Gripper | Switch Review

Since listening to The Gaming Outsider, and especially since becoming a contributing writer, I have tried to play more games outside of my comfort zones. It has opened me to new genres I never would have given a shot, like roguelites. It is making me into a more well-rounded gamer. Bring in Gripper, an action-adventure game by Heart Core with its only combat being boss battles. While I enjoy a good boss battle, I prefer to have a good mix of common enemies and boss fights. So why Gripper? A freaking motorcycle! I had to find out how you can make a top-down boss battler while tethered to a motorcycle. The game has its flaws, but also has a developer dedicated to making necessary changes to make it a better experience.

Not Quite Gripping

Gripper follows the story of None, who receives a letter from his mother to never come back home. Unsurprisingly, he comes back to his home world, which is falling apart without any signs of life. Turns out, this is all by the doing of an AI named Zero, created by None’s parents. It’s not obvious what he’s done with his parents, but they are clearly not around. You then faceoff with Zero, but None is not prepared for Zero and is put to the brink of death. But he is saved by Cat-Kit, a floating robotic cat that cybernetically connects None to the motorcycle. This is where the gameplay and the story start to take form, as None now has to battle Zero’s guardians before eventually facing Zero and finding his parents.

I could tell Heart Core really had an emotional connection to the story of Gripper. The guardians are based off of four out of the five stages of grief, portraying the emotional toll None’s parents felt after he left. Unfortunately, the writing and storytelling does not capture the emotional themes it attempts to deliver. The game tries to tell this story in about an hour, but it felt like Gripper was rushed, needing more background and explanation for me to feel an emotional connection to the characters.

Also, the writing and voice acting was not great. Writing often incorporated humor that was not funny and different from the tone of the subject matter. The voice acting was either bare of emotion, or so over-the-top it was out of place from the tone of the scene. It is unfortunate that Heart Core attempted to create an emotional story but was unable to execute. Good thing my initial draw to this game was not the story.

Hook and Pray

While I always appreciate a good story, Gripper didn’t intrigue me because of its story, but for its motorcycle-based action gameplay. Gripper consists of five arena-style boss fights in which you fight by using a hook attached to your motorcycle. Even though each boss is unique in both arena and attack pattern, I found there was not much variation between each boss. The strategy is very similar between the first and third boss (throw objects to damage), as well as the second and fourth boss (avoid attacks and pull apart boss). You gain a new ability after each of the first three bosses, but this does not add enough to make each boss feel fresh.

I played through Gripper twice, once around release, and then after patch 1.1. On initial playthrough, the game only had one difficulty level and it was frustrating. It took me at least 10 tries on almost every boss because it required an unfair level of precision within the control scheme and environment. Often, the boss would be off camera with an indicator of its location, but it was hard to throw an object at the boss with the pinpoint accuracy required. Also, the hook would often grab the wrong object or not grab an object you should be in range for. These issues often prolonged boss fights unnecessarily, leading to what felt like unfair deaths.

After patch 1.1, they added two difficulty modes, both easier than the game at launch. This was a welcomed addition, as the lowest (medium) difficulty decreased the damage you received from bosses and felt fairer with the clunky controls. The issues with the hook, as well as bosses being off-screen, are still there, but it wasn’t as punishing because I took less damage. Overall, the improvements made the boss fights much more enjoyable, even if it still has its frustrations.

In addition to boss fights, there are tunnel sequences like runner games in which you move side-to-side to avoid obstacles intermixed with QTEs. On my first playthrough, these sections were very frustrating, usually taking more than 15 tries to complete. They had no checkpoints and obstacles popped up so quickly that they were almost unavoidable. After patch 1.1, on the lower difficulties, they added checkpoints throughout the tunnels and obstacles popped up sooner before reaching them. Still, these tunnel sequences felt like padding, with the boss battles being the main draw to the game.

A Cyberpunk Feeling

It seems the cyberpunk aesthetic has gained popularity in recent years and Gripper pulls it off flawlessly. The graphical design is excellent. The environments have that futuristic feel, the characters look edgy, and that Akira-style bike is slick. And the music captures a dystopian future with these electronic beats. I typically do not care for electronic music, but I could not help feeling like I was on that bike, riding through a floating tunnel to the next guardian when that music hit.

Gripper Final Verdict

Gripper had a lot of potential to become a good game and still does if Heart Core continues to update it. They look dedicated to making this game better and listen to player feedback. Unfortunately, the game still has its flaws. Although the game captures the cyberpunk aesthetic, the writing and voice acting do not capture the emotional connection that is evident the developers’ have with the story’s themes. The motorcycle-based combat is a cool concept, but it just did not have depth to keep my interest. Gripper is by no means a bad game, but the list price of $20 is too high with a runtime of about 1-2 hours, and replayability based off of repeating boss fights with extra objectives. In its current state, I would recommend waiting for a sale before purchasing Gripper.

To hear me talk more about Gripper, be sure to listen to the April 19th, 2023 Episode of The Gaming Outsider Podcast around the 1:06:21 time stamp.

This review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy of Gripper provided by Uber Strategist for coverage purposes. It is also available on PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, and the Humble Store.