Robonauts, the debut game of QubicGames on the Nintendo Switch eShop, tries to be a lot more than it can chew. It sees you controlling a tiny robot as you explore various hostile planets around you. Robo, as the specimen is called, tries to be the hero by hopping into a bigger suit and making the best of his surroundings. You do this by tