The Nintendo Switch has some of the greatest games available, which can be enjoyed in a group, with a companion, or even alone. Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain is one of the top competitors in this genre, and I am pleased to introduce it to you. I was not only impressed by its entertainment element, but I also enjoyed how it managed to probe our brains, forcing us to think analytically while keeping it all interesting rather than monotonous.
To begin, this game has an excellent presentation straight out of the gate. It has funny cartoony avatars with a wealth of customising possibilities. The avatar may be altered, but only with a small selection of cosmetics. There’s a lot to unlock here, but it’s all locked behind progressing through the game.
Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain has minigames in five categories: identity, memorise, analyse, compute, and visualise. These categories contain four distinct minigames, each of which requires us to probe our minds for various analytical issues and their solutions. They are all timed and classified by difficulty, ranging from beginner to Elite and beyond. The sooner you finish each puzzle, the faster you will progress to the next rank and earn points.
To be honest, if you’re only interested in solo gaming, this game isn’t all that horrible. These tasks may get monotonous with time, but they also need considerable practise before you can master them. This means you’ll be spending a lot of time understanding the patterns, honing your cognitive abilities, and unlocking the cosmetics. It’s ideal for a quick burst of play when you’re bored and just want to kill some time. Both the controller and the touch screen are supported, providing an optimal experience.
The true difficulty and enjoyment of solo play, however, is competing with others online or locally using a World Ghosts mode. Every day, the game presents five tasks based on different categories. These are battled against the ghosts of other gamers from across the world. Ghosts are our replay data that the game saves as we practise or accomplish challenges. It is a timed race in which one must accomplish a challenge without making any mistakes. Each win awards 20 points, with a maximum score of 100 required to win the game. Winning unlocks extra goodies or raises the player’s worldwide ranking.
Multiplayer may be attempted with 2 to 4 people and is the game’s main attraction. It functions similarly to the online multiplayer mode in that you must complete a series of time-limited tasks. Whoever finishes first receives the most points. To think about it, this is similar to Mario Party, however, the emphasis is on analytical minigames and something that demands you to think, and the difficulty curve is significantly greater than in Mario Party.
You may also try going through the five categories to discover your brain grade and efficiency. This mode grades your brain on an academic scale and demands you to be adept at finishing the games. It provides a final rank that is commensurate with your performance. It gives insight into the talents you need to practise and develop to progress forward in the game based on how well you score better or lower on a certain category.
Some of the tasks, such as those that ask you to count cubes or perform calculations in a certain amount of time, seem a little too difficult to me. Maybe I could practise more, but they’re still entertaining to try. As the clock ticks down, you begin to fear more. Because every false move affects the difficulty ranking and hence the score, we must be quick and avoid making mistakes or risk losing time. Obviously, these games are a lot more casual and enjoyable if you play them with a companion or in a group.
Is Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain something I’d recommend? Yes, without a doubt. I believe Nintendo should release more of these sorts of games. This is another treasure in the Nintendo Switch co-op catalogue, elevating it to one of the company’s greatest systems.
Disclaimer: This review was conducted with a review copy provided by Nintendo UK.
Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain is best identified as a collection of minigames that challenge your mental capacity and seemingly make solving ordinary analytical problems fun.