NanoApostle Review – A Cathartic Boss Rush Experience

NanoApostle Review – Combative Delight

While open-world or adventures with diverging pathways prioritize player choice, linear experiences can be equally malleable. One particular example regards boss rushes, like the 18Light Game-developed NanoApostle. This highly meticulous sci-fi action scenario is easily one of the most challenging and demanding iterations of the genre I have played. Yet, the numerous approaches to these battles prevent you from feeling stuck trying to climb appointed rails.

The Narrative and Gameplay Premise of NanoApostle

NanoApostle follows protagonist Anita, a girl birthed by some manner of experiments. When she wakes, she finds herself instilled by a nanomechanical being simply known as Apostle and befriended by an AI-like girl named Wenny. Anita aims to escape the research facility she was seemingly born in, but the method to do so requires plenty of inventive brute-forcing against terrifying monstrosities.

NanoApostle has a surprisingly present narrative. Besides Anita’s plight and her endearing relationship with Wenny taking centerstage, defeating a boss unlocks scenes and reports that tie into an overarching conflict connected to the current goings-on. Of course, these factors won’t be what grips you, but the title really does try to make you invested in discovering the truths of what is occurring in this facility and the outside world.

Personally, I never became particularly invested since the pay-offs you received upon victories rarely felt significant. Admittedly, Wenny’s cautiously energetic nature applied a layer of depth to the overall tone. Yet, everything about the story was more of a secondary, supplemental facet that came across as more of an accompaniment.

The gameplay defines NanoApostle, and it thrives unapologetically and unabashedly. As stated earlier, this title is a boss rush experience, implying that a certain degree of difficulty is present. And it undoubtedly is. First and foremost, it’s worth emphasizing that the gameplay cycle of NanoApostle will involve you dying and failing constantly while trying to discover the ins and outs of the bosses you face.

The boss battles are some of the most challenging and satisfying I’ve ever faced.

Anita’s moveset, which is instinctually tied to the capabilities of Apostle, is quite simple. She can perform a basic physical combo, dodge, and shoot out a projectile that requires strikes to recharge. Other techniques are unlocked and encouraged as you progress, like a counter that can reflect harsher projectiles only after you yourself perform a charged attack. Still, the core principles those initial abilities embody are crucial for every encounter. In fact, the projectile plays an unorthodox role.

Intensely Cathartic Combat Depth

Interestingly, when you shoot a projectile, and it lands on an enemy, it creates a status ailment-like effect of sorts indicated by a gauge above their health. Then, once this gauge becomes full, enhanced by you performing attacks as it’s taking effect, explosive damage is caused. Further, you can stack numerous instances of this ailment effect atop a foe, making it an undeniably paramount tool even when embracing defensive maneuvers. Plus, once a boss is staggered, you can enact a hook shot-esque go-around that pulls you closer to the body so that you can deal as much damage as possible before they recover.

Of course, landing these shots, let alone typical physical hits, is far easier said than done. Prevailing in NanoApostle requires players to read their opponents’ telegraphs thoroughly, but the sheer swiftness of each boss’s actions makes such a feat increasingly demanding. Perhaps what’s most compelling, though, is that while the bosses do have a generally advised pathway for you to defeat them, certain intricacies in how you react to or counter particular moves offer webs of ways for success. This more subtle design incorporation emphasizes player individuality, chiefly divided between those who prefer defensive or offensive-oriented playstyles.

Initially, going on the full-on offensive may seem like the natural move when considering how fast the bosses act. However, if you’re even remotely uncomfortable or not confident about dealing with a specific attack, it may be better to wait in the wings for a more explicit opening, especially considering how these foes have multiple health bars and phases that only up the challenge.

Thankfully, you can retry a fight whenever you desire.

Despite the abilities you can learn that offer various boons at a compromise, Anita is practically always fragile, with certain deadly attacks inflicting monstrous damage. Using your limited number of heals early in the battle doesn’t exactly inspire much faith for that attempt. Thankfully, you can retry a fight whenever you desire, making the process far more convenient when the beginnings of attempts aren’t steering in your favor.

Player Individuality and Customization

Circling back to abilities, NanoApostle features a unique ability system. Each boss and other scenario hosts numerous optional objectives you can fulfill that provide skill points upon their respective completions. Yet, these goals are tracked cumulatively, meaning that progress toward clearing these goals is carried over across each attempt, granting even more incentive for retries and even re-fights. Granted, some optional objectives are genuinely demanding and geared toward the highly skilled and exceptional crowd. Still, their presence reinforces the vast skill ceiling.

The abilities themselves are also distinctive in the sense that most aren’t net positives. Instead, they grant a plus and a minus simultaneously, so you must judge which fits your overall gameplay approach best. For instance, one of my favorite abilities raises the damage of the light attacks Anita inflicts by a considerable percentage at the cost of her healing restoring less health. Summatively, the lack of exploration and choice seen throughout the bulk of the experience is more than made up for by this highly malleable skill system.

Another notable feature of NanoApostle is how, while bosses are the meat and potatoes of progression, you also gradually unlock obstacle courses and the like. These stages require you to progress past numerous hazards and enemies as fast as possible, with skill points up for grabs en masse if you can surpass the clear times. Admittedly, these instances are far more lenient than the main game, though they provide a semblance of fulfillment that improves your capabilities. They’re also neat gameplay divergences.

Final Thoughts – A Must-Play Boss Rush

If you’re a fan of masterpieces like the underrated Furi or the super bosses seen in the Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind Limit Cut episode, NanoApostle is a definite recommendation.

Despite the narrative not being that captivating, the heart of this experience, the boss battles, are some of the most challenging and satisfying I’ve ever faced. Add in a compellingly compact skill system, an intense soundtrack, and exceptional movement, and you have an absolute must-play for the boss-rush genre that mustn’t be overlooked.