Headland Review (Nintendo Switch OLED)

Join us for our Headland Review, Where a powerful force has destroyed the Imagination Core inside Nor’s Headland, and it is up to us to journey across the lush fantasy of his imagination to fight monsters and gather the scattered fragments of his creativity. In an adventure full of varied dreamy challenges, dazzling foes, and a charming cast of robot buddies to befriend, uncover the enigmatic mysteries behind the dark forces in order to rebuild Nor’s Imagination Core and save Headland!

Headland Review Pros:

  • Decent graphics.
  • 377MB download size.
  • 3rd person adventure gameplay.
  • Simple hack and slash combat.
  • World map level select, you walk around and choose your level to play.
  • Each level has a number of secrets.
  • Earn EXP and get upgrade points, spend them on either attack damage or health.
  • Resources (stone/wood/coins) drop from chests, enemies and break down trees and rocks.
  • Robot Raft – Acts as the hub and here is where you spend upgrade points, upgrade weapons, use keys and decorate with resources.
  • Bonus rooms need a key and there are 3 colored keys. These rooms have a one-shot type deal and are repayable.
  • In-game cutscenes.
  • The goal of the game is to get the Shards of power back.
  • Mixes the real world with the imaginary world.
  • Has a Jamie and the Magic torch style opening scene.
  • The screen shake can be turned on or off.
  • Auto-aim – on/off.
  • Controls are easy to learn. You can dash, attack with your sword, and use a shield.
  • The shield needs to be charged by attacking enemies, if you get too many hits the shield will leave and you have to do the QTE to get them back.
  • Levels are repayable.
  • Collect colored orbs to either get through a level or to spend on unlocking bonus loot boxes.
  • Very playable.
  • Each level generally has a wave-based end fight to them.
  • Slight puzzle elements to it.
  • Different enemy types, one set will drain the color from the world as they move around.
  • You can see enemy health bars and their intended attack direction allowing you time to dodge.
  • EXP numbers will bang up as you kill enemies.
  • Two weapon types – one pushes enemies back and the other increases your speed.
  • Find and use checkpoints.
  • Infinite lives.
  • A lot of fun to play.
  • A short game that is the right length. Took me around 5 hours.
  • Can continue to play after finishing the game.
  • Decorate your raft.
  • The end of the game boss fight can be replayed.
  • Death – you drop a small amount of a resource and leave a tombstone. Break the tombstone and kill the enemies to get your stuff back.
  • Fast loading times.

Headland Review Cons:

  • The biggest issue is the performance, whether it is handheld or docked, the game has a lot of slowdowns.
  • Cannot rebind the controls.
  • Some of the secrets can be tricky.
  • You can max out your weapons very quickly.

Related Post: Breakneck City Review (Xbox Series S)

Headland:

Official website.

Developer: Northplay

Publisher: Northplay

Store Links –

Nintendo

  • 8/10
    Graphics - 8/10
  • 8/10
    Sound - 8/10
  • 8/10
    Accessibility - 8/10
  • 8/10
    Length - 8/10
  • 8/10
    Fun Factor - 8/10
8/10

Jim Smale

Gaming since the Atari 2600, I enjoy the weirdness in games counting Densha De Go and RC De Go as my favourite titles of all time. I prefer gaming of old where buying games from a shop was a thing, Being social in person was a thing. Join me as I attempt to adapt to this new digital age!