Released last year on PC, 3 out of 10 has officially made its way to Nintendo Switch, bringing portability to its light-hearted (albeit slightly disturbingly accurate) take on the gaming industry. Although the rating itself wouldn’t be ideal for any title, 3 out of 10 is a fun and digestible sitcom-style experience that works great on Nintendo’s portable device.
You’ll primarily play the part of a game animator named Midge - the newest member of the defunct Shovelworks game studio. The level-headed Midge helps the team solve problems (most of which are self-inflicted) throughout the five episodes that make up season one. Each episode runs around 30-45 minutes in length, and offers up a mishmash of different genres and gameplay mechanics.
For the most part, 3 out of 10 is a sitcom-style visual novel where all you need to do is watch. I absolutely love this, since so many visual novels on the Switch force you to choose between slow-moving typed-out narratives or manually click through each new line of dialogue. What makes 3 out of 10 even better in this regard is its pacing. It just feels like I’m watching an animated sitcom-like Archer, blended with the thematic elements of Mythic Quest - both of which are shows that I wholeheartedly enjoy.
When not watching the episode play out, I’m thrust into the role of Midge (or sometimes other characters) as she walks around the office and chats with her co-workers on fetch-style missions. This portion of the game kind of blew me away with how good it looks. The visuals are similar to that of something like Paper Mario or Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling, with the scenery essentially moving around Midge as she walks. Exploring the area - which extends to other places outside of the office in other episodes - is enjoyable and feels like a more interactive type of point-and-click adventure.
Visual novel and point-and-click adventure are only two of the genres that make their way into 3 out of 10. The game also features a few mini-games in each episode, ranging from things like Tetris-style puzzles, endless runners, battle royales, stealth, and even a The Simpsons: Hit & Run type of driving game. There are also boss battles, but none of the games are overly difficult. Even if you find yourself struggling against one of the tougher mini-games and are only able to secure a one out of five-star rating, you’re still able to progress to the next part of the story. This is an important feature to have, since the episodic sitcom nature of the game would have been greatly hindered by gated content.
There are some things that grind on me a bit while playing 3 out of 10, mostly related to repeated lines of dialogue, which really isn’t that uncommon for point-and-click adventures. That said, the voice acting is phenomenal and makes each episode that much more fun to watch, even with the one-note personalities of the characters. Some of the jokes also overstay their welcome, but for the most part, 3 out of 10 has solid pacing and laugh-out-loud moments that poke fun at the gaming industry at large. Oftentimes, rightfully so.
3 out of 10’s move to Nintendo Switch is a successful port that makes sense on the portable device. Taking in the game’s 30(ish)-minute episodes one at a time is a great format that works well on Switch, since you can watch it from wherever you may be in your house. Season two is slated to release on the Epic Games Store on Thursday, April 8 for free, so now is the perfect time to get caught up on all of the shenanigans from season one.
A Switch copy of 3 out of 10 was provided to TheGamer for this review. 3 out of 10: Season One is available now on PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One.