
With its bright, cel-shaded models and notably more tame environments, MythForce targets nostalgia for Saturday Morning cartoons from the 1980s like He-Man and Thundercats. A lot of people don't remember just how poorly a lot of those cartoons hold up, though. They have their die-hard fans, and they're fun to look back at with your tongue in your cheek and a drink in your hand as you muse about how easily entertained you were as a kid, but for most they're not much worth revisiting outside of a good laugh about reused animation and some occasionally fun character designs. Similarly, even beyond its horrendous performance on Switch, MythForce proves to be an uncompelling experience that hardly holds up.
MythForce is a first-person roguelite dungeon crawler intended (though perhaps not designed) to be played in online co-op. For all intents and purposes, it's a pretty standard multiplayer roguelite; the entire game resets itself after you lose a run, and aside from incremental upgrades, nothing you pick up will stay with you in between runs. You can choose from one of MythForce's four members, each with their own special abilities, for each run.

Each character represents a different broad archetype you'd expect from any fantasy work in the same vein as He-Man; there's Victoria the knight, Hawkins the ranger, Rico the rogue, and Maggie the wizard. Each character has four distinct special attacks, some have their own weapons, and they all seem to have their own movement abilities, though MythForce's performance was so consistently bad in our time with it that it was often difficult to get a good feel for each member's movement abilities.
They all have well-acted, personalized voice lines, but unless you're playing in multiplayer, they lose some context. Even in single-player, they'll shout lines like, "This isn't just a flesh wound! I need healing!" or talk about their relationship with the level's boss or their fellow members of Mythforce as if they were on the battlefield with them. It's a cool dialogue system in multiplayer, but doesn't hold up as well if you're trolling MythForce's dungeons alone.
Playing with other people works well enough; we're still in the launch period, so we had no issues hopping into quickplay matches or letting others join our own games. Like with a lot of MythForce, it's hard to tell where baked-in performance issues began and online play issues ended, but things seemed lag-free, at least. But again, MythForce's performance issues permeate almost everything about it.

We have played and reviewed hundreds of Switch games. From notoriously stumbling ports of last-gen AAA games to poorly optimized indies, very few games have performed as poorly as MythForce. Between pervasive pop-in, resolution, load times, frame rate drops and freezing, full-on crashes, and input lag, it's playable only by the skin of its teeth.
Developer Beamdog and publisher Aspyr have promised a patch, but we're not optimistic. This embarrassment of bugs seeps into every aspect of gameplay and often left us wondering what was a bug and what wasn't. Other times, they outright prevent you from playing the game. One of MythForce's key attacks is a charged attack that requires you to be running, jumping, or both. It takes precise aiming and timing to land, but it also requires you to be moving so quickly that the game can't keep up. Most of the time any of us tried to execute this attack, things slowed down to slideshow-like frame rates, causing us to miss completely.

Missing an attack because of lag might as well be a feature in this version of the game, but that's just one minor example of how performance issues completely muddy the MythForce experience. Plenty of attacks lack proper visual/audio cues. In fact, many of the times that we lost a round were at the hands of enemies outside of our field of view or enemies who essentially teleported into us thanks to severe dips in frame rate.
MythForce isn't Beamdog's first game on Switch, nor is it Aspyr's. Known for its ports of classic Star Wars like Republic Commando, Knights of the Old Republic, and The Force Unleashed, it's disappointing to see the Austin, TX-based publisher not exert more quality control over releasing a game that performs so much worse than its other titles on Switch. Sure, the Switch is old hardware at this point, but performance this bad is unforgivable.
Its poor optimization stretches beyond just the likes of bugs and performance issues, though. Menus are clearly designed to be navigated using a mouse and keyboard, tutorials are giant, overwhelming walls of text presented as if they were ripped straight from a PC game. There's nothing wrong with these things in the right setting; a keyboard and mouse are absolutely the ideal way to navigate a user interface, and text-based tutorials can be efficient when playing at a desk with a monitor, but the Switch is not a PC in the ways that matter. It's an example of a careless Switch port.

Even its multiplayer features feel half-baked on Switch. Unlike PC, native microphone and voice chat features in-game are extremely limited on Switch, and MythForce requires some degree of communication beyond its simplistic ping system that boils down to, "Hey, this thing is here." Chests, shops, potions, and other pickups are single-use only. That means playing with a co-op partner who isn't interested in playing ball can all but ruin the experience and keep you from picking up stuff you need to get stronger and complete the run, like upgrades for your abilities or accessories to level up certain attributes or stats.
When it isn't bogged down by frustrating decisions and bumbling performance, there's a decent roguelite experience to be had here. The first-person combat feels good; there are rewards for precision aiming with ranged weapons, dodges are responsive, and each character has an interesting enough set of abilities. The problem is that there aren't many layers to its rogue elements.
You'll come across a handful of powerups as you progress throughout each run, but you rarely get to see a power's full potential realized. Instead of moving from section to section, leveling up as you go, and carrying on your powers and upgrades, defeating a boss at the end of a level results in the end of a run. Starting the next level means starting from zero, so you rarely get that snowball-like feeling that comes from a good run in a great roguelike. Even allowing players the choice to start on the next level with their previous successful run's build would be a massive step in the right direction.
Conclusion
Even when everything's working, MythForce isn't much more than a bad port of a fun but uninteresting game. That being said, we can't possibly recommend it in its launch state. We don't take half-baked efforts lightly, and this feels even less than that. With some patches and updates, MythForce could potentially turn things around, although we're very far from optimistic. As things stand, avoid the Switch version of MythForce.
Comments 47
Ouch, most unfortunate. Here I was looking forward to playing my LRG copy nine months from now when it ships. Well...here's hoping things are patched up a bit by then.
Man, this sucks. I first became aware of this game when it dropped on Steam. I was like "The Switch can do THAT! This needs to be on Switch NOW!!" Guess I was wrong..... #PatchesGalore
I'm always curious about new roguelites that look a bit unique and different but I wasn't completely sold on this one so I was just waiting to see how it reviewed. Time to delete it off the wish list I guess.
Wow, forget the game, you just trashed He-Man and Thundercats int he first paragraph! That was the golden age of cartoons, sir, and they are incredible even today.
It is too bad this game isn't living up ti it's potential on switch. I might have been into it if it weren't a roguelike anyway.
Wow. I was really excited for this game, but glad I waited for a review. Maybe I'll take a look at it on PS5
Makes sense seeing how Embracer are treating the devs. You can’t expect quality in that environment.
I totally lost interest in this the moment they announced it as a roguelike. If I'm playing a game based on an episodic series, I'd like to feel like I'm playing that episodic series, not repeating the same first few episodes over and over. Like when you only got 3-4 episodes on a VHS tape back when VHS tapes and Saturday morning cartoons were things.
I also think it should be 3rd person. That viewpoint works better for melee combat with flashy, movement-based attacks, and would also allow me to see the cool 80's-inspired character I'm playing as.
The fact that it runs about as well as a donkey that's been shot with a crossbow just seems to confirm that everything about this was poorly implemented beyond the initial cool idea.
This game should be ringing alarm bells when they announced who was behind it.
@WhiteTrashGuy
the switch CAN do that dozen of ports already proved , the developer COULD NOT, lazy ***** just did even less than the bare minimum for the port and because they fired several of them for economical problem we can forget any patch or fix
Welp that sucks. And might explain the layoffs for this dev. I do hope it gets patched. But I'm not seeing great reviews even on other systems, so not really hopeful. It looked so nice in the Direct too...sigh.
I played this for a few hours solo, and didn't run into any significant issues that ruined the experience for me...
Double bummer. When I first saw this game I was expecting 3rd person, especially being the art is what sells this.
