One of the nice things about the Switch, is that there are simply so many varied feels and styles of play to discover (or perhaps re-discover) within the eShop. Whether that’s in the form of bringing back classic looks or styles of play that were more common in earlier eras, or channeling play that feels like it would have easily fit in with the classics of yesteryear, there are absolutely ways to make modern titles with wonderful retro vibes. Wings of Endless is one such title, feeling like a mix of some classic concepts from side-scrolling adventures, multi-character puzzlers, and challenging Metroidvanias to boot. 

You’ll initially start your adventure playing as Hariku, a young and boisterous “bounty hunter” wielding a giant hammer, who is pretty quickly given a power-up from his companion Owly, the owl. Along the way you’ll join up with Diana, who plays more like a thief and who works with poisoned knives and can use smoke bombs quite effectively. Finally, you’ll also pair up with Makato who’ll serve as the magic user of the group, able to work with fire and ice which can be handy in both combat and exploration.

With this trio at your command you’ll enjoy a pretty varied mix of adventure, working through puzzles that can require brains, dexterity, or both, and a fair amount of combat as well. While each of your characters has their own strengths in battle, you’ll likely find a character you’ll generally prefer, and the good news is that by using golden feathers you’ll find periodically, you do have the power to boost a specific character if you’d like, or you could choose to keep them comparable. Depending on the situation at hand, you will have a reason to continue to switch between them, though more often for getting through a specific obstacle or puzzle element. Where it can get tricky, and quite rewarding, is the fact that some hidden or secret areas will require you to not only understand what each of your characters can do, but to be good at using their abilities quickly before switching between them to be successful. It can sometimes be frustrating as you fumble a little, getting the timing down, but I did find these challenges satisfying.

Where the game can unfortunately be more frustrating is with specific boss battles and the confrontations you’ll face down the line. Some of these skirmishes feel like they were designed to simply wear you down and knock you out by overstaying their welcome, which hopefully can be addressed with a patch, as up until that point the balance usually felt sensible. Another area where there’s a sort of mixed blessing is that while you do have the ability to choose how skill points for your characters are allocated, you could very well make a bad choice and not realize it until later. Of course, maybe that was just my problem, but it happened more than once. Is Wings of Endless perfect? No. But that doesn’t mean it still can’t be satisfying.