Pawarumi

Pawarumi is a good old-fashioned “shoot everything that moves” game which engages the player right from the start; I had an adrenaline rush going the whole time I was playing. At $14.99, it’s a great addition to your Nintendo Switch catalog of games.

Pawarumi shows the shoot ’em up genre has new directions to go besides just improving the visuals with each passing decade.

Pawarumi is a solid shoot ’em up game with a decent spin on a tried and tested mechanic. I found that getting a handle on its multi-tasking demands is both satisfying and tense, especially when it came to keeping my cool under pressure. Throw a few decent boss fights into the mix, an online leaderboard, music that varies from pan pipes to rock music, and you have another well-crafted arcade shoot ’em up to add to the collection on Nintendo Switch.

Pawarumi is a tough-as-nails shmup with a unique central mechanic that takes time to master. Stick with it though and you’ll be rewarded with a slick, fast-paced shooter that looks and sounds amazing and will test your skills to the max. There’s really nothing else like it out there right now and, even with slight reservations over the difficulty, a lacklustre story and paucity of game modes, this is an easy recommend for fans of the genre looking for a proper challenge.

Pawarumi offers us a universe that mixes old and new in a very effective way, with a very interesting shooting system that will delight the most demanding players. It is a very fun and addictive title, although unfortunately it does not have a local multiplayer, which means that we can only enjoy it alone.

Pawarumi is a solid shoot ’em up in both challenge and its creative design. The sci-fi Aztec-infused presentation is refreshing, while taking inspiration from Ikaruga and throwing in their own inventive twist on the formula helps give Pawarumi its own flavour. It might be too hard for the casual fan, since there is no way to continue on death – it is key to learn Pawarumi‘s distinct Trinity Mechanic system to survive, but spending time doing so is rewarding. Pawarumi doesn’t have the final polish and tightly knitted gameplay that Treasure’s black and white gem does that could have pushed it to the kings of the genre – this comes with experience crafting games in the genre, which Treasure has mountains of – but shoot ’em up fans will have a blast as they try chase down the world champions on the leaderboard.

Ultimately, Pawarumi is an inventive and engaging STG that's held back by a low frame-rate. Considering the genre, a lesser game would completely fall apart if it ran at 30 FPS. At least with this one, its admirable qualities still shine through. The art-direction is quite interesting and the Trinity Mechanics are really well-executed. That said; dealing with the handicap of having less reaction time is liable to be too much for some players. It's advisable to wait for a possible 60 FPS patch, or check out the version that's available on Steam. Otherwise, expect at least some frustration and anger in your future.