A Quick Look at Jamestown+ Review

Name: Jamestown+
Developers: Final Form Games
Age Rating: Rating E (mild fantasy, violence)
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, PC Steam
Release Date: Available Now

Late last 2019, the gaming world was blessed with a beautiful top-down 4-player retro shooter set on British Colonial Mars. This is a great game for people who actually enjoy hours of spraying bullets and praying for contact. This top-down shooter will provide a challenging experience you can take on alone or with some friends in some beloved couch-play gaming. Please note this review is based on the latest release for the Nintendo Switch, so any mention of controls or graphics are subjected to the capabilities of that system.

In Jamestown+ you play as Sir Walter Raleigh who has been sentenced to death in the Tower of London. In hopes of securing absolution for his past deeds by solving the mystery of the Lost Colony of Roanoke, Raleigh flees to 17th-century British Colonial Mars. You will board his Conveyance, a rocket-sled equipped with dreadful munitions, and set course for Britain’s well-known Martian colony — Jamestown. Guide Sir Raleigh (and his companions if you play with friends) on his journey to take down the deranged, power-hungry Conquistador and his armies of deadly robots and bizarre Martian warriors – and help him learn to fight for a cause bigger than himself.

What I enjoy about Jamestown+ are the controls. They are very smooth and seamless. With multiple ways to use the Switch controllers, each family member was able to enjoy the game they way they liked to handle it. Moving across the screen in all directions was smooth, slowing down only when you constantly shooting. If you needed to maneuver quickly to avoid a hail storm of bullets, simply ease up on the trigger to move faster.

I also appreciated the wide range of ships and gun types to chose from. As you progress through the game you have the chance to earn coins for the enemies you defeat. That currency can be used in between stages in the Shoppe where you can purchase different models or upgrades for your ship creating multiple ways to enjoy the game. I got attached to one specific ship type, as I felt it was the most effective but each person has their own style and having options allows everyone to enjoy the experience.

One thing I wish was different about the game is the inability to progress through the entire game on Normal mode, the least difficult mode. After you progress through a few stages you are given notice that in order to open the next stage you have to pass the previous levels on a higher difficulty level. I think offering different difficulty levels is a very smart move and provides many more hours of game-play for those interested in defeating the game several times by tackling each difficulty level. But limiting the game to only those brave and skillful enough on higher difficulty may discourage younger players or people new to this genre of games.

This is a retro style game so the graphic and sound track both during game play as well as the cut scenes all fit that style and do it well. The pixel graphic effects and punk style accompanying music really complete the pack for this top-down shooter making you believe this game could have been released over 20 years ago, but the smoothness of the controls make it appealing enough for even the younger gamer today.

Overall, we are very glad to have been exposed to Jamestown+ and highly recommend you try it out. I can say for sure the game plays very smooth on the Nintendo Switch, but I am interested in hearing if anyone has played on another platform and what they thought.

As members of the media for Video Games and related news, Confident Gamers was provided with a Review Key in order to provide a fair opinion of the game and it’s components.