Desert Child Reviews
An aesthetically pleasing game is worthless if its gameplay is repetitive, dull and unimaginative. Oscar Brittain seems to not have realized that on time, unfortunately, and Desert Child ended up becoming another beautiful but extraordinarily shallow indie game.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Desert Child's final outcome is not enough to secure a completely satisfying experience. While its game play can be pleasant, but equally limited. After several hours its game play loop ends up disappointing and the initial curiosity to explore its beautiful city and mechanics loses itself on what is a forgettable quest, despite the excellent soundtrack.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
There seems to be a seed for what could be a decent game in Desert Child but it honestly feels unfinished. If the focus had been on the action of the racing and slowly layering more elements to that action with some progression I would have probably been fine just stopping there. At least it would have had a clear focus and the central activity could have remained interesting through slowly and smartly evolving. Instead you’ll quickly find yourself wasting your time walking around a city for no really good reason beyond demonstrating some artistic flair with different angles in each area and playing through variations on the same theme over and over again. Perhaps an audience can dig in and find the enjoyment but with so many better conceived games on the eShop it’s hard to give Desert Child a recommendation.
Desert Child is indeed a very special release. It’s not only unique in being an M-rated indie on the Switch, but it’s also perhaps the most impressive indie title that I’ve played in years. Every aspect of the game is teeming with originality and the passion of the developer comes across clear as day. That’s to be expected though, as creator Oscar Brittain created nearly every aspect of the game himself. The relatively short gameplay certainly detracts from the game’s overall score, but I can mostly look past this given how impressive my time with it was. I’d say that this one lies somewhere between a 4.25 and a 4.5 on the review scale. Desert Child released for all major platforms on December 11, 2018. I played the Switch version, but it can also be downloaded on PS4, Xbox One, and Steam. At just $11.99 on any of them, I can’t recommend it enough.