Balan Wonderworld

GameSpot

David Wildgoose·Apr 6, 2021

Critic50/100

Agreement—

Balan Wonderworld is an occasionally inspired, often unimaginative platformer lost to time.

Push Square

Brett Posner-Ferdman·Apr 4, 2021

Critic30/100

Agreement—

Balan Wonderworld stands out as easily one of the worst 3D platformers in the past decade. There was no good reason for Square Enix and Yuji Naka to salvage this train wreck and it's an embarrassment that this game was allowed to be released at all in its current state. When the game's only redeeming qualities are some good music and neat DualSense features, something clearly went wrong here. There is no doubt that Balan Wonderworld should've remained locked up in the game design vault it was conceived in twenty years ago.

Eurogamer

Martin Robinson·Apr 1, 2021

Critic75/100

Agreement—

Maybe it's simply a case of being careful of what you wish for. Balan Wonderworld is a curious time capsule, a 3D platf…

Pure Xbox

Daniel Hollis·Mar 31, 2021

Critic30/100

Agreement—

With a price point of $60, it's hard to recommend Balan Wonderworld, especially when other platformers (and even collections such as Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, which contain multiple games) are a lot cheaper and are much better. The ingredients are all there for a great game, but everything has gone off and rotten. What's been cooked up is a bland, uninspired trip into a world that should have been anything but. Balan Wonderworld feels like bargain bin material that should be avoided at all costs... at any discount.

IGN

Tom Marks·Mar 30, 2021

Critic40/100

Agreement—

All the charm in the universe couldn't save Balan Wonderworld’s half-baked platforming and ill-advised one-button design from being a complete bore.

Nintendo Life

Mitch Vogel·Mar 29, 2021

Critic30/100

Agreement—

We're not going to mince words here, Balan Wonderworld is a waste of your time. Monotonous level design, awful performance, and shallow gameplay combine to make for an experience that is simply not fun to play. It may look pretty (when it's framerate isn't chugging), but there simply isn't enough good content here to justify your time or money, and this is doubly true when you take into account that this is a full-priced retail release. If you're looking for a good 3D platformer for your Switch, this most definitely isn't it.