Nintendo Switch Critic Reviews

Nefarious is a fantastically wacky 2D platformer that is innovative and refreshing with its diverse gameplay and world.

It has wit, fun visuals, a good soundtrack, and a lot of personality. The story isn’t super deep, but it’s not trying to be. This is a fun take on a villain doing what old-school villains have always done, and the thought process around that. If you’re into simpler platformers that don’t eat up a lot of time, and want some charming characters, Nefarious might just be for you.

By putting the player in the place of the villain, many of gaming's usual conventions are seen in a different light. Unfortunately the game's level design is so linear and unadventurous that it ends up harming the experience more than it should, and its exaggeratedly difficult jumping doesn't let this promising work rise above a mid-level threshold.

There’s not much within the game that is poorly done, or even downright bad, but the problem is Nefarious tries to do too much, and in that attempt, ends up doing none of it exceptionally well.

Other than the amusing boss battles, Nefarious is barely competent. Controlling bosses from various genres is a novel spin on the concept of the boss battle and if this was just a series of battles, like Cuphead, there could have been something worth playing here. Everything else, which is about 90% of the game, is just soul-crushing. It is the kind of title that feels like work, and continuing is just exhausting because of how poor the playbility is.