Tokyo Scramble Review

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Nintendo’s February 2026 Partner Showcase for Switch 2 provided updates on upcoming third-party games and included some unexpected announcements. The biggest surprise was Tokyo Scramble, a new stealth-horror game featuring dinosaurs, and exclusive to the Switch 2. It’s set to release just a week after the showcase. Given its incredibly quick release – launching a day before another Switch 2 exclusive, Mario Tennis Fever – I was worried about the game’s quality. After finishing it, I understand why it was released so quickly; it unfortunately doesn’t live up to expectations.

Tokyo Scramble is easily the strangest game released so far for the Switch 2. Players control Anne, a teenager who gets stuck in a ruined underground world filled with dangerous, dinosaur-like creatures called Zinos. Instead of fighting, Anne must rely on stealth to survive, as she has no weapons.

In Tokyo Scramble, enemies called Zinos come in several types. You’ll face common, large raptors that are generally well-rounded, as well as bats that can’t see but have incredible hearing, and giant, mantis-like creatures that are deaf but have exceptional vision. Stronger versions appear later in the game, and each one demands a unique approach if you want to rescue Anne and complete the level.

Stealth games can be tricky to get right. When they succeed, they’re incredibly tense and exciting, but often they become frustrating cycles of trying things until you stumble upon the solution. Tokyo Scramble falls into that second category. Each stage feels like a puzzle with a very specific set of instructions you need to follow to avoid detection. It relies heavily on memorization rather than allowing for quick thinking and improvisation. Sometimes, the game feels unfair, like when you’re controlling Anne and following a monster – there’s a moment where the monster suddenly turns around, and you have no way to anticipate it unless you’ve already failed and learned the pattern. Despite these issues, a few levels are genuinely rewarding to figure out and complete.

Tokyo Scramble’s Stealth is Anti-Fun

Many levels in Tokyo Scramble are fairly simple and rely on players figuring things out through repeated attempts, though the game gets much harder later on. Thankfully, Tokyo Scramble has a forgiving checkpoint system that prevents players from losing too much progress when defeated by the game’s unusual dinosaur enemies. These checkpoints are essential, as the game would be almost impossible to play without them.

In Tokyo Scramble, Anne is instantly killed by any monster, and they’re all faster than her, meaning being seen usually results in death. Players can attempt to escape to cover or an exit, but Anne quickly runs out of stamina, making this risky. Luckily, she soon gets a phone flash that briefly stuns enemies, allowing for easier escapes – and sometimes letting you completely skip parts of the game.

Image via Binary Haze Interactive

As Anne progresses in the game, her phone unlocks new features, but the flashlight remains the most valuable. Because resources are scarce, Anne needs to recharge her phone at stations found throughout each level to power the flashlight. It’s so effective that it’s best to save the battery for it and avoid using other features.

Anne’s phone isn’t just a battery drain – it’s actually useful in the game! She can use it to interact with things around her, which helps in a couple of ways. Sometimes activating objects with her phone is key to solving puzzles, and other times it’s just a fun way to distract enemies. For instance, she might be able to turn on a popcorn machine to keep dinosaurs occupied, or use a fan to briefly stun enemies with its blades.

The game’s environmental details are cool, but they’re undermined by the objectives given at the start of each level. Finding a popcorn machine hidden in the world of Tokyo Scramble would have been a nice surprise, but when the game specifically tells you to use it to distract enemies, it loses its impact.

I enjoy the basic idea of the game, and it’s sometimes fun to use different items to progress. The game consistently introduces something fresh in each level, like new enemies or puzzles. However, that’s essentially all Tokyo Scramble offers.

This game just isn’t enjoyable. It struggles with balance – some parts are frustratingly difficult, while most are too easy. It doesn’t manage to make the stealth gameplay exciting, and often feels like a tedious task. Several other issues compound these problems, making for a generally unengaging experience.

Tokyo Scramble Does Not Look Like a Switch 2 Game

Players will likely be immediately struck by how visually unappealing Tokyo Scramble is. Despite being designed for the Switch 2, the graphics look several generations old – more akin to a PlayStation 3 title, and not even a particularly good one. The game suffers from blurry textures, noticeable clipping issues where objects intersect incorrectly, and remarkably poor animations.

In Tokyo Scramble, when enemies grab Anne, their attacks pass right through her instead of physically hitting her, causing her to fall to the ground in a clumsy way. Similarly, if players stop while Anne is running fast, she doesn’t slow down normally—she just slides forward as if on wheels. And when she needs to walk across narrow beams, the game doesn’t show her carefully stepping; she simply floats into place, which looks unnatural.

Image via Binary Haze Interactive

The plot of Tokyo Scramble is bizarre and doesn’t really make sense – it’s almost enjoyably bad, but not quite. Most of the characters are just represented by colored text message bubbles. The story tries to make us care about these unseen people through Anne’s feelings, but it fails. Honestly, I feel more of a connection to the automated voice at McDonald’s that asks about mobile orders.

Honestly, playing Tokyo Scramble, you barely see any other humans besides Anne and this one guy, Ray. And Ray… well, let’s just say his design and voice are a bit much. I don’t blame the actors themselves, but the writing they had to work with was pretty awkward, if I’m being honest.

Image via Binary Haze Interactive

The voice acting is filled with ridiculous lines, and the monster sounds aren’t much better. Some levels feature endlessly repeating, irritating sound effects – especially the difficult ones where you’ll be dying frequently – which can be incredibly frustrating.

Tokyo Scramble Has GameShare Multiplayer, But I Don’t Know Why You Would Ever Do That to Someone

A handy feature on the Switch 2 is GameShare, which lets players share multiplayer games with friends. It’s similar to the Download Play feature on the Nintendo DS. Only one person needs to own a copy of the game for multiple Switch 2 (and sometimes even original Switch) consoles to play together. For example, the game Tokyo Scramble supports up to four players using GameShare, but while it’s fun for a quick try, most players won’t likely play it repeatedly.

Instead of each player controlling a separate character in Tokyo Scramble, the game has a unique multiplayer mode where players share control of a single character, Anne. One player might handle movement, another the camera, while others manage apps or actions like crouching and sprinting. While this unusual co-op setup can be funny, it doesn’t stay entertaining for very long.

It took around 5 and a half hours to complete all 22 levels of Tokyo Scramble, but the game offers a greater challenge with a harder difficulty setting and extra fun with its co-op mode, giving players reasons to come back for more.

Okay, so I tried Tokyo Scramble, and honestly, it’s just…strange. It’s not completely unplayable, but it’s also not fun enough to actually recommend. It’s easily the worst game so far that’s only available on the Switch 2, and that’s really saying something considering we’ve already gotten pretty dull titles like Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour and the ridiculously expensive Survival Kids. I really can’t see anyone getting much enjoyment out of it.

Tokyo Scramble is out now, exclusively for the Switch 2.

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2026-02-13 14:37