When Tokyo Scramble was shown off at the recent Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase, it seemed it would be an interesting experience. A mix of action, stealth, survival horror and puzzle gameplay, it seemed like it had some real potential, but after playing it, I have to say it is not as easy to describe. The reason for this is that Tokyo Scramble is a story of two experiences, one amazing and one not.
Tokyo Scramble tells the story of Anne who is heading out to meet up with her friends when a cataclysm opens the ground beneath her and deposits her in a caver far beneath Tokyo inhabited by dinosaur-like creatures that Anne refers to as Zino. Anne must survive in this world and find a way out. It sounds epic, but the story ends up making no sense as Anne is soon able to contact her friends and there is such a casualness that it becomes a bit offputting.
Anne’s friends utterly ignore her situation and come off as extremely superficial, which makes for a strange choice. Then Anne’s brother Ray shows up and occasionally interacts with Anne before getting separated despite there clearly being a way to reach each other. It feels over the top and not in a good way. At least at first, but I will get back to that soon.
You also have to monitor Anne’s health since if her heart rate goes above 150, she must slow down and this creates tension in an awkward way. Anne has apps on her phone she can use to help herself like flashing lights to blind a Zino or interfere with tech to cause a distraction. going to be forced to slow down and have a bad time. She can use apps on her phone to occasionally do helpful things to aid in evasion, like flash a Zino to temporarily blind them or cause an electronic item to make noise. However, her battery is limited and you need to be careful with how you use these because only a few can be done on each stage, so you must rely on stealth and the use of audio and visual sound effects to know when to move.
Tokyo Scramble introduces new enemy types constantly that keep shaking up the gameplay and Anne’s interactions with her brother and friends seem to be telling a story, but it all wraps in an unsatisfying way. That kind of sums up Tokyo Scramble in a nutshell, the game throws a ton of ideas and story elements and connects none of it properly. Even the level design becomes a mess as the game is full of jank that holds it back, especially when combined with the bland visuals that feel like they were pulled from asset packs.
Tokyo Scramble is a mess, at least in single player. I did say before it is a story of two experiences and after playing online, everything clicked for me. Everything that makes no sense feels like it was meant to make no sense and I get the feeling that Tokyo Scramble’s single player mode is actually the part that was an afterthought rather than the online mode.
When playing online, each player controls a different part of Anne and it becomes a chaotic mess. This should be a disaster, but I immediately tuned in on what Binary Haze was going for and that was the genre of game that is often referred to as Streamer Slop. This is a game meant to be played with friends and shared with an online audience the way many people stream their sessions of Among Us or the viral sensation that was Twitch Plays Pokemon.
With this realization I came to appreciate Tokyo Scramble a bit more. Yes the story makes no sense and there are so many confusing design choices, but that was to fuel streaming and viral videos of people playing the game. I do not quite enjoy this kind of game myself, but it is clear that it is meant to be a bit of a mess on purpose.
Whether you like that idea or not, is another matter, but it is clear Tokyo Scramble was made to take advantage of the gamechat and game share components of Nintendo Switch 2 and use them to create the ultimate streamer game ( I rather dislike the term Streamer Slop myself but i is one that many are familiar with. I think that while this is definitely not a game I enjoy, it is one that shows potential for what unique experiences you can find with online multiplayer on Nintendo Switch 2. I do have to wonder about the idea of making a game geared towards streaming and virality, especially since it seems Tokyo Scramble has not caught on as of now. That said, I do think people need to realize the abysmal single player is really not the way to experience Tokyo Scramble and only by really experiencing the multiplayer will you understand what the game has going for it.
If you are willing to give the multiplayer a chance, I think there is actually a lot of fun to be had with friends in Tokyo Scramble. If you just play alone, you will hate every moment of the experience, but the farcical nature of the game becomes clear in multiplayer. It is a mixed experience and I am not sure Binary Haze pulled off what they were going for, but this indeed a tale of two different experiences, one being a mess and one being chaotic fun. It is ultimately up to you for how you experience it yourself.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided.