Pronty Switch Review – An Aquatic Metroidvania

Pronty is a new Metroidvania that takes place in the water. This stunning adventure is from 18Light Game Ltd and FunZone Games, and it is published by Happinet Corporation on the Nintendo Switch.

This is absolutely a Metroidvania to keep an eye on, but is Pronty a must-buy on the Switch? Or can this one wait for a decent discount before diving in? Let’s find out in the Pronty Switch review!

The story of Pronty

Pronty conveniently follows Pronty SW-417 or ZX-921 (Pronty for short), a miniature fish person accompanied by a robotic javelin partner, Bront. The two begin training only to find their world, Royla, has been taken over by fierce monsters mutated by toxic marine waste.

With everything shut down and not a whole lot of options available to the young warrior, Pronty and Bront set off to take down the mutants, discover the truth behind the creatures’ sudden invasion, and uncover the secrets behind Pronty’s origins.

This is a wonderful story that takes place under the sea and gives attention to a unique fictitious culture that is greatly written and designed. Although Pronty does not speak, Bront does and helps to develop the story throughout your time with the game.

Swimming around Royla

Pronty is a different type of Metroidvania, as the entire game takes place underwater.

Considering that Metroidvanias depend on progressive powerups, the way Pronty pulls this off is quite interesting and unique, thanks to the environment. Like others in the genre, as you progress and gain new abilities, the massive map continues to open and expand on the world within.

Pronty does not attack at all, but they instruct Bront to attack using a dual-stick control scheme.

Controlling Bront is a lot of fun, but it can be a bit janky at times, as Bront regularly gets stuck behind walls. Thankfully, calling Bront back is pretty simple and eliminates this problem.

Swimming can feel slow a lot of the time, but the dash ability not only helps with moving quicker, it also can help avoid damage in tight situations.

Unfortunately, dashing requires stamina, and Pronty is not well-equipped in stamina in the early parts of the game. Defeating certain bosses with reward Pronty with health and stamina upgrades, though.

Bosses in Pronty are a different type of challenge, since Pronty is vulnerable while Bront does the heavy lifting regarding attacking.

This is the area that most feels like a twin-stick shooter, as you try to protect Pronty at all costs while keeping your aim on the enemy and unleashing Bront’s attacks.

The bosses are loads of fun and pay great homage to action titles before, which is an amazing feat considering Pronty takes place completely underwater.

Underwater visuals and sounds

The art style is quite beautiful and reminds me somewhat of Hollow Knight.

Character and enemy designs are cartoony and wonderfully colored, while the water, background, and elsewhere have a more grisly look about them at times. It is a stunning title with gorgeous lighting that perfectly blends different styles while still maintaining an elegance.

Similarly, the music and sounds of Pronty have an eeriness to them, almost in a Bioshock kind of way. The soundtrack masterfully changes at the right times, and the subtle muffling thanks to the water is a lovely touch.

The verdict

Pronty on the Nintendo Switch is a fantastic Metroidvania unlike the others. Although it borrows heavily from previous titles, namely Hollow Knight and Super Metroid, it also does things its own way and succeeds tremendously.

Even though the normal movement speed can be a bit sluggish, Pronty excels in its storytelling, environmental design, graphics and sounds, and boss fights, making this one of the better Metroidvanias on the hybrid console to date.

If you are looking for a bit of a twist to mix up your Metroidvanias, look no further. Pronty is an amazing title that deserves your attention, and it will entertain from start to finish.

Pronty Nintendo Switch Review

90%

Excellent!

Graphics 100%

Story 90%

Performance 80%

Gameplay 80%

Sound 100%

Pronty is a one-of-a-kind Metroidvania with a lot of interesting points and a couple minor issues. This is one of the most unique titles to release in the genre in quite some time, and thanks to its strategic inclusion of previous games in the genre's components, Pronty sits as one of the best Metroidvanias currently on the Switch.

POSITIVES

• Wonderfully told story with fun chararacters
• Unique Metroidvania gameplay, great bosses
• Gorgeous combination of art styles
• Eerie and effective sound effects and music
• Controlling Bront and talking to it

NEGATIVES

• Normal movement is sluggish
• Minor technical issues, like framerate dips and slowdown here and there

Games Like Pronty

In case you are looking for more amazing indie game Metroidvanias on the Nintendo Switch, we have your back. These are three games to keep you busy:

As previously mentioned, Hollow Knight is one of the best Metroidvanias to release in the past 20 years. This excellent indie title follows The Knight as they venture into various biomes of an ancient civilization. Similar to Pronty, this is a fair but challenging game with awesome boss fights. A sequel is even planned for this year.

Elderand is actually a title we reviewed here at MobileBytesGG recently. In this Castlevania-inspired Metroidvania, you bash your way through gorgeous environments and tackle some awesome bosses. There are even multiple endings to keep you busy.

Axiom Verge is one of my favorite indie games ever. The sequel is a bit disappointing, but the original is brilliant storytelling laced with some of the best combat in indie game history. There is so much to love about this game that it is difficult for me to convince you within this small paragraph. Just play it. It’s fantastic!

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