Nintendo Switch Critic Reviews

An incredibly intoxicating single player game dressed in breath taking artistry.

Shape of the World is a feast of color, sound, and design. It manages to be both serene and occasionally challenging, wondrous and abstract, and has surprising depth, considering that your only goals are to wander around and collect natural trinkets as you go. It's a perfect game for those who want to get lost in a minimalist wonderland of imagination.

Gorgeous visuals and soothing ambiance make the game perfect for those wishing to kick back and relax with an incredibly chill explorer simulator. Being able to construct worlds with a variety of seeds gives players a reason to explore each area and come back for more. Multiple levels with their own flora and fauna give players new sights to explore. While walking can be slow at times and some visuals actually hinder progress, Shape of the World makes up for these shortcomings in a memorable sandbox experience that's perfect for casual play.

Shape of the World is really strange, so strange that it may not be a video game.

Shape of the World is a very different offering on the Switch’s eShop, and one that we are glad to have experienced despite its shortcomings. Describing it as a video game doesn’t feel quite right; it’s more of an interactive playground that lets you take a couple of hours out, switch off, and be treated to some thought-provoking aesthetics along the way. It’s definitely not for everyone, and it’s all over a little too quickly, but Shape of the World is a nicely put together piece of art that deserves the attention of those most intrigued.

had a tough time getting into Shape of the World at first, in big part due to the sparse initial environments and the clipping problems. And I admit I rolled my eyes a bit as the creatures I met went from bug-like critters to sea creatures floating… in the air (a trend that culminated with glimpses of a whale floating in the sky). I found it a little cliché and New Age-y. The final moments were impressive and by the time I got to them, I had started enjoying myself, but it took a long time for the game to ramp up to that point.

Shape of the world offers a very different experience. Don't expect fights or puzzles or even a minimal narrative that explains anything about the story. In contrast, the game offers an abstract world full of variations of colors and shapes, which transforms at every moment and can be freely explored. The soundtrack follows all the visual transformation and keeps us connected with the game. Games like this, that go beyond the common place and are well executed, are very welcome and enrich the universe of video games.

If you’re after something a little bit different, it’s not a bad way to escape for a couple of hours.

Shape of the World is unlike most games out there. Rather than a structured, narrative-driven or action-driven plan, Shape of the World proposes something more akin to a sensory experience and one which is quite successful at plunging the player in a different state, thanks to the game's eerie abstract beauty. Where Shape of the World disappoints is in its length and dimension, which feel a lot less ambitious than it could be.

Bright, intriguing, but lacking depth. [July 2018, p.74]