Bridge Constructor Ultimate Edition Review Nintendo Switch

Originally released on PC way back in 2011, Clockstone’s Bridge Constructor became an indie darling which challenged—and potentially frustrated—the minds of Steam users with a delightful assemblage of physics puzzles. It has since been ported the PS4 and Xbox One, as well as iOS and Android, and its success garnered a suite of spin-offs, the most well-known of which would be 2017’s Bridge Constructor: Portal. January 2020 finally saw the release of a Nintendo Switch port of the Ultimate Edition, and, while the console doesn’t quite allow for the smoothest of experiences, it’s still a totally viable way to experience this gem of a puzzler.

If You Build it...

Bridge Constructor tasks players with repairing the infrastructure of the fictional island chain of Camatuga after an earthquake—don’t worry, it’s nowhere near as dire as it sounds—and kicks things off by introducing the game’s core mechanics and offering up a few tips (e.g. build a lot of triangles). Armchair architects have materials like wood, concrete, steel, and high-tensile cables at their disposal and aim to craft the sturdiest structure possible. These materials have a monetary value, however, and the player won’t be able to continue should they overspend. The budgetary limits are, in some cases, fairly severe, and players will have to rely on their wits—or a prolonged set of trial and error experiments—to figure out workable solutions.

In lieu of a traditional three-star system found in most mobile-centric games, Bridge Constructor puts each completed design to work, awarding points based on how well cars, trucks, and tankers can traverse it. This makes for a weirdly harrowing experience; overly-stressed sections will be highlighted in red, and watching as a convoy threatens to collapse your construction as it slowly makes its way across can make for a nail-biting experience. Of course, there is no real threat in failure, as wannabe builders can quickly pop back into editing mode to make adjustments.

The main campaign spans six islands and sixty levels, with latter stages turning into real head-scratchers. Though they won’t necessarily require a degree in mathematics to solve, they may warrant the—admittedly shameful—use of a tutorial, particularly for those who lack the patience to succeed through repeated failure. Bridge Constructor’s Switch iteration also includes the game’s two DLC packs, those being Slope Mania and Trains. The former functions as something of an expert mode, asking players to create perilous structures that essentially scale down the sides of mountains.

The latter, as the name would imply, features trains, which don’t tolerate elevation changes nearly as well as cars and are significantly heavier. These are likely best experienced after making your way through the main game. It’s also worth noting that there are three holiday-themed packs available, though, oddly enough, these are only accessible during the actual holidays they are meant to celebrate.

A Successful Build

Though it makes for an all-around pleasant playthrough for the puzzle game-inclined, the Switch port does come with a few unfortunate caveats, the most prominent being the controls. The game is downright annoying to control when playing with the controller in docked mode. The cursor often auto-snaps to the wrong joints, the button layouts feel a bit awkward, and I’m usually left begging to play this on either a touch screen—which the Switch has—or a computer mouse. However, the Switch’s touch screen isn’t responsive enough, and it can be tough to see around my own fingers when I want to make tiny adjustments. This, of course, is more the fault of the hardware than the software, but it’s still a bit of a nuisance.

All in all, Bridge Constructor: Ultimate Edition is definitely worth your time on Switch. It’ll take three to five hours to complete given your bridge-building abilities. Once everything is done, you could go back and aim for a more structurally-sound crossing and a higher score. It likely won’t hold anyone’s attention for more than ten-or-so hours, but, at fifteen dollars, this is definitely a solid addition to the Nintendo eShop.

A Switch copy of Bridge Constructor: Ultimate Edition was provided to TheGamer for this review. Bridge Constructor: Ultimate Edition is available now for Nintendo Switch.