Nobody Saves the World
A top-down action RPG with 18 transformable forms.
Nobody Saves the World is an action role-playing dungeon crawler from DrinkBox Studios, the team behind the Guacamelee! series. It launched on Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in January 2022, with versions for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 following in April 2022.
In the game, players take on the role of Nobody, a blank-slate character wielding a wand that lets them transform into 18 different forms—such as a magician, a robot, or a dragon. Each form starts with two basic skills, and more abilities unlock as you progress. These forms have distinct stats and attributes, and you can mix skills and abilities from different forms to create powerful combos. Unlocking a form also shares its gameplay benefits with other forms.
Players explore an overworld and procedurally generated dungeons, completing quests and objectives to earn experience for upgrades and Star currency. Stars are used to unlock legendary dungeons, which are packed with enemies and traps. Thorough exploration can reveal treasure chests and hidden keys, but the only respawn point in each dungeon is just before the boss fight.
Development was inspired by The Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy Tactics, particularly the latter’s Job system. DrinkBox was convinced by Microsoft to add online multiplayer, making this the studio’s first game with that feature. The music was composed by Jim Guthrie, known for his work on Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP and Planet Coaster. The game was announced in March 2021 during the ID@Xbox Twitch Gaming Showcase, originally planned for a 2021 release but delayed to early 2022. It came out on January 18, 2022, and an expansion called Frozen Hearth—adding new areas, challenges, and forms—released on September 13, 2022.
Critics gave the game generally favorable reviews. Game Informer praised how it forces players to constantly change their loadout due to dangerous dungeon modifiers, making them appreciate the customization. Destructoid liked the cartoon-inspired visuals, calling the animation fantastic and full of personality. PC Gamer highlighted the variety of forms and the fun of mixing abilities in an open-ended system. IGN felt the endgame lacked the variety of new forms found earlier, with the well running dry after 15 hours. Eurogamer recommended it as extremely replayable, polished, and colorful.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Nobody Saves the World
- Developer
- DrinkBox Studios
- Producer
- Graham Smith / Ryan MacLean
- Designer
- Ian Campbell / Cass King / Steele Xia
- Composer
- Jim Guthrie
- Platforms
- Microsoft Windows · Nintendo Switch · PlayStation 4 · PlayStation 5 · Xbox One · Xbox Series X/S
- Released
- Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S / January 18, 2022 / Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 / April 14, 2022
- Genre
- Action role-playing, dungeon crawling
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The game follows a blank-state character named Nobody, who wields a wand allowing transformation into 18 forms including a magician, robot, and dragon. Each form begins with two basic skills, with additional abilities unlocked through progression. Skills and abilities from different forms can be combined to create devastating attacks, and gameplay benefits of one form can be shared with others once unlocked. The overworld and dungeons are procedurally generated, with players completing quests and objectives to earn experience for upgrades and Star currency, which unlocks legendary dungeons. These dungeons contain enemies, traps, treasure chests, and hidden keys, with the only respawn point located before each boss encounter. The game can be played solo or in cooperative multiplayer mode.
Reader's Guide
Nobody Saves the World received generally favorable reviews on Metacritic. Critics highlighted the game's encouragement of constant loadout changes, with Game Informer noting that dungeon modifiers often upset preferred loadouts and made players appreciate the breadth of customization. Destructoid praised the cartoon-inspired visuals and animation reminiscent of a Cartoon Network show. PC Gamer commended the variety enabled by each form's unique signature attack and passive ability, particularly the open-ended system for mixing and matching abilities. IGN criticized the endgame for lacking the variety in new forms found earlier, stating that the last stretch suffered from a feeling that the well had run dry. Eurogamer recommended the game as extremely replayable. Shacknews praised the combat, customizable builds, art style, dungeons, characters, and commentary on the RPG genre while criticizing the autosave system. Hardcore Gamer called it DrinkBox's most curious but mechanically-satisfying title to date, praising the encouragement of experimentation and the challenge system.
Did You Know?
- DrinkBox Studios previously developed Guacamelee! and its sequel Guacamelee! 2.
- The expansion Frozen Hearth added areas, challenges, and forms.
- Microsoft convinced the team to add online multiplayer, making it DrinkBox's first multiplayer game.
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