It’s been a long and weird road for the Plants vs. Zombies franchise. What began as a simplistic and quirky tower defence title eventually led to the creation of a surprisingly high-quality shooter spin-off series. The latest release in this series, Plants vs. Zombies: Battle For Neighborville, originally saw its debut on other platforms in late 2019 and post-launch support lasted for about a year before the developers chose to move on.
Now, all that extra content has been added into the base game and all the microtransactions have been pulled out, giving us the fittingly titled "Complete Edition". Plants vs. Zombies: Battle For Neighborville isn’t necessarily anything groundbreaking for the hero shooter genre, but it contains more than enough well-designed and engaging content in both single-player and multiplayer to be well worth looking into.
The premise of Plants vs. Zombies: Battle For Neighborville is fittingly goofy, as it follows the endless struggle between an endless horde of zombies desperate for human brains, and the legion of garden plants which the humans have employed to fend off the hordes. A central narrative isn’t really present here in the offline mode, rather you just sort of bounce around between various wacky characters to fulfil basic requests for them. Humour is obviously a big part of the experience and it straddles that blurry line between cheesy Saturday morning cartoon jokes and cringe-inducing ‘holds up spork’ gags.
Whichever game mode you choose, Plants vs. Zombies: Battle For Neighborville never strays too far from its hero shooter premise. Each team has a dozen characters that cover a variety of roles, such as Attack or Defence, and have predefined kits that nicely mark out some strengths and weaknesses for each character. The Foot Soldier Zombie, for example, can put out a decent amount of damage and do so from a safe distance, but they’re rather squishy and melt quickly under sustained enemy fire. Classes are somewhat mirrored between the two teams, but there are some subtle differences to differentiate them a bit. For example, the Peashooter (the Plant version of the Zombie Foot Soldier) has a slightly slower rate of fire than its counterpart and has a slightly tweaked move set to compensate.
Getting kills with a class will earn you EXP towards it, and new levels then unlock new upgrades you can equip to further tweak a build for that character. One upgrade may decrease ability cooldown times when you land a critical kill, while another might expand the time a poison bomb stays active. All of them are useful in some way, but the limited number of upgrade points you have means you can only equip a handful of them at a time. Luckily, you can freely swap upgrades around when you’re not in combat, which encourages the player to keep experimenting until they find a proper playstyle.
Indeed, that’s a big part of the Plants vs. Zombies: Battle For Neighborville experience. Having twenty-four characters to play, plus all the possible combinations of upgrades for them, gives you a lot of angles to approach the gameplay of Plants vs. Zombies: Battle For Neighborville and that goes a long way towards giving it oodles of replayability. It takes hours to master the nuances of all the classes, and while there is certainly a much higher number of offensive-based classes, there’s enough variety between all the playstyles that you’re sure to find a few favourites.
In the PvE mode, there are four main campaigns to work through, each taking around 5-8 hours to clear. You’re given the option to play for either the Plant or the Zombie teams, and each team has one exclusive map while one is shared between them. Whichever side you choose, you essentially play through a bite-sized open-world game wherein you run errands for various NPCs and complete some sidequests as you do so. Collectables and treasure chests are scattered liberally around each map, and you’re sure to come across plenty of enemy hordes as you rush to your next objective. There’s some variation in quest objectives, one may have you defending a point while another requires you to find three collectables by defeating enemies, though it doesn’t take too long for the quest design of this offline mode to start getting a little same-y. It doesn’t help that these campaigns are balanced around the main attack classes, so you’re fighting an uphill battle if you want to try running them with defence classes.
That said, there’s no shortage of incentives to keep you engaged if you can get past the repetition of mission objectives. Killing enemies and finishing quests nets you both coins for usage back in town and experience for furthering your character’s build. Additionally, each campaign has its own achievement system of ‘medals’ which encourage you to go for 100% completion, and the medals can then be used to get exclusive skins and other goodies. Considering that the original release not only had a battle pass system but also some rather hefty microtransaction usage, this adds up to a ton of extra stuff to unlock that’s now included in the game for the base price. Just in this single-player mode alone, then, you’re looking at probably around thirty or so hours if you want to try getting everything.
