Paranautical Activity

While it offers a briefly entertaining alternative to an already impressive selection of first-person shooters on Nintendo Switch, Paranautical Activity soon reveals itself to be as low-fi and forgettable as its appearance on WiI U in 2016. Even with its performance issues, the similar and far superior Immortal Redneck is a far stronger option if you want to explore roguelike dungeons through the prism of an FPS.

The soundtrack is the highlight of this mixed bag of good ideas and poor implementation and when all is said and done, it's a shame that the gameplay and visuals cannot live up to the scene set by the music.

Paranautical Activity was an interesting play, however the lack of progression of difficulty made it a struggle to enjoy.  Even at a decent selling price of $7.99, the frustrations I encountered while playing the game make it hard to recommend.

Now available on the Nintendo Switch after its original launch in 2012, Paranautical Activity really does not stand out from the competition due to its lack of originality

As with all roguelikes I would imagine there will be a crowd that finds the mix of gameplay in Paranautical Activity entertaining and challenging in some way. Once you get into your groove you can certainly move through multiple levels and find success, with some random elements thrown in along the way so you’re never quite sure how things will shake out. That said in terms of FPS action this is a very shallow and generally dull experience reminiscent of unevolved gameplay from the same era that inspired the game’s visuals. Oddly-themed enemies and being different aren’t enough to save what’s ultimately uninteresting play.

Paranautical Activity mixes rogue-lite level design, fps gameplay, and a blocky aesthetic to create an interesting experience. The combat can be fun, but encountering certain enemies can quickly turn that around. The weapon choices are cool to experiment with, but the slower characters may turn you away.

Overall, Paranautical Activity is a flawed experience. That said, it's still a great deal of fun, and acts as a great timekiller. If you're looking for a cheap game on Switch, there are better options, but Paranautical Activity certainly isn't the worst.

The game has 12 trophies including one Gold and four Silver. Most will be unlocked through you completing special events within the game, like not attacking anyone in the room or getting all weapons. With the game’s difficulty, this will be a hard game to 100%.

Paranautical Activity is a fast paced first person shooter with roguelike elements that feels like someone tried really hard to recreate Doom, but was really into Minecraft, and wanted to just make it over reliant on PC design. If you don’t like games that punish you, chances are you won’t like this game. If you do, you’ll find yourself playing this game multiple times through, trying to 100% the entire game. If none of these things interest you, just listen to the soundtrack. It’s pretty great.

Riddled with technical issues that need improvement and with too long loading times, Paranautical Activity ends up being a difficult experience to play and it requires a revision from top to bottom until it can be considered as a competent game.