Game Review: Bunny Reversi

By Al

Players: 1-2 (Local)
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, XBox, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC

We'll be taking a look at an interesting game today. Bunny Reversi is exactly what you think it is based on the title, and it's coming soon to consoles and PC. While I'm not exactly the most accomplished Reversi player, I played it a lot in school and thought that the game looked interesting enough to review. It's a rather small release, so it's best not expect the world from it. With that in mind, we'll be taking a look at the Nintendo Switch version and see if it's worth picking up. Seeing as there's not much else to say in this intro, we'll just get right into it!

Bunny Reversi has a simple premise: It's Reversi, and it's played by bunnies. For those that don't know, Reversi is a game where each player has a set number of two sided pieces that they place on an 8x8 game board one at a time. The pieces are usually black and white, but they can actually be any two colors or styles. In Bunny Reversi they're light grey and dark grey. Each player places one of their pieces down next to the pieces already on the board in the hopes of trapping pieces of the other color between of their own. If they succeed in boxing in pieces of another color, they're then flipped over to become pieces of their own. This isn't a permanent switch though, as players can switch pieces back and forth as long as there is a way to still box them in. Gameplay then goes back and forth until all spaces on the board are occupied, and a winner is determined by counting up the pieces of each color and seeing which player has the most. The game is very similar to Othello, but it's my understanding that Othello is a slightly altered trademarked version of the game. While Bunny Reversi doesn't add anything to the actual Reversi game, it also doesn't explain it at all. I'm lucky that I already had a basic idea of how the game worked since there is no tutorial or help screen I was able to find. It is a simple game though, so you can probably figure it out quickly enough after a practice game or two.

Considering there isn't even a tutorial here, I guess it's safe to not expect anything special when it comes to gameplay variants. Bunny Reversi offers three levels of computer-controlled opponents, and a split screen mode where you can play with a friend via local multiplayer. Your bunny can be customized a bit and can also run around the game field, jumping and kicking everything in sight. None of these actions are used to lay down pieces, but you can kick the other player if you so desire. Actually, there's a few ways your bunny can be stunned, including being hit by pieces that are flipping over, so I hope you're ready for a bit more silliness in your games of Reversi. In order to place a piece down you have to move to the space you want to use and press the X Button. (On the Switch at least) It can be a little wonky moving your bunny to the space you want to place a piece in, but we wouldn't have a game if that mechanic didn't exist right? I honestly don't have a lot more to say about the Reversi part of the game. It works, and the difficulty levels scale appropriately. I was afraid that difficulty would be all over the place since there are only three settings, but they work out fine as far as I'm concerned. Level 1 is pretty easy, but not a total wash, Level 2 might give you a run for your money in a couple matches if you mess up a move or two, and Level 3 is for players far more skilled than me. While I'm sure that more advanced players would find the difficulty settings lacking, I'm also sure that they wouldn't be playing a game called Bunny Reversi.

What makes Bunny Reversi a bit more unique is the other stuff you can do in the game. I actually am not a fan of the split screen two player mode, but the reason it has to be done that way is due to the fact that Bunny Reversi has a rather big world for just a board game. The playing area is in the center of what appears to be a Japanese garden that has a lot of traversable area going off in each direction. Nearby your starting area are gazebos with chickens, up a hill you can find the remains of a temple, there's a lake you can swim in off in one direction, and there's even a waterfall where other bunnies are risking their lives by diving off of it into the river below. You can take part in all these activities yourself, and can even unlock some in-game achievements for doing so. Speaking of which, there are several achievements in-game, with half having to do with Reversi gameplay, and the other half pertaining to the nonsense I just mentioned. Also, while I had no problem traversing the game's surprisingly big world, but there is an SOS button in the pause menu that resets you back to land if you ever get stuck.

I'm not sure how I feel about Bunny Reversi as an actual commercial product due to the fact that it seems like it may be made using pre-built assets. Seeing as it’s only $1.99 though, and pretty much does exactly what it sets out to do, I guess you can't fault it for what it is. It's by no means a polished experience, but it's not broken or unplayable either. I played about ten games for this review, then went off to do some exploring, and I didn't think that any of my time with the game was ill-spent. If you set your expectations correctly, and want to play Reversi as a bunny, then this is the game for you. Otherwise, it might still be worth picking up for novelty's sake, but that might wear off in an hour or two. Pick it up if you're looking for a silly little game to play with your friends, or maybe if you simply want to play Reversi on a console. Either way, be sure to kick those chickens!

Check Out Bunny Reversi on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/bunny-reversi-switch/

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Story: N/A
Gameplay: B
Graphics: C
Music/Sound: C
Value: B

Overall: C+

Pros:
+ It's bunnies playing Reversi. It has a simple goal and it achieves it.
+ The difficulty settings actually offer appropriate levels of challenge.
+ While I don't think the split screen view is exactly visually appealing, the two-player mode does work well.
+ There's a surprising amount of non-Reversi things to do in the game, even if they are rather pointless outside of in-game achievements.

+/ The game's official eShop listing just putting "chickens" as a bullet point made me chuckle.

Cons:
- Definitely not polished, and arguably would be better as simply being a playable version of Reversi with no bunnies at all.
- I hope you know how to play Reversi already, as there is no in-game rules as far as I could tell.
- The music and graphics do leave a lot to be desired.
- While it can be amusing for an hour or two, there isn't much to it if you're not actually looking for a way to play Reversi on a console.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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