Then there’s the multiplayer to consider, which is arguably the main draw of the whole experience. There’s a nice array of modes on offer spanning the typical shooter game modes like team deathmatch or capture the flag, and while there isn’t much here that you won’t find in other modern shooters, it’s tough to be disappointed with the content on offer here. It’s a blast trying out and levelling up all the classes, and the mixture of game modes and maps ensures that it’ll be dozens of hours before things begin feeling too stale.
All of this is well and good, though the main drawback in our experience is that performance can be dicey whether you’re playing docked or handheld, no matter what mode you’re playing. The framerate never goes above 30 FPS, but when there’s any substantial action happening on screen, it usually seems to dip to sub-20 FPS levels. It’s not bad, but the framerate being all over the place does have an effect on gameplay and will more than likely contribute to a few missed shots. Gyro controls help to compensate for this somewhat, but there’s a lingering sense that Plants vs. Zombies: Battle For Neighborville could’ve used a little more optimization for the Switch’s humble hardware.
Conclusion
Plants vs. Zombies: Battle For Neighborville Complete Edition more than lives up to its name. A huge amount of content, lots of replayability, and an overall charming aesthetic make this an easy recommendation for anybody looking for a solid new shooter for their Switch. That said, just bear in mind that it often runs into performance issues and that the single-player offering can prove to be a little repetitive in the long run. If you can get past those issues, this release will surely prove to be worth both your time and money.
Comments 54
I thought this was a tower defense game. Well, it's a pass then.
As someone who has already sunk 16 hours into this game, if you are a casual player, the framerate does not affect gameplay nearly at all. I've never died or missed a shot because of a drop in frames at least.
@Aneira
You're mistaking it for the main series, which is indeed a tower-defense game.
I quite like the PvZ shooter games, and it seems that EA didn't botch this one too badly. I might have gotten this if it wasn't on Game Pass.
Grindy single player you say?
Sounds like what I've been looking for.
@ObeseChihuahua2 The quality of life improvements and dropping of Microtransactions were enough to get me to bite on this one!
@moddedinkling I'm wondering at this point where there are more TPS entries if this has now eclipsed it as the mainline franchise for PvZ XD
It really is a wonder that EA hasn't allowed PopCap to put their old output on the Switch, since they're so keen to see it as nothing but a casual platform that can't run their latest & greatest. I know Plants vs. Zombies 2 is monetized to hell on mobile, but the original would be fantastic, along with Peggle, Zuma, Bookworm, and I'm sure Bejeweled would get a few sales from purist fans.
I will keep an eye on it for my kiddos to try.
Grabbed this to play with my son were having a great time
Love this game on my Series X, rock solid 4k60. Those undocked photos look ROUGH.
I'm probably going to get this. The switch gameplay footage I saw looked good me.
@SpaceKaren
That's the price you pay for playing on a platform substantially less powerful than XSX, on a budget portable device like the Switch. Even the rumored Switch Pro probably wouldn't run this at 4k60 docked.
@Kynwal
That's what I was thinking too. When it comes down to $20 or less.
@adamjsams
It's not uncommon for a spin-off series to completely overshadow its main series. Persona is a very big example, being more popular than its main series, Shin Megami Tensei.
How is the character unlocking in this game? In Garden Warfare I played 20 hours and barely unlocked anything, they wanted you to spend money, it was infuriating.
@Sabrewing since pop cap used to clone some ds games ( zuma is puzz loop), nintendo might not like that
@romanista They published stuff on DS and Wii just fine.
Plus, if you're going to cite "angering Nintendo" as an argument, explain what Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams is doing on Switch.
@romanista I had that, with the rumblepak cartridge! Good times.
The original PvZ from Popcap was so good, I really wish it would come back with the same gameplay mechanics for a 2nd game.
@Magician some people don't care about that.
Does this game have splitscreen?
@Darkyoshi98
Sure, but by the same token some do. I can only imagine how jarring it must be for XSX and PS5 owners to hop back to gaming on Switch. It's probably like trying to run knee-high through mud.
