Review: Brain Show (Nintendo Switch)
In Brain Show, you compete against your friends and/or family in a game full of trivia, betrayal, comedy, and fun. With a classic TV-style presentation, this game creates a fun environment for competitive people, especially when it comes to random knowledge.
As per usual, two to eight players take turns answering various random questions. The goal of this game is, obviously, to beat the others, and you do so by getting the most answers right. However, there are elements added that make the game all the more fun, such as the rounds in which you can steal people’s points or knock them out of a round, or even the whole game.
When starting Brain Show, you are able to choose a character and a name. You don’t get much control over these options however. The characters are limited, and so are the pre-defined names. To pick a name, you find the letter it starts with, and hope the one you want is listed underneath. Some letters have multiple names underneath, most of them fairly common, but other letters may only have one or two names listed. However, not getting the name you’d like doesn’t take away from the fun.
After you and your group have chosen your settings, the game starts with a host introducing each player. Some jokes are cracked here and there, and the actual gameplay starts. The first player is given the opportunity to choose a category. There are many categories in the game, but you are only shown four at a time: religion, fashion, movies, symbols, etc.
The connection between category and question is often dubious—who considers One Punch Man a fairytale? Regardless, after the first category is chosen, the host will announce the rules for that round, as there are 13 competition types. Some rounds are simple and just include each person answering what they believe is correct. Some rely on quick thinking; whomever answers the fastest gets the points.
Others are very competitive and include crazy scenarios. For instance, in one round you and your group are floating in the air by balloons. If you get a question right, you shoot another player’s balloon. Get shot twice, and that player falls out of the round. This continues until one person is left floating. These rounds change with each game, which allows Brain Show to continue to be new and fun the more you play. There are six rounds per game, and each person usually has the chance to pick the category.
The last round is always the same, however. Like the balloon round, this one requires you to fight off your competition, this time by shooting them with water guns until their “health” runs out and they fall into a pool full of water. Your health is determined by how many points you have in the game. The person in first place will have the most health, and therefore will need to be hit more than the other players in order to fall. The last player standing wins the whole game.
Unlike similar game shows for the Switch, Brain Trivia is played with the Joy-Cons rather than a smart device. I found this to be a lot handier because I didn’t have to worry about looking back and forth between two screens when answering. The controls are very super easy, as you only need to tap the corresponding A-B-X-Y button to answer.
However, it does mean the number of participants is limited to the number of Joy-Con you have available. Also note that although up to eight contestants can play, multiplayer is limited to single-system only.
Brain Show is a fun game for those who like competing with others, especially with knowledge rather than twitch skills. With over 5,000 questions from 41 categories, it’s hard for this game to get boring. It’s the perfect game for parties or holidays spent with friends or family…provided those friends and family members aren’t the type to hold a grudge when you burst their balloons.
