SlashDash Review

The summer on Xbox One is set to be filled with a shed load of digital games for our gaming pleasure, but one exclusive game snuck out before the fanfare. SlashDash is the name of the game and it arrives as the debut title from developers Nevernaut Games. Hyped as a local multiplayer game that’s perfect for parties and tournaments, let’s try and put that claim to the test.

Before I get down to the action, let it be known that you’ll need at least two controllers to get anything out of the game and four controllers in total if you wish to experience the entire set of game modes on offer.

SlashDash focuses on players controlling ninjas across a variety of game modes in top-down view, four to be exact, in competitive multiplayer action. The controls are simple enough for everyone in the family to pick up, with just analog movement and the shoot, teleport and slash buttons to worry about. This means even your granny can have a go without you needing to explain an awful lot. It thrives on being easy to pick up and play but how entertaining are the modes on offer?

The straight answer is that you can certainly have fun, but only in short bursts as the ideas themselves are good enough, they are just in need of being fluffed up with a bit more substance.

Take Deathrace as an example; basically a free for all where it’s every ninja for themselves. Winning relies on your ninja meter reaching a full circle and the only way to stop the opposition’s meter moving for a short period is to stun or slash them. It can turn into a frantic cat and mouse chase at times which can be exciting but after two or three games, people have had enough. You can choose the map, the colour of your ninja and the weapon of choice. You can’t however choose to play a set number of rounds or customise the length of the game, meaning that each one lasts around a minute and then it’s over.

Then we have Mirror Match which gives each player five ninjas and they are all controlled at the same time. The objective is to kill the other teams of clones before your team is depleted and as you can probably gather the match comes to an end in no time. It’s a cool idea, however feels a bit messy with just the ten clones on screen, let alone doubling that amount if you have the full complement of players.

There are two other modes, Capture the Flag and Assassination, that required four controllers and it wasn’t possible to test these unfortunately. Capture the Flag is pretty standard these days; you capture the enemy flag before they capture yours. Assassination looks to be the best of the bunch, the players in each team need to assassinate the enemy team’s shogun and can pass their own shogun between themselves.

Coinciding with the ninja theme, all the artwork on the nine maps included and the accompanying music is inspired by the Edo time period of Japan. When it comes to the maps I’d say they stand out as one of the best features due to their layouts and designs. One map in particular that is great, Frozen Village, has lots of ice and naturally that causes a bit of sliding for everyone.

Looking back I feel like I’ve been slightly harsh on SlashDash but if a self-proclaimed party game cannot last more than five minutes before you need a new one, then it’s not doing its job correctly. All it really needs are options to tweak modes, A.I. to fill the gaps when there are less than four people, a lower price and for it to remember your weapon unlock progress. Even then though, I’m more likely to send people towards picking up #IDARB which does a better job of frantic fun and can last longer.

If you’ve got four controllers already and are after some couch multiplayer then I’d possibly suggest buying SlashDash in a sale. Otherwise it’s certainly not worth a look.