Nitro Kid Review: Synthwaves of enemies
Synthwave. Martial arts. Deckbuilding. Pixel Art. Roguelike. Corporate espionage. Cyberpunk. These components alone should get just about any gamer interested, as these types of games are not only pretty popular these days but are generally a good time. But it’s all about how it comes together, isn’t it? You can have an amazing mechanic with a bad story, clunky gameplay with incredible music, or any sad, sad combo therein. I wouldn’t blame you if you saw the aforementioned buzzwords and thought “sounds good, but I remain unconvinced.” After all, we’ve all been burned before at some point, haven’t we?
Rest assured that Nitro Kid is more than just Fights in Tight Spaces with a coat of neon paint — it’s something uniquely its own that will keep you glued to your screen for hours upon hours. Developed by Wildboy and published by tinyBuild, Nitro Kid challenges players to pick from one of three agents and make their way through the INFINITY tower, armed with 250+ cards and 30+ infusions. Beat 50+ unique baddies, trigger 50+ different events, and clear the three stages of the INFINITY tower — all set to glorious Synthwave tracks by LudoWic, Tonebox and Jules Reves. And for only $19.99, Nitro Kid brings the pain to onscreen enemies without hurting your wallet.
Nitro Kid has players taking on the role of one of three agents — L33 initially — as they make their way through the entirety of INFINITY tower. Although your motivation for such an undertaking is pretty fuzzy, your goal is clear: get in, beat up baddies, rescue the Nitro Kids, and get out — hopefully alive. With your deck of cards at your disposal, you’ll turn-based fight your way through room after room of enemies on an isometric floorplan, strategizing the best possible moves. If you play your cards right (literally), you’ll defeat the enemies and clear the tower in no time.
The fights in Nitro Kid are very similar to Fights in Tight Spaces — your hand will have cards with various moves, which can be played as long as you have enough energy to do so. Various enemies will populate the room, each with a different movement and attack pattern along with other varying stats. Depending on the difficulty setting and where you are in the game, these fights can be resolved within 2 – 6 turns, depending on your hand.
Where the two games differ is the obvious style — Nitro Kid oozes with that Synthwave flair — but also the enemy variety. We’re not just taking down regular bad guys here, we’re talking robots, trained killers with cyberkinetic enhancements, and more. You will fight a lot, and you will die a lot. But you will definitely feel like getting back up and starting another round the moment it happens.
In addition to the fights, Nitro Kid breaks up the scenes with some random events as a means to simulate what one might experience breaking into some megacorporate cyberpunk tower. Players will be presented with situations where they might encounter a cryochamber, a computer terminal, or something else delightfully cyberpunk. Choosing from one of the multiple options available typically yields a reward of some kind, be it a card, money, or boost, but there are occasions where you’re simply choosing from the lesser of two evils, as it were. Choose wisely!
Nitro Kid is a solid deckbuilding game that knocks the synthwave style out of the park — especially when it comes to that ridiculously incredible soundtrack. Seriously, this game is worth getting for the soundtrack alone. But there are some issues with the title that I couldn’t help but overlook. The first is the storyline… rather, the lack of one. I get that roguelikes don’t always need one, but more backstory would have been beneficial here in the sense that I constantly felt a lack of motivation for any of my choices.
This plays into my second issue, which is presentation and UI. What little storyline there was tended to be doled out during events in extremely tiny text with multiple options that didn’t matter story-wise, as the option you’d choose depended upon what you needed at that moment (money, etc.). I think Nitro Kid has a great mechanic and naturally nailed the synthwave theme, but I do wonder if it relied on the style so heavily it forgot to tie any original elements back into it, narratively speaking.
Nitro Kid offers that slice of synthwave cyberpunk heaven in the form of a turn-based deckbuilding roguelike. It has a solid mechanic and balanced gameplay that proves addicting when you throw the amazing soundtrack into the fray. Although I wish there had been a little more in terms of a storyline — or even just backstory — that’s not a dealbreaker for an otherwise great game. If you’re looking for a fight with plenty of synthwave flair, Nitro Kid is ready to deal you in.
Final Verdict: 3.5/5
Available on: PC (Reviewed); Publisher: tinyBuild; Developer: Wildboy Studios; Players: 1; Released: October 18, 2022; MSRP: $19.99
Full disclosure: This review is based on a copy of Nitro Kid provided by the publisher.