Clash Force review for PS4, Xbox One, Switch

Clash Force isn?t going to win any awards for originality. It?s a retro-influenced run & gun platformer that borrows heavily — very, very heavily — from Mega Man, and does little else.

On top of that, it?s extremely short. As you?d expect from a game published by Ratalaika, you should be able to get the Platinum trophy in well under an hour. In fact, if you?re so inclined, you should be able to finish off the rest of the game — it?s only 20 levels — in under an hour as well, and you won?t need to exert yourself too much to do it.

That said, for what it is — which is to say, a very short Mega Man clone — Clash Force is fine. The platforming is solid, with levels that get more interesting the further into the game you get. Likewise, you?ve got a nice array of guns at your disposal, and the fact that most of the enemies can be killed with a single shot means you get to feel pretty superpowered.

Also, apropos of nothing else, the main bad guy here is an evil scientist named Crackman. That has no bearing on the rest of the game, but it?s kind of funny.

Really, whether you should spend your money on this game comes down to whether you have $5 or so burning a hole in your pocket, how much you want to play a Mega Man clone, and if you feel like spending 30 minutes or so on an easy Platinum. If your answers to those questions are yes, very much, and yes, then Clash Force might just be worth checking out.

Ratalaika Games provided us with a Clash Force PS4 code for review purposes.