@adamjsams very good to know as I own it on the PS4 and was considering this version. Thanks!
Can we just get the first PvZ?
@Alienfreaks04 There's no real money purchases
All but one plant is unlocked and two zombies they cost 500k each if I remember correctly I've been getting maybe 12k per game and random bonuses and the cosmetic prize machine is 15k a go
@NESlover85 no
@Magician I own it on xbox one and switch I play it on a 4k t.v...I can't tell that much of a difference from each version. Some games I can like mk 11 I see a big difference on the xbox version compared to the switch.crash 4 also own both and I can only tell a some difference nothing big
I'm also a 80s gamer and could careless.all I care about is games..which the switch has
@Yarrdave thank you
My nephew is absolutely loving this game on Switch and my son is getting it in April for his birthday. They were hugely excited when it was first announced.
....Ugh, didn't even feel like reading this...still not bothering with this crap. Only if this was the first Garden Warfare game, or the first PvZ game in general, then maybe.
Is the multiplayer cross-platform? My concern would be waiting for players if this is going to be limited to Nintendo Switch players only.
@Rygar Nope switch only I've been playing since the weekend without issues and I believe it fills spots with bots
Typically find a game in about a minute
@Joeynator3000
Why would they bring over a game that's nearly a decade old? BFN is the most recent game.
Look at it this way, if this does well, they may make a GW3 so don't kick it to the curb so readily.
Gonna check this game out now that it's on Switch. Seems like a fun game, glad to hear there's plenty of content here.
I actually enjoyed this on my PS4 so did one of my lads. I think my youngest will enjoy it so I've downloaded it
Thanks for the review.
@JR150 ....This is Garden Warfare 3...
@Joeynator3000
No it's not. It's Battle For Neighborville. If it was GW3, then they would have called it GW3 but it's clear that it's meant to be its own game. Just like how Apex Legends (despite being connected to the Titanfall universe) isn't Titanfall 3 because it has its own style of gameplay, BFN isn't GW3. It's a separated entry that focuses on more simplistic gameplay with a softer, cartoonier art style than the GW games and has a much more expanded single-player.
Like I said before, if this sells well, then PopCap and EA may see that a true GW3 is worth making. So don't lose hope.
@Aneira There is a tower defence mode.
@NESlover85 No, not the Switch version.
They took a rather crappy experience, and made it worthwhile. Glad I gave it a chance.
This game is so, so good.
@Magician a healthy human brain can compensate for far bigger differences than this with ease. This sort of thing is only apparent if you're looking for it, rather than playing the game, or if the game ran at an unacceptable quality to begin with.
@Sabrewing good point, for got.. do remember having to hunt for the giana sisters for the amiga back in the day...
No split screen multiplayer on the switch. Kinda disappointed because I was looking forward to play it with my kids.
This game is so much fun. It's a must buy if you like a fun third-person shooter. It's silly and funny.
Is the single player mode, worth the price or is it really a multi player game with a token single player campaign added?
@zool
There's single-player for both the Plants and Zombies sides and it can be played offline. It's vastly expanded over the previous PVZ shooters.
@JR150 thank you 😃
Help please!
How do you get on to two player mode on this game? (Asking for my kids who are desperate to play it together!)
@Magician It’s really not “jarring” at all. I spent years jumping between PS4 and 3DS games, and years prior to that jumping between PS3 and DS games and was not once jarred by the experience.
After beating Sackboy: A great Adventure I decided to replay Mario Odyssey, and I survived the transition from PS5 to Switch just fine.
@Dexyju I don’t have the game but I was under the impression that there was no local multiplayer, just online.
@Dexyju sadly they cannot okay together unless you have two switches and two games.
Tried this on gamepass it's pretty bad. If you want something like this just go with overwatch which it is heavily ripping off. Game makes me want to tear my hair out trying to figure out why I can't play the multiplayer for 2 seconds without dying. Just get killed by nothing by a dude all the way across the map. Just stay away, it'll probably be a dead game pretty soon anyhow.
Eight times in a row, now, the "best match" has been just me alone, unable to move.
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