80 Days – Switch Review

80 Days, based on Jules Verne’s novel ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ and other works, is a superb way to experience the writer’s creations. The modern, choose your own adventure style story is expertly crafted and right at home on the Nintendo Switch.

The crux of the adventure is exactly what you would expect, to return to London having navigated an adventure around the world in 80 days. This simple concept is made devilishly tricky by the need to balance speed, funds, knowledge and your duties as a valet. You can buy maps of travel routes and bribe drivers to leave town early but heavy spending can leave you waiting for a bank loan to come through. However, arriving in a location without a plan can leave you wasting time searching for a way to go next. This resource management can leave you tense. As I headed into London on day 79 I had only £27left, a far cry from the £4000 you begin with, but the feeling was exhilarating. 

When you read most books you can be confident that the protagonists will succeed. Though, whilst reading through 80 Days’ written adventure, you have no clue if you will emerge victorious. This uncertainty provides an extra level of engagement the original could not have captured.

I could even find myself heading to the North Pole or the Moon

Another success is 80 Days’ replayability. My first attempt ended in failure, I did not have enough time nor money to complete my journey, so I was desperate to improve. But I also crave to find all the game’s secrets. There is not only one path and, from information found in-game and through press materials, I could even find myself heading to the North Pole or the Moon. I have yet to discover how this achieved but the prospect of searching and exploring for these opportunities and all the other different side quests and adventures is incredibly fun.

A must play for any English students or book fans

Though 80 Days is not perfect. To provide more realism, the in-game clock does not stop when you take time to plan your route ahead. This in itself is not the issue but an ability to slow this clock down in the settings would help improve the accessibility of 80 Days for people with slower processing, such as myself. Furthermore, whilst 80 Days maintains its simplistic yet well-suited  art style from previous releases, it would be nice to have seen more uses of it. Perhaps providing background artwork or more detailed character pictures to better illustrate the adventure you play out. 

The game is still fantastic despite lacking these small additions and is a must play for any English students or book fans, though there is nothing specifically special about this port. If you have not yet played 80 Days, I would absolutely recommend picking it up, but if you feel a need to relive the story and own it on another platform, that version will suffice.

Thank you to Inkle for providing a copy of the game. 80 Days releases for the Nintendo Switch October 2019.