Off the rails
By Paul Hunter
When Tokyo Scramble popped up in the recent Nintendo Partner Showcase, it immediately came across as one of the more interesting reveals, a survival horror game that leans on stealth and gadgets instead of gunfire. It is also the next release from Adglobe, known for excellent metroidvanias Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist and Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights, which set a pretty high bar for their Nintendo Switch 2 debut.
This time you are guiding 18-year-old Anne through ruined subway stations beneath Tokyo, which are filled with dinosaur-like creatures called Zinos. Subway areas are divided into stages and you're given a letter grade based on performance, including completing challenge objectives. Two difficulty settings (Hope and Despair) let you decide how intense things get, and GameShare co-op supports up to four people sharing a single copy and lets you split jobs between moving Anne, aiming the camera, and firing off apps to distract the Zinos, all while chatting over voice.
At around thirty dollars and a 12-hour run time, it sits in that sweet spot for a fresh stealth horror experiment on Nintendo Switch 2. So, is this dino-infested subway scare worth grabbing? Let’s find out!
Throughout this terrifying experience, Anne maintains contact with the outside world through her smartphone. Between chapters she chats with three friends and her older brother, Ray. While they frequently check in on her safety, there are a bunch of strange conversations about exams, and half serious plans to play in a band once things calm down. These are things teenagers talk about, of course, but considering Anne is in a life-threatening situation you'd think every conversation would focus on rescuing Anne or otherwise trying to help her situation.
I liked the chapter format as it helps the story progress in a steady rhythm, and it means you enjoy the story in bite-size pieces as you tackle a few missions at a time. It's also nice seeing Anne evolve from an anxious passenger into someone who takes charge when she has to. All considered, the narrative does a good job of giving the stealth and survival a human core, with Anne’s relationships staying at the centre of the whole trip.
While Anne herself can't fight back against the dinos, her smart wristwatch, Diana, fortunately can. It runs a set of apps that can interact with the environment, so you are constantly scanning for things you can trigger. You can set off vending machines, alarms, escalators, and gates to pull a Goblin (the most basic Zino type) away from a path, or use a suspended elevator to fall at the right moment and crush your enemy.
The flash app is your most useful function, by far, sending out a burst that stuns nearby Zinos for a short time in exchange for consuming one battery charge. Charging stations and upgrade points can recharge or power up your phone, but they're frequently in precarious spots so you are always weighing whether to go after them. Notes you pick up give you quick info on enemy types like the bat-like Lurker that can't see and rely on sound, or the Slendermantis with those glowing eyes that have excellent vision.
Stages run as contained stealth challenges with clearly laid out goals and a grade at the end based on completion time, number of detections, retries, and side objectives. For completionists, this gives you better scores to chase and trying to figure out that perfect run to score the S-rating.
On Nintendo Switch 2, the animations for both Anne and the enemies look nice in handheld and docked modes. There were occasional spots where the camera clipped against walls or narrow corners, but those moments rarely got in the way of a clear view of the Zino patrols.
Audio is focused on ambient sounds so you can focus on hearing distant Zino footsteps and growls. The soundtrack mostly stays in the background with low tension tracks that support the creeping pace. I liked how much voice work there is, from Anne’s reactions to the Zinos’ roars, and while some enemy sounds repeat often, they always gave me information on where trouble was coming from. In terms of performance, I played the majority on docked mode and it was mostly smooth, and it was similar running in portable mode.
Final Score: 7/10 - Good
Developer: Adglobe
Publisher: Binary Haze Interactive
Genre: Survival Horror, Puzzle, Stealth
Modes: Single-player
A key was provided by the publisher.
By Paul Hunter
When Tokyo Scramble popped up in the recent Nintendo Partner Showcase, it immediately came across as one of the more interesting reveals, a survival horror game that leans on stealth and gadgets instead of gunfire. It is also the next release from Adglobe, known for excellent metroidvanias Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist and Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights, which set a pretty high bar for their Nintendo Switch 2 debut.
This time you are guiding 18-year-old Anne through ruined subway stations beneath Tokyo, which are filled with dinosaur-like creatures called Zinos. Subway areas are divided into stages and you're given a letter grade based on performance, including completing challenge objectives. Two difficulty settings (Hope and Despair) let you decide how intense things get, and GameShare co-op supports up to four people sharing a single copy and lets you split jobs between moving Anne, aiming the camera, and firing off apps to distract the Zinos, all while chatting over voice.
At around thirty dollars and a 12-hour run time, it sits in that sweet spot for a fresh stealth horror experiment on Nintendo Switch 2. So, is this dino-infested subway scare worth grabbing? Let’s find out!
Story and Narrative
Tokyo Scramble uses a simple disaster premise to push Anne into a situation that feels both surreal and grounded. She starts on a normal subway ride in Tokyo, then a collapse throws her into an underground world where dinosaurs wander through wrecked stations and city landmarks.Throughout this terrifying experience, Anne maintains contact with the outside world through her smartphone. Between chapters she chats with three friends and her older brother, Ray. While they frequently check in on her safety, there are a bunch of strange conversations about exams, and half serious plans to play in a band once things calm down. These are things teenagers talk about, of course, but considering Anne is in a life-threatening situation you'd think every conversation would focus on rescuing Anne or otherwise trying to help her situation.
I liked the chapter format as it helps the story progress in a steady rhythm, and it means you enjoy the story in bite-size pieces as you tackle a few missions at a time. It's also nice seeing Anne evolve from an anxious passenger into someone who takes charge when she has to. All considered, the narrative does a good job of giving the stealth and survival a human core, with Anne’s relationships staying at the centre of the whole trip.
Gameplay and Mechanics
Moment to moment, Tokyo Scramble's gameplay is all about sneaking and planning under pressure. You control Anne from a third person view, moving along platforms and semi-open spaces while Zinos patrol nearby. You can walk, crouch, and dash, and every option has a cost. Dashing gets you across gaps faster but ramps up your heart rate and the noise you make, quickly alerting nearby dinos. Crouching slows you down but keeps you quieter and lets your heart rate drop, which matters once you meet the later enemies that listen for your breathing. Walking, naturally, is the happy medium that balances noise and speed, but in practice you're almost always running or crouching as speed or keeping quiet are the key to survival.While Anne herself can't fight back against the dinos, her smart wristwatch, Diana, fortunately can. It runs a set of apps that can interact with the environment, so you are constantly scanning for things you can trigger. You can set off vending machines, alarms, escalators, and gates to pull a Goblin (the most basic Zino type) away from a path, or use a suspended elevator to fall at the right moment and crush your enemy.
The flash app is your most useful function, by far, sending out a burst that stuns nearby Zinos for a short time in exchange for consuming one battery charge. Charging stations and upgrade points can recharge or power up your phone, but they're frequently in precarious spots so you are always weighing whether to go after them. Notes you pick up give you quick info on enemy types like the bat-like Lurker that can't see and rely on sound, or the Slendermantis with those glowing eyes that have excellent vision.
Stages run as contained stealth challenges with clearly laid out goals and a grade at the end based on completion time, number of detections, retries, and side objectives. For completionists, this gives you better scores to chase and trying to figure out that perfect run to score the S-rating.
Presentation and Audio
Visually, Tokyo Scramble does a good job selling the idea of a buried subway system that nobody was meant to see. Collapsed platforms, tilted train cars, and half lit corridors give each chapter a distinct vibe. The Zinos stand out right away, from the raptor style Goblins to the Shogun variations with their long, grey hair and spiky tail. They are easy to pick out from a distance, which really helps when you are judging how risky a route is.On Nintendo Switch 2, the animations for both Anne and the enemies look nice in handheld and docked modes. There were occasional spots where the camera clipped against walls or narrow corners, but those moments rarely got in the way of a clear view of the Zino patrols.
Audio is focused on ambient sounds so you can focus on hearing distant Zino footsteps and growls. The soundtrack mostly stays in the background with low tension tracks that support the creeping pace. I liked how much voice work there is, from Anne’s reactions to the Zinos’ roars, and while some enemy sounds repeat often, they always gave me information on where trouble was coming from. In terms of performance, I played the majority on docked mode and it was mostly smooth, and it was similar running in portable mode.
The Verdict
Tokyo Scramble is a neat experiment and it mostly works, as long as you play the game in shorter bursts as it's designed. It brings together a tense underground story, satisfying stealth, and a strong sense of risk as you try to outmaneuver increasingly dangerous puzzles. With a solid presentation and audio that supports the gameplay, this ended up as one of my favourite recent horror experiences.Final Score: 7/10 - Good
Tokyo Scramble details
Platform: Nintendo Switch 2Developer: Adglobe
Publisher: Binary Haze Interactive
Genre: Survival Horror, Puzzle, Stealth
Modes: Single-player
A key was provided by the publisher.