Dino-Mite!
It's that time again for a new episode of Chichuki Plays, the show where I go hands-on with upcoming games and show them off. Usually, it's about an hour or so but I don't want to spoil too much of the game for you. This time we're looking at Tokyo Scramble on the Nintendo Switch 2. Fans of being stealthy as well as dinosaurs will want to check this one out.
I want to start by saying that I really like the design of the main character, Anne. I really like the pink jacket she has on. You find out that she is in a band with her friends, so the pink jacket look works. Now that I've got that out of the way, let's get into the game.
I'll keep the story as vague as possible because I don't want to spoil too much. We get thrown underground and we have to find a way back to the surface/out. That being said, things aren't going to be so easy with all kinds of obstacles in our way. The Zinos, or the dinosaurs, are strewn about the underground and we have to figure out a way to get past them. That's a tall order because they are mostly attracted by sound. One wrong move and its lights out for Anne, as you will see quite a few times in my video. It feels like the game wants you to trial and error your way through certain things. You'll also be given tasks to perform in each episode to get a better ranking. Take advantage of crouching and sprinting to make your way through situations.
I really like how you can use environments to your advantage. During your journey that you don't have great cell service, but you do have the ability to use applications to help you out. You start out by only having a "Flash" with limited uses but the more updates you get, the more you can use it. You'll discover charging stations throughout the locations where you can reactivate them and get more charges to stun Zinos. I really like that there are certain things you can discover in each location, have that added to your applications, and use that for survival. For example, in one of the locations you'll be able to activate an elevator. You can drop that on a Zino to kill it and make it easier to traverse. Another area gives you the ability to activate an alarm to mess with the sonar of the Lurker, a bat-like monster. Master what environmental hazards you can use to your advantage.
Be careful when using the flash application because if you stun a Zino in the wrong spot or in a walkway that's only wide enough for one, you won't be able to get past and thus attacked/killed. It can be frustrating when the method that's supposed to keep you alive is the thing that gets you killed. Graphically there were some minor frame rate issues with the Zinos too but that doesn't take away from gameplay.
Tokyo Scramble is an interesting taker on the survival/escort mission genre of games. I really want to know more of Anne's story and if she figures out how to get back to the surface. One might say that Tokyo Scramble is paying homage to Dino crisis and that's fair. However, it's more of a fight for your survival/plan three moves in advance type rather than shoot first and ask questions later. I will say that fans of the genre will want to check it out.
Check out the hands-on video below!