There are a lot of problems with Albacete Warrior, a quirky beat ‘em up from developer FAS3. Some of those issues are gameplay-related, even though the game is mostly okay. Other issues, however, arise as a result of the game’s writing, which can be problematic and at times seems a little racist.
In Albacete Warrior, you play as a ninja from Spain who, after having too many drinks, is deemed the “chosen one” by a martial arts master. It’s a silly little plot, and it could’ve been fine, but another issue with the writing is that it’s just not very funny. The game attempts to be intentionally comical, but most of the jokes fall flat. Simply put, the humor is too sophomoric and stupid to be, at the very least, chuckle-worthy.
On the one hand, sure, it’s kind of funny seeing Albacete Warrior poke fun at Donald Trump. But on the other hand, the game’s choice of certain racial slurs and dumb slang words that mean “rooster” just sort of strike out.
Albacete Warrior combines beat-’em-up and platforming gameplay mechanics, and none of these elements are exactly awful. They’re not great, either, sadly. The problem is that the action gameplay is really clumsy. Beat-’em-ups work best when they’re smooth and fast-paced — just look at Streets of Rage 4 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge. Unfortunately, Albacete Warrior likes to bombard you with mobs of bad guys, which is fine, but fighting them never feels all that satisfying because combos and special moves simply aren’t fun to pull off.
The platforming has some bright spots, but it, too, is marred with clunky physics. You’ll do a lot of wall-jumping in Albacete Warrior, and if 3D Mario games have taught us anything about wall-jumps, it’s that they’re supposed to be quick and buttery smooth. Wall-jumping here is an exercise in frustration, which is a shame because there are some really cool 2D and 3D platforming sections that don’t rely on wall jumps. Frankly, more of these moments would’ve made the game a much more enjoyable affair overall.
Another issue Albacete Warrior suffers from is its awkward camera angles. It feels weird moving through the game world when the camera hides certain parts of the map. In addition, there are really odd sections where you’ll need to run quite a bit to get to the next section, but with no waypoint to guide you and a bad camera to hinder you, getting around can get very tiresome.
The visuals of Albacete Warrior are pretty interesting. Though they look a little rough, there’s something kind of cool about the scrappy look of the game. It’s slightly reminiscent of Firegirl: Hack ‘n Splash Rescue, albeit a touch rougher.
Look, we’re not saying that Albacete Warrior is an absolutely terrible game. Honestly, it’s a borderline average beat-’em-up with some decent platforming. It could’ve been way better in terms of gameplay, and the writing is really bad, but it might be worth a look for some folks. Just keep your expectations on the mid-to-low end, because Albacete Warrior could either be pretty cool or just kind of weak depending on how you go into it.
Disclaimer: I was given a review code for Albecete Warrior on Nintendo Switch, but the opinions expressed in this article are my own.
