Cannon Brawl Review

For those of you who don’t know it, Temple Gates Games’ title came to life in the now distant September 2014 in its PC version. Subsequently, in August 2016, it also landed on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Finally, many years later, it also landed on the Nintendo console. But how does Cannon Brawl behave on the portable console? Here is my Cannon Brawl review on Nintendo Switch.

THINK STRATEGICALLY

Cannon Brawl is a 2D strategy game in which you will pilot an airship. Thanks to this setup, you can build your kingdom. In fact, it will be possible to buy structures to be placed within your borders. Yes, it all seems somewhat arcane, but it is simpler than it seems. Let’s rewind the tape a bit and make it clearer. In the game you will face 1 vs 1 battles, in which you have to destroy the opponent’s fortress.

To do this, you will obviously need both offensive structures to attack the enemy, but also defensive structures to protect yourself from the opponent’s offensive. You can easily buy them at your castle and then position them strategically on the map. However, Temple Gates Games’ title limits the placement area.

A small circle around your structures will represent the latter. It will be possible to expand it not only with the buildings you are going to build, but also with balloons that will provide you with depth and height if you need it. Take note that by grabbing the most space on the map might be a wise move, but it won’t always be a winner.

AIRSHIPS AND BUILDINGS

Grabbing a large area won’t be the only important thing in Cannon Brawl. If you don’t build defensive, offensive, and productive structures, having a large area will be useless. There are countless buildings and airships available in the game that can be unlocked as the story progresses. In addition, there will also be others that you can only unlock by purchasing them through XP points.

Earning the latter will not be difficult. In fact, there are various missions that will guarantee you a considerable amount of XP points. In the game there are 18 buildings, each with particular characteristics to be exploited in combination with the various airships. These are in turn divided into three categories: offensive, defensive, and productive.

It is difficult to say which is the most important, but production buildings certainly play an important role. Thanks to the latter, in fact, you can produce an enormous amount of money that you can spend to build or upgrade other buildings. Thanks to this vastness of buildings, you can select the strategy that best suits your style of play.

At the beginning of the game, you will find yourself faced with a very important choice regarding the “deck” that you are going to use. During the battle, you can use only 5 of the buildings present in Temple Gates Games’ title. Take note that this is certainly one of the key points of the game that will then affect the course of the overall fight.

CHOOSING YOUR PILOT

Before the fight, and even before selecting your “deck”, you will have to select the pilot that best suits your attack tactics. Each pilot has a specific airship and has important skills. They can heal buildings or provide a shield that will deflect all attacks. In total, there will be 10 pilots available in Cannon Brawl. Half of the pilots are available during the campaign. The rest are unlockable through purchase with XP points.

Knowing how to adapt your tactics according to the selected pilot and the combat map is very important. This will surely be the keystone that will allow you to survive the clashes and finish them in a short time. However, although there is such an important choice to make at the beginning of Temple Gates Games’ title, the difficulty will allow you to play quietly without thinking too much about a very specific attack tactic. This, of course, is only valid for the campaign in its standard mode.

EASY? DEFINITELY NOT!

Overcoming all levels in Cannon Brawl will certainly not be an easy challenge. You will need to think of various different strategies if you want to get three stars. Here, in fact, the choice of buildings and the pilot will greatly affect the completion of the assignments. In the campaign map there are also bonus levels that will guarantee you an important influx of XP points to be spent later in the store.

These levels, however, will not be like the usual battles. They will be real puzzles that will force you, at least some, to press your brains to complete them. In some you will have to withstand hordes of enemy attacks. In others, you will have to destroy the castle with one or two hits at most.

I can therefore say that the game presents a good dose of difficulty when viewed from some points of view. Temple Gates Games’ title forces you to find the best attack tactic to complete it 100%. If, on the other hand, you want a more peaceful experience, then don’t be afraid to find yourself in a game that you can never complete.

TECHNICAL SECTOR

From a technical point of view, Cannon Brawl works pretty well, without too many changes due to the Nintendo Switch port. The cartoon graphics are very pleasant and the animations looks like a fantasy book. Even from the audio point of view, the game seems well cared for with very well-chosen sound effects. Take note that the frame rates are also fairly stable in any situation, both during single player and multiplayer fights. It is possible to play with your friend or family member simply by detaching the Joy-Con, without having to buy another pair.

Do you want to try Temple Gates Games’ Cannon Brawl? What do you think of my Cannon Brawl review on Nintendo Switch? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below. Are you interested in more games? Check out our reviews for Lost Words: Beyond the Page, Two Point Hospital: Jumbo Edition, Harvest Moon One World, and Control Ultimate Edition.