Publisher(s): Wayforward, Arc System Works
Developer(s): WayForward, Arc System Works
Release dates: November 23, 2022
Platforms: PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S/One, Windows
Genre(s): platform, action, adventure, side scrolling
When I heard about a new RWBY game coming in the form of RWBY: Arrowfell, I was immediately excited being a fan of the Rooster Teeth webseries. Now I can say, this is the day we’ve waited for. RWBY: Arrowfell is an action platform title from Arc System Works and Wayforward in collaboration with Rooster Teeth. Players take control of Team RWBY who are helping the Ace Ops and various other citizens with missions in the city Atlas. You can switch between each member of Team RWBY on the fly, using their abilities to get through a variety of obstacles. Ruby Rose can use her Pedal Burst to cross over large gaps, Weiss Schnee uses Glyphs to create platforms that use an area attack before they dissipate, Blake Belladonna has her Shadow Clones which she can summon to stand on floor switches to open doors or join her in battle for a pincer attack and Yang Xiao Long can use her strength to break through walls and deal heavy damage to enemies. Other features include ability crystals that are hidden away in each area that can be used to upgrade Team RWBY’s attack strength, defense, Aura recovery and Semblance. The game also features an in-canon story that takes place during Volume 7 of the main series with cutscene animated by Rooster Teeth and introduces a rogue team of Huntresses known as Team BRIR (Briar).
RWBY: Arrowfell sports 3D cell-shaded characters set on a 2.5D plane similar to the latest releases in Wayforward’s popular Shantae series, “Shantae: Half-Genie Hero,” and “Shantae and the Seven Sirens.” The backgrounds and character models are graphically beautiful. Being a platform game, Arrowfell does a fine job of keeping with the difficulty level of other games of this genre that preceded it, including Shantae. (Thank Wayforward for that) In certain parts of a stage, you will encounter multiple enemies that must be eliminated before you can move on. Here is where Team RWBY’s Semblance abilities are utilized. Weiss’s Glyphs can be used for crowd control while Blake’s Shadows allow her to attack enemies from a shady spot and Ruby can quickly evade incoming attacks with her Pedal Burst. While I do enjoy the game, there a couple issues that need to be addressed. For starters, there is no real attack cancel to speak of. I have found myself in situations where I wanted to avoid an attack (dodging with Ruby or dropping through a platform, etc.) only to end up getting struck because of the lack of canceling an attack to do so. For comparison’s sake, Shantae is able to cancel any of her attacks to dash backward from danger. Even Kratos and Dante can dodge mid-strike from an incoming attack. True, a work around would be to initiate a dodge maneuver before the next button, however, this turns out to not be easy when assaulting multiple enemies and a dodge cancel would be more beneficial. This would also help with the lag when landing a heavy strike. While I get the teamwork concept of Arrowfell, everyone should have their own dash variant instead solely relying on one character. Weiss has used her Glyphs to dodge, as have Blake and Yang using their Semblances. Switching between characters does add variety to gameplay, relying on one character to avoid the danger is not very useful when fighting multiple enemies.
Overall, RWBY: Arrowfell is an excellent platformer that beings old school difficulty to a new generation and a game any fan of the Rooster Teeth series will enjoy.
4 out of 5.
RWBY: Arrowfell Gameplay video (by your truly!)
https://youtu.be/2fMlWNFpfi8
Until then, I’ll see you “On the NXT LVL!!”
