The Switch isn’t known for having many multiplayer shooters. While it does feature Splatoon 2 and a version of Fortnite, that’s basically all you can get for the console at the moment, until now.

Originally announced nearly a year ago, Morphies Law impressed me from the get-go due to its weird aesthetics, unusual rules, and the fact it’s an actual Switch exclusive, at least for the time being. I was worried about it due to months without any news regarding its development, until its surprise release a few days ago. Morphies Law is pretty good, but it’s still rough around the edges.

The premise for Morphies Law is whenever you shoot an enemy, said foe will shrink and you will grow in size. Think of it as stealing the enemy’s mass. If you keep shooting at your foe’s arm, your own arm will grow and it will increase your upper movement, but the uneven weight will make you slow and clunky. Keep shooting at the legs and you’ll get overall faster. Keep getting bigger and you’ll become stronger, but you’ll also become unable to enter smaller areas. You’ll also become so big to the point of becoming a giant walking target for anyone on the battlefield. It’s neat concept of risk and reward, putting a big emphasis on teamwork for everyone to grow equally and some members to remain small in order to access special areas.

Technically speaking, the game does a good job. Visuals are clearly a standout, given the game’s decision to stick to a vibrant “Day of the Dead” art style. Everything is charming and really weird at the same time and I love it. The soundtrack, while not exactly groundbreaking, is exactly what you would expect from a game like this: it sounds Mexican. You could put these tunes in a game like Guacamelee and they wouldn’t feel out of place.

Finally, there’s the controls. It’s a standard third-person shooting control scheme, with a few differences. First of all, no cover mechanics. Morphies Law wants you to jump straight into the fight and I’m definitely okay with that. My main issue with the control scheme is the lack of a proper aiming button, just like pretty much every single modern shooter not called DOOM features. Besides this, the game also features the option to aim with the joycons and the Pro Controller’s motion sensors, and while extremely weird at first, you can eventually get used to them.

There are a handful of modes to choose from. Mass Heist’s focus is on stealing the most mass from your opponents, making your scary-looking Day of the Dead kaiju grow in size in order to kill your opponent’s equally scary-looking kaiju. Morph Match is the closest to a normal deathmatch this game offers, while Head Hunt is a wacky take on the typical “capture the flag” rule: you need to look for a big head and take it back to your base, but if your character is too small, the head’s weight will eventually crush you. Sadly, those are all the modes available at the moment.

That’s my main issue with Morphies Law: as of now, there are only three modes and four maps to choose from. Granted, there are tons of ways to customize your character and the gameplay is fun enough, but the game feels a bit like an early access. There’s just not enough content, without a campaign. There are tons of multiplayer modes like local, online, bots only, and online versus bots, but at the end of the day, you only have these many maps and modes to play.

Morphies Law features a fantastic gameplay concept and a nifty progression system, as well as a unique art style. While it nails its main concept, it still lacks in overall content, featuring just a handful of modes and maps. What’s included at the moment hasn’t tired me yet, but I hope the developers come up with a few more maps as soon as possible. Just like my character’s head, I want this wacky fiesta to keep growing larger and larger!

 

Graphics: 7.5 Vibrant and colorful visuals coupled with some wacky animations. The framerate is impressive both on docked and portable modes, but it suffers from drops more frequently than it should.	Gameplay: 7.0 While the control scheme is incredibly simple and easy to learn, the game lacks a more refined aiming button. The gyro controls are confusing at first, but you can get used to after a few minutes.
Sound: 8.5 The type of music you’d expect from a Mexican-inspired game. It wouldn’t feel out of place in Coco or Guacamelee.	Fun Factor: 7.0 Morphies Law is weird, unique, and a pleasure to play. It just needs more maps in order not to look like an early access title, as it’s still quite short in terms of content.
Final Verdict: 7.5

Morphies Law is available now on Switch.

A copy of Morphies Law was provided by the publisher.