Little Town Hero is the new RPG from Pokémon creators, Game Freak. Is this small-town tale an adventure to remember? Here’s what the critics are saying.
The concept of Little Town Hero is quite delightful. It’s a small scale RPG that takes place in a single town. Unfortunately, it appears that this limited scope actually becomes a detriment to the game, which can sometimes be slow-moving. The game’s combat, although inventive, can also become repetitive.
However, despite the lack of variety, critics say the game has charm in abundance, impressive visuals and a memorable score from Toby Fox. Here is our pick of the game’s reviews.
Little Town Hero: Review round-up
Vooks
“It looks absolutely gorgeous, with its colourful, cel-shaded art style making characters pop against beautiful backdrops. I also noticed that characters and man-made structures like houses and bridges are outlined in black, while natural structures like trees, bushes, and hills don’t; it’s a subtle touch, but it adds depth to the art style in a way that major details can’t. The music, of course, is also fantastic, as expected of Undertale creator Toby Fox.”
4/5 – Review by Oliver Brandt
IGN
“It all moves at an authentically small-town pace, which is to say tediously slowly. A sluggish UI and ponderous animations can make otherwise-exciting fights feel downright sleepy at times. Indicators for how damage is dealt, what special effects have activated, or even what turn number it is all just slow things down. I already spent so long mathing out my turn that having to sit through the animations behind those choices afterward got on my nerves.”
7/10 – Review by Tom Marks
Games Radar
“If you can swallow the uninspired storytelling and framerate drops, there’s a lot of fun to be had taking down monsters in Little Town Hero. An exercise in battle strategy and patience for its flaws, Little Town Hero knows where its strengths lie, and thankfully you’ll see more strengths than flaws if you invest in them.”
3/5 – Review by Jordan Gerblick
Nintendo Life
“In an era where every RPG – and every genre that’s assimilated roleplay mechanics into their DNA – have used grinding and oversized maps to extend their playtimes into figures only a select few can truly undertake, Little Town Hero has confidently opted for a shorter experience that’s more akin to the pace, style and sedate pace of Animal Crossing than a traditional RPG or JRPG. However, with a battle system that trades XP levelling for a purer sense of tactical planning and experimentation (albeit with an unpredictable spike difficulty), Game Freak proves that a ‘casual’ game can still have plenty of imagination, even on a smaller scale.”
7/10 – Review by Dom Reseigh-Lincoln
Kotaku
“Like the little town Axe works so hard to protect, Little Town Hero is straightforward and earnest. Comical moments between characters and a Toby Fox-made soundtrack keep the boring parts manageable, and the battle system’s mix of a simple core with a variety of ways to execute makes the game work.”
Not scored – Impressions by Natalie Degraffinried
Nintendo Everything
“Little Town Hero is a much bigger game than it may seem at first. Its beautiful visuals, charming story, and fantastic soundtrack may make it look like a friendly little RPG, but this first impression hides its true nature as one of the most overbearingly complex RPGs I’ve played recently. While this complexity is certainly more than I bargained for when starting up the game, I can’t deny that it’s an exciting, thrilling RPG unlike much else I’ve ever played, and this very complexity makes it that much more thrilling.”
Thumbs up – Review by Campbell
USgamer
“For a game about small town shenanigans, Little Town Hero feels at odds with its own vibe. You can walk around shops, like a cheese shop where you can practically smell the gouda radiating off the screen, but you can’t buy anything there. You can only engage the shopkeeper in a forgettable, one-line conversation. You can do side quests, but you get nothing out of it. The unique mix of deck building and board game movement could have made for something special, but instead it just feels like getting bad ice cream from an ice cream truck.”
2/5 – Review by Caty McCarthy
Title: Little Town Hero
Developer: Game Freak
Publisher: Game Freak
Release date: October 16, 2019
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Visit our new releases section for more on this week’s new Switch, PS4 and Xbox One games.
