League of Evil review

Get yourself a scientist

Review written by
Rob Jones

September 18th, 2017

The Switch eShop is fast becoming a haven for quality downloadable games, including those from indie developers. Publishers Ratalaika Games are more than doing their bit, bringing over some great stuff for us to enjoy. League of Evil is an action platformer, done in a retro-stylee much like those old Mega Man games on the NES.

In a similar vein to the golden oldies, the storyline is kept short and simple. There is a league of scientists at work, and unfortunately they're evil. Cue our hero... a double-jumping, bionic-punching hunk of man hell-bent on wasting said scientists, one level at a time.

League of Evil has 140 levels, broken up into four chapters. As you'd expect, the levels get progressively harder. For my money, the difficulty curve is just right, you remain challenged throughout but always in a fun way. You can expect to die quite a lot near the end, trial and error playing an important part as you build up your 'muscle memory'. Completionists are kept busy, as each level gives you a star-rating on speed, and there are awkward briefcases to collect too. (woop #brag)

To further extend its lifespan, League of Evil comes with a level editor so you can make your own maps, and download other peoples' as well. Using the editor is easy, particularly with the Switch's touch-screen, so minds more creative than mine will have a great time coming up with diabolical maps. The level packs I've downloaded so far are a mixed bag, with some decent ones but also some stages that felt derped together. There doesn't seem to be any quality control with regards to what makes it online, but you can choose to download only maps that have a popular rating.

Graphically, League of Evil is intentionally quite basic. Its pixelated sprites and tile-based environments hark back to a simpler time. The game has character though, and never comes off as generic.

The levels are driven by pulsating electronic beats. In another style of game you'd say the music is too repetitive, but it works here to help keep you in the zone and saying 'one more try'. One more try, can indeed turn into a hundred more tries. And then one more.

If you enjoy challenging platformers, things like Mega Man or the more recent Meat Boy games, League of Evil should also be right up your street. The controls are tight and it's fun to play both docked and portably. Give it a whirl and splatter a scientist today!