content + more content" approach.
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I think people go for "barebones + content" because "content + more content" isn't feasible for some reason.
 
Wamb0wneD said:
Then he could just say he's buying it used. Not the same as a sale. If this game doesn't bomb retailers won't make this any cheaper than Nintendo wants it to be.
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If past Nintendo games are any indication, that's not necessarily the case. I can get MK8 Deluxe for 30 EUR right now instead of the 60 EUR on eShop. The "oh Nintendo games are so expensive" is always kinda funny to me when I get most of their games at steep discounts, either through some discount, or through some "buy 2 get 4" promotion. Gets even cheaper when buying retailer coupons at a discount.

In Germany, Chillmo and Mydealz are the best to keep track of such deals. UK has HotUkdeals or something like that.
 
commish said:
I know you want to defend Arms and all, but just read the reviews, and the majority of them comment on the light amount of content. I think you are in the minority here.
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I gotta disagree, everyone who has "played" the game does not think so. I play single player games for story, I play multiplayer games for the...well..multiplayer, story is just an extra fluff, just like multiplayer in a single player is just fluff. I dont buy the games for the fluff thats included, its a nice beneficent but not the full purpose of buying the game.

For a new IP fighter hybrid, it has a lof of modes to offer already, and free DLC will bring more like Overwatch. Splatoon on the other hand was kinda empty at launch.

Also ARMS looks to be an easy way to esports.
 
Content always seemed like the limiting factor here. I'm not really surprised the game caught some flack for going the traditional fighting game single player route. The genre has moved on and Nintendo should have followed suit.


It would have been great to have a fleshed out story mode tying all those unique characters together. Even if it was still just an hour or two.
 
Blunoise said:
I gotta disagree, everyone who has "played" the game does not think so. I play single player games for story, I play multiplayer games for the...well..multiplayer, story is just an extra fluff, just like multiplayer in a single player is just fluff. I dont buy the games for the fluff thats included, its a nice beneficent but not the full purpose of buying the game.

For a new IP fighter hybrid, it has a lof of modes to offer already, and free DLC will bring more like Overwatch. Splatoon on the other hand was kinda empty at launch.
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Agreed. To me it already has a ton of content and the TestPunch events had me coming back to each one. After they ended I wanted to keep playing. Going through withdrawal right now.
 
OrbitalBeard said:
Before Splatoon, I probably would have agreed with you. The way that game rolled out content kept me engaged for all of 2015. If Nintendo handles ARMS similarly, it will work out very well for them. I think the only thing that could hurt the game's longevity is if everyone moves to Splatoon 2 when it launches.
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Yeah but we can't ignore the fact that the really wasn't much else to play that year. As you say, I can't imagine that Arms maintains its user base once S2 comes out, which is all the more reason to hook people with as much content as possible right now.

Blunoise said:
I gotta disagree, everyone who has "played" the game does not think so. I play single player games for story, I play multiplayer games for the...well..multiplayer, story is just an extra fluff, just like multiplayer in a single player is just fluff. I dont buy the games for the fluff thats included, its a nice beneficent but not the full purpose of buying the game.

For a new IP fighter hybrid, it has a lof of modes to offer already, and free DLC will bring more like Overwatch. Splatoon on the other hand was kinda empty at launch.

Also ARMS looks to be an easy way to esports.
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The reviewers haven't played the game...? I'm not sure what you are saying. And it's not just game modes. I could do with a bunch more characters too.

Again, if you disagree and think differently, that's fine. I'm just saying that many of the reviews are saying the same thing, as well as people in this very thread.
 
commish said:
No, it's just the opposite. You have to actually hook people with content and then keep releasing new stuff. Most people are going to get bored and then move on to something else. I really can't believe someone is advocating the "barebones + content" rather than the "content + more content" approach.
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People are just defending the game's flaws by creating straw men. It's just how these threads usually go. No one is arguing for "release all content now and never support it". People eat the game to have robust content now and more content later" instead of "bare content now and more content later". When this is a game from a publisher as big as Nintendo and its a new IP they want to make successful, you'd think that there'd be more to it. Look at smash. They take their time and make sure the game is chock full of content, then add more even later. That they didn't do that for this game is why people think it's rushed.
 
commish said:
Yeah but we can't ignore the fact that the really wasn't much else to play that year. As you say, I can't imagine that Arms maintains its user base once S2 comes out, which is all the more reason to hook people with as much content as possible right now.
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Well, for me personally, I had TONS to play in 2015. And no other game got as much playtime that year from me, save for Bloodborne.
 
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