EGGLIA Rebirth Review

Originally released as a mobile game on iOS and Android, EGGLIA Rebirth has now been ported to the Nintendo Switch. But how does it play on Switch? And should it have been left on mobile devices? Let’s have a look, shall we.

I‘m always a little wary of ported mobile games, simply because of the nature of the majority of them that enforces grindy gameplay, encouraging the player to pick up and play in bursts throughout the day. That type of gameplay is fine if you’re doing exactly that: picking up and playing a mobile game as and when you can. It doesn’t quite work when it’s implemented on a premium console, like the Switch.

EGGLIA Rebirth wasn’t a free-to-play game when it released on mobile and so I had hoped it wouldn’t involve those grindy mechanics, and it doesn’t. To a degree.

EGGLIA Rebirth is an RPG game that sees players take the role of Chabo, a Redcap Goblin who has fallen from the sky and landed in Egglia, with seemingly no memory of how or why—in true old-school RPG fashion. The people of Egglia are taken aback by this Redcap, as they are more usually known as vicious and aggressive creatures, totally unlike anything Chabo appears to be. Chabo’s horns have even been cut off.

Gladly, it doesn’t take long for your adventure to begin when you meet a chirpy fairy, and after a short amount of narrative, you will agree to work together in order to restore Egglia. Different parts of the land that make up Egglia have been locked away inside—you guessed it—numerous eggs. The player must find these eggs and hatch them in order to restore different sections of the land and explore further and find more eggs.  

When new sections of Egglia have been ‘hatched’, you can then gather materials with the purpose of building homes for the characters you meet on your adventure. The homes can be upgraded and furnished to the player’s preference, providing a little section of customisation to personalise your experience with EGGLIA Rebirth.  

It’s a fun little story that will see the player meet some interesting characters and partake in some entertaining scenarios. Speaking of characters, there is a robust cast that you will come across here, which constantly provides a refreshing take on the gameplay, not allowing the characters to become ‘stale’.  

The new sections of Egglia that you ‘hatch’ will be where you journey next, but this isn’t done in the way that you’d imagine. Each area in EGGLIA Rebirth is made up of a hexagonal grid. The player rolls a dice in order to determine how many spaces they can move. Along the way will be items to collect as well as enemies to defeat. Combat is also determined by the number you roll on your dice; the higher you roll, the greater the damage. It’s a rather simple premise. This gameplay mechanic makes it very relaxing, but RPG veterans may not be keen as it offers no real challenge.  

Combat requires no strategy or approach, it’s simply a battle of luck. This does make it a lot more accessible for less experienced gamers, though. It’s an easy pick-up-and-play game and for someone like me who is on a busy schedule, this works. There are various spirits that you can summon to aid you in battle too, which is cool. 

Unfortunately, there are a few gameplay mechanics in EGGLIA Rebirth that only remind us that this was originally a mobile game. Planted items take a specific amount of real-time in order to grow, characters have a timer which needs to recharge in order to support you, summoning spirits also has a timer. All these things greatly slow down the game and leave you feeling frustrated. There are potions you can use to speed up these processes, but the whole thing seems a little unnecessary.  

The Nintendo Switch version does differ slightly to the mobile version. There are over 50 new missions and events, more characters for you to meet along the way with added facial expressions, players can now freely control Chabo and aren’t limited to a specific area, the interface has been given a complete revamp, and finally the difficulty balance has been adjusted.  

The Switch version also includes all added content that released for mobile including Egglia: The Legend of the Redcap Pack, as well as the two additional chapters Goblins & The Sun Of Nothing Pack and Gods & Ogres Pack. So, you’re getting a lot of bang for your buck.

The game’s graphics are a mixed bag, to be honest. At some points, it looks fantastic: vibrant and bursting with colour. At others, there’s a lot of jagged edges and little detail. The character sprites and art look great but some of the details in the world sadly, do not. Some areas you enter will look amazing but others don’t appear to have had the same effort put it and it’s hard to put your finger onto why. It’s clear to see that this was originally a mobile game.