Nova-111 Review

Science has gone wrong in this turn-based puzzle adventure game. In Nova-111 an experiment has gone wrong causing 111 scientists to be scattered across several realities. It is up to Dr. Science and you (the orange spaceship) to save everyone and fix up the time rifts in the universe. How the heck are you going to do that? The first step is bashing into any alien creatures that you come across with the vessel you are controlling. Most of the enemies that you encounter in Nova-111 move in a turn-based style. They move a space after you have moved a space. Nova-111 was first released in 2015 on the PlayStation 4 and has now finally made its way to the Nintendo Switch. The simplistic graphics and easy controls that primarily use the D-pad make this a perfect fit for the system. But just because the control scheme is simple doesn’t mean this is going to be an easy game. It will definitely require some strategy and using your brain to get through and accomplish your mission!

Each of the zones is split into several sections, to move from one to the next you have to find the portal that will send you to the next location. Be sure to find all the hidden scientists and power-ups before you move on, as the only way to come back is to restart the zone from the very start. There are no automatic save points that will save your progress in these smaller sections until you complete the full stage. You will have to plan your movements to avoid being hit when you go in to attack. If you hit the B button you skip your move, forcing the alien to take their turn. I found this worked well to get the creature to come within striking distance of you. Early in the game this playstyle was similar to a lot of other roguelike titles I have played recently, like Evertried. If you go in and be hasty, the enemy will hit you. With only four health points, it won’t take long to be defeated. Unless you are able to explore the stage that you are in and find hiding + symbols that will replenish your health. Nova-111 has you solving a variety of puzzles to find your missing co-workers and power-ups for your ship like lasers, and bombs that will make it a lot easier to take down enemies that surround you.

Lasers will be required to blast apart blue-coloured rocks that block off part of the levels and to remove the spiky armour that the enemies are wearing in the later stages. This power-up works great for destroying enemies that are coming at you from a few blocks away before they get close enough to do damage to you. You can also use environmental hazards like falling rocks to crush your enemy if you time it right. There’s just something more satisfying when your enemy gets taken out by a falling spike. When you find yourself completely surrounded using a bomb created by yellow polygel pellets you find in the stage. This bombs stuns the enemy giving you a chance to defeat them before they overrun you. It will take some strategic thinking to keep yourself out of a situation where you are ambushed. Especially since you never see the whole screen at once, as you move around and explore a limited part of the stage will be visible to you so it is very easy for the enemy to hide in spots that you can’t see.

These hidden spots are also great spots to find missing scientists, health, and secret items that let you power-up your ship. So it is worth checking out all these hidden areas and looking for secret paths hidden in the walls. The game keeps track of how many moves you make to complete the stage and will grade you once you find the exit. The more enemies you destroy, along with rescuing the scientists, and finding collectibles will add more points giving you a better grade. When you pick up a stranded scientist, if you look at the top right of the screen you can see their name and silly comments they have for you.

Nova-111 isn’t a very long game, there are only three different worlds and each consisting of three sections: A Brave New World, Platonic Plateau, and Grand Terrace to explore. Each planet has new types of aliens and a boss to defeat and rescue all the scientists. Before selecting a planet, underneath the name there are little symbols that show how much progress you have made so far, the star represents finding all the collectables and secrets, the figures holding hands for finding all the marooned scientists, and a thumbs up shows that you have made it to the portal. Completing Nova-111 takes around five hours or so, but there is a New Game+ mode that will be unlocked for you to challenge after. I found after a while a lot of the stages felt quite repetitive. You were always doing the same thing, the only difference was the type of enemy you would encounter, I’m pretty happy that the game wasn’t a super long one. I probably would have gotten bored before completing it.