Second. This review 😑
Ouch, that is a rough rundown of problems! I guess it was too good to be true on Switch. It’s not like I can cancel my LRG preorder, though…. I’ll just hope somehow, someway Beamdog can patch this game up despite the layoffs courtesy of their Embracer overlords.
If not, well, I haven’t bought a good ‘ol kuso-game in a while! 😅
@Switch-a-Roony Exactly what I said. First person Saturday morning cartoon? I also think roguelike is not really a mesh with they style either given that generally cartoon characters don't die, and their lives are by definition episodic. Stunning art style though.
All of this saddens me. I was all in despite the rougelike elements just on style alone. But those stating that it should be third person are bang on. May give it a go with low expectations on a deep discount down the line, but that’s a far cry from the day one purchase I thought it’d be. Too bad.
This was not the review score that I was hoping for. Really regretting that Limited Run order now.
I feel sorry for everyone who bought the LRG version of the game before getting a lick of knowing what the performance is like
Almost bought this on Switch. Dodged a bullet on this one! Might grab it at some point on another platform.
This is what happens when a bunch of suits in a boardroom take the decisions away from those of us on the ground and start steering the company toward "unchecked growth and profitability." The quality, the consistency, the very SOUL of the product dies in darkness and you're left with lukewarm onion soup. Then when the company inevitably pays the price for poor quality, they'll blame the people who pulled 60-hour weeks to meet their ridiculous deadlines with no support and start another round of layoffs while they keep their million dollar bonuses. The real Myth(force) here is that anyone in C-suite is capable of doing anything other than giving empty pep talks and wearing expensive clothes.
I'm still excited to check it out once my Limited Run copy shows up!
I have faith that the fine folks at Beamdog will tidy up this release before I get a chance to dive in
On to the PS5 reviews we go
It's a shame though, and nobody will tell me this game looks too good for Switchi
@Jadamson929
That's unfair. In my experience those types are also skilled at cooking up blatantly unworkable schemes, ignoring anyone who presents a logical counterpoint to their madness and then blaming everyone else when the wheels inevitably come off.
On Switch, I think it is wise to wait for reviews before committing to a buy due to performance, especially now as the Switch is quite old. But even on PC with capable hardware that is an issue because games are often unfinished, unoptimized, and buggy regardless of the platform. A shame to see this is running so poorly. I just started looking at reviews yesterday, so I knew what to expect here.
As for the core game, I like the concept and presentation. They really nailed the '80s visuals, but the roguelike nature and some other things probably mean it's not for me. It does sound like the other versions run well, so it might we a worthwhile game for those that are interested.
Edit: On how '80s cartoons hold up, it's really a mixed bag. Some of my old favorites as a kid don't hold up well in my opinion. Others, including some I didn't know existed at the time, such as Galaxy Rangers, I think hold up rather well. But I do love old animation, and I am fond of old Japanese anime from the '80s which I think holds up very well.
Damn I was hoping for the best for this game on Switch. I'll take that off the wishlist. I guess Embracer Group strikes again and weren't going to allow these devs to optimize it for Switch. Total shame.
If I'm honest, I've never really enjoyed an action roguelike or roguelite. However, the presentation is absolutely fantastic and I hope it's inspired other developers to make games that at least look similar. It'd be great if we could one day have another traditional Zelda that looked like this.
Well well well, would you look at that.
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/embracer-open-to-divesting-studios-confirms-more-closures-on-the-horizon
Speak for yourself when you say those 80s cartoons don't hold up. How about you rewatch some of them? They're better than the Spongbobs, Rick and Morty crap you have today. With good morals as well
This is a shame, because if any visual aesthetic or iconography was going to persuade me to play a roguelite/run-based game it was 80s cartoons.
Where’s Romancelvania? Still no sign of a date for it, far as I can tell (oh the irony). That’s the one that caught my eye - and it’s near as dammit the right time for it to drop…
Call me smug but I called this, pretty much. I could smell the jank in the trailer and said so, and here we are.
Oof, well hopefully we get some patches in the future since I ordered the LFG physical copy. I really want this to be as fun as a Saturday morning cartoon.
Those old cartoons were terrible therefore this game is terrible.
@Serpenterror
What an unfair blanket statement about 80s cartoons! I expected better of you.
Glorified toy commercials or not, some of those shows set our imaginations soaring back then.
Wonder if LRG will tells us preorder buyers of this issue????
There will always be people who will immediately blast this as the fault of the Switch. I'm not saying that every game out there can be ported to the aged console at this point, but in this case this is clearly just a bad port of something that can definitely be ported properly. It could've been great with more time in the oven instead of being released to the masses half-baked. This is clearly the fault of either the people in charge of porting, the people who set the release deadline, or both.
It looked interesting, I pretty much expected a cross between He-Man and OG Gauntlet, which paired with Iron Maiden and Mountain Dew would effectively create my earliest fondest memories of the 80s as a wee lad.
The performance is a bummer and given cutbacks at the studio, I don't expect it will ever be good, so I guess I'll just have to accept that those days are very long gone. Saw Iron Maiden last year tho, they still got it 😁
I want my money back. Had no idea it could be THIS bad... what a failure.
@DemonKow I kind of like the idea of this game paired with some Iron Maiden, but I might be a bit biased as well. Though I didn't get into them until a lot later. Sadly, I had to skip their show last year because I got sick at the worst time. But I have seen them many times since Bruce rejoined and they definitely still got it. I've gotten a handful of lapsed fans of the band from back in the day to go see them again and they've always agreed.
I love the idea they had with the presentation of this to look like an '80s cartoon and they really nailed that. While the reviews are mixed on Steam too, there's at least a chance for it to be enjoyable on other platforms for those who absolutely must play this.
@TonyJay78 look man, I grew up w He-man, Thundercats, Gi Joe, Transformers, TMNT, etc etc and am 41 today with a bunch of kids. The shows my 4 year old currently watches are loads better than any of those. They had creative premises and some cool characters to sell toys. Citing Rick and Morty as if it's even for the same audience is either disingenuous or you don't have much experience with this stuff today. Even their Ducktales are better.
@FIS-PODCAST
Did you try to call Nintendo for a refund they usually allow 1 refund for clt if you complain enough about the mess the games is
Developers aren't even trying anymore lmao
Wouldn't be surprised if this were the result of how Embracer is treating these developers and unfortunately doubt they will ever be able to fix it for the same reason, too.
@LikelySatan The problem with your argument is that the cartoons your 4 year old watches (in other words, the usual American cartoon that airs on television these days), on average, tend to look less visually and aesthetically appealing than a pile of dog poop with a signed picture of Brie Larsen next to it.
There is a reason Akira is considered to be the peak of anime, and it isn't just because of the plot. Cartoons like He-Man, Thundercats, et alia were the zenith of the American animation industry as a visual artform, and the aesthetic/visual style of cartoons made in the current era (in other words, anything that looks like Steven Universe, Adventure Time, Powerpuff Girls, Fairly Oddparents, Teen Titans Go, and similar low-effort shows) is the nadir of American animation.
@BuhBuhBuhBanned We don't watch any of the modern shows you mentioned, lol. The classic ones were all just as standardized, stylistically. They were also animated poorly and pretty hokey. We watch them as well. He's 4. It's just been pretty striking seeing how bad those old shows are that I remember so fondly. If you were arguing Batman the Animated Series and some of the old Nicktoons as the "zenith of American animation" (if those even are American...I dont care) I might be inclined to agree with you. But not those 80s Saturday morning cartoons.
If I had known this was beamdog, I wouldn't have been excited for it in the first place. Neverwinter Nights on Switch is a similarly unplayably bad port.
They should finish it be LRG ships them out.
Just picked it up in the latest sale (50% off) and it's running great! Having a blast with it while watching He-Man: Revolution! #80sDream
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