Baldo

NAPS Team is a small game developer based in Italy formed by just two people, Fabio Capone and Domenico, who was determined to launch their ambitious game named Baldo. The game had a launch date set for summer 2020 exclusively for Nintendo Switch, however, even though the multiple announcements of a September release, the time passed. After failing to launch in September, it was announced that the game was delayed indefinitely.

But the good news is that this 4th of May in 2021, IGN offered a 12 minutes exclusive video of the gameplay. This time, the game was officially titled Baldo: The Guardian Owls. Even though there's still no launch date confirmed, it is confirmed that it no longer is a Nintendo Switch exclusive, and will be getting a PS4, Xbox One, and PC release too.

About the game

It's an ARPG about a young kid with a pure heart that has a sort of prophetic mission inside this magical world. He'll have to fight against the beast with no heart, who's been imprisoned in the underworld, locked there by the sages Guardian Owls. But the beast is threatening to come back to the overworld, and it promises to be a revengeful return.

But before getting to the final battle, we'll have Baldo explore along with Luna, his cute travel companion, and friend, through different towns, explore dungeons and overcome different tests in their journey. There's a lot in this game regarding the exploration and the dialogues, and the interaction with environmental elements is key.

Beautiful landscapes such as planes, beaches, dungeons, towns, urban places, and much more are out there waiting to be explored. On the other hand, the combat system is dynamic and strategic, and Baldo doesn't have Infinite lives either.

The player has to solve puzzles, defeat enemies, and overcome dungeons, but to do this you'll have to get the right weapons and equipment, complete the missions to keep moving forward in the game. In this aspect, the game is similar to The Legend Of Zelda with a gameplay similar to Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (2011)

Cell-shading

The visuals have a stunning art style resembling that of Studio Ghibli, just like Ni No Kuni with the same type of use and balance of light and shadow. And with the Cell-shading element that reminds us of The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker (2002). The contouring, the coloring, the shades, and the neatness of the clean world gives a beautiful and aesthetically pleasing look.

This visual technique is well known for keeping the game's graphics consistent and nice-looking even after many years. And they are immediately an attention-grabber for the fans.

Preview: 7/10

It's a beautiful game that can be very exciting to watch, and it seems to be getting more and more polished. There'll be different languages available and stunning art and visuals. However, it resembles too many other games to truly be new and as astonishing and surprising as it could be.

Also, after the 12-minute video, the game seems to be pretty repetitive. Not only in the scenery but also in the fact of Luna constantly getting lost or in some sort of dangerous situation and Baldo coming to her rescue.

Pros:

• Amazing environments
• Light but fun adventure
• Cell shading aesthetics
• Nice and cute soundtrack
• Interesting story

Cons:

• Not very innovative
• Seems repetitive
• Static enemies
• Too much exposition text