Well, that was quick. I’m going to spend more time writing this review than I did to play through 36 Fragments of Midnight. Ratalaika Games have been doing a stellar job at keeping the Switch library at a good pace when it comes to offering indies. Yet, as reliable as they are, I find this entry to be quite the oddball. Why? Read on to find out.
Story
The little bit of story there is is that a group of shadowy creatures requests that you retrieve the 36 fragments of midnight (Boooom, name drop!) that they lost. After that, they thank you and the game ends. Yes. Seriously.
Graphics
The art style is simplistic, but pleasing. It gives off a neat nighttime atmosphere that is amplified by the black-and-blue color palette and the fog effect.
Audio
Complementary to the night setting is a foggy ambiance with a couple sweet little piano jingles in place of sounds like when the player dies.
Gameplay
36 Fragments of Midnight is a 2D platformer where you collect the title objects and then head back to the group of shadowy creatures to receive your thanks. You’re a one-hit wonder, but there isn’t anything brutally challenging to face throughout the venture; it gets moderately difficult at most. Double jumping is always a fun little platforming mechanic, and it is nice to see the level designs change for every playthrough. However, this game practically starts as soon as it ends.
Here’s the problem: Even though the price is the smallest on the eShop so far ($3), it’s also the shortest. My playthrough lasted seven minutes! That’s $0.43 a minute, and that’s not a speedrun time. Even at that price, it feels like it’s steep for what it is. The gameplay is pretty standard stuff and League of Evil has over a hundred levels for just five bucks more than this.
Verdict
If you feel you can use 36 Fragments of Midnight to kill several minutes with, I guess you can go ahead and consider picking it up. It isn’t like there’s not any appeal to be found here. That said, it does feel somewhat underwhelming.
