36 Fragments of Midnight

36 Fragments of Midnight does a lot of things right - a cute protagonist, nice platforming, and an easy to understand objective make it seem like you're onto a winner. Unfortunately, though, even with its low asking price it is hard to fully recommend a game that can easily be completed in under 15 minutes.

36 Fragments of Midnight is over far too quickly, and the limited number of traps means players will likely see everything there is too see before an hour has passed. Perhaps for a child or a new gamer, this would be an enjoyable introduction. However, gamers have become used to platformers offering a wealth of content, and that's not what will be found here. Instead, this is the trimmings, the parts of the turkey thrown from the table to the dog without much care. The worst part? It sets up this awful joke. Ready? 36 Fragments of Midnight? More like 36 Minutes of Game! No, that won't do at all…

36 Fragments of Midnight is a short procedurally generated adventure that is a budget release for Nintendo Switch. It offers us an option for our younger family members to have a crack at a platformer they can easily understand and complete with some trial and error here and there. If you have young ones below the age of six in your family, then this might be a good option.

If you're looking for a simple and short platformer on Nintendo Switch, this one certainly fits the bill. It's a small budget indie release with good replay value and it will certainly be a fun diversion for your kids, nieces/nephews or your friends' kids. Since it's $2.99, I definitely recommend this one.

36 Fragments of Midnight proves that procedural generation doesn't necessarily benefit some games.

36 Fragments of Midnight doesn't play like a full game and other than good looking graphics and art style, it's very difficult to find any elements to redeem it. Due to its empty gameplay, almost non-existent lifespan and actually non-existent soundtrack, it becomes impossible to deem this to be anything else than a tech demo that should never be sold as a full game.

There's a lot of potential with 36 Fragments of Midnight, but it's all wasted. The procedural generation of obstacles are cool the first couple of times you play the game, but the fact that it feels empty everywhere with no replay value makes this feel like a glorified demo of something that could be greater.

There is certainly a place for 36 Fragments of Midnight on the Nintendo eShop, mainly as an inexpensive introductory experience to the platforming genre. But, it comes hard to recommend. Lacking in challenge and replayability, it fails to shine bright enough to guide you away from more worthwhile games.

I came for the appealing art style with the hopes of finding a competent 2D platformer, but ultimately that failed to happen. This already short game doesn't offer up enough variety to keep it engaging for very long and some mechanical issues only further dampened the experience. Couple all that with very limited replayability and what you're left with is a forgettable game.

36 Fragments of Midnight is not only a waste of money, it's also a waste of time.