Narita Boy Review: A Stunning Laser-Lit Fever Dream

Freshly released 2D action-adventure game Narita Boy defies quick description, despite its many references and points of comparison. One could summarize it as a Metroidvania platformer, and they’d be correct, though it isn’t concerned with regular backtracking or incremental stat upgrades. It’s combat-heavy but presents an easily surmountable challenge, though its slippery platforming is its worst feature. Its best could be the jaw-dropping visual design, full of those now-in-vogue-again 80s aesthetic neon glimmers, but with a vibrant heart and humanity at its core. Narita Boy is best described, perhaps, as an engaging lore-rich adventure story first and foremost, most easily comparable to beloved 80s sci-fi classic Tron but feeling less like a mere throwback than a strangely personal, quirky, frenetic art piece.

At the center is the titular hero, Narita Boy, a player sucked into the world of his own purchased video game to act as a kind of silent wacky sentinel, destined to rescue unfolding laser-lit lands from “HIM.” The protagonist wields the Techno-sword, a tri-colored transforming laser sword used to dispatch a bustling rogue’s gallery of “Stallions,” errant hench-creatures intent on keeping The Digital Kingdom in chaos.

There are many different touchstones at play here. In addition to Tron – from which Narita Boy liberally borrows with its weirdly enthralling, solemn-but-silly digital creationism lore – it feels equally indebted to developer Caypbara Games’ landmark Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery. Many of the characters in Narita Boy are reminiscent of that title’s unique gangly pixel-art style, but also the rich, time-intensive depth of its visual assets. In other words: there’s no tile-repeating techniques here; every single screen and area and animation looks painstakingly handcrafted and positioned, pixel by pixel. It’s a complete stunner.

The gameplay is much more simplistic than its aesthetic may imply. Special combat and movement abilities are steadily introduced along the adventure, with most fights relegated to trapping the player in screens with scripted sequences of enemies to take down. Bosses and mini-bosses are unique and plentiful and, while Narita Boy is agile to the point of even being a little slippery, button delays and committed attacks often make the frequent combat feel more stilted than empowering. It’s usually functional and meets the basic difficulty level of the game, but it’s stiffer than what players might be used to these days, and a far cry from the fluid action in something like Dead Cells.

In certain respects, this also musters echoes of Eric Chahi’s classic Another World (released in the US as Out of this World). Much like that game, it’s an occasionally clunky but gorgeous experience that tells an effective story. Unlike it, though, Narita Boy is rich with text and frantically unfurling mythology, which serves its mystical adventure themes in virtually all cases.

There are even some more meta aspects, slightly reminiscent then of games like Undertale and The Magic Circle, which Narita Boy takes on with its emotionally wrought underlying story about The Creator. Along his adventure resolving intrigues through The Digital Kingdom, segues into The Creator’s past play out in dreamlike fashion, a tonal contrast that makes the wider narrative arch all the more satisfying.

Kudos must be made to the Nintendo Switch release of Narita Boy, as this version was clearly no afterthought. Aside from occasional brief loading screens between larger area transitions, the game plays smooth throughout. The fact that a single slowdown did not occur once in our playthrough even while the game constantly unleashes its full range of screen pyrotechnics and effects was a pleasant surprise.

Narita Boy is a curious and risky 2D adventure that isn’t always what it seems. Issues with some game mechanics shouldn’t deter anyone from playing through the story, and its soundtrack’s passionate synthwave-leaning collection of themes somehow stands out amidst a sea of new titles which share these sonic leanings. Narita Boy will be more impactful and absorbing to those who fully immerse in its narrative, and what may first appear as hastily written nonsense informs a lyrical and consistent fictional universe. Give in to its mysteries and enjoy.

Narita Boyis out now on PC, Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch. A digital Nintendo Switch code was provided to Screen Rant for the purpose of this review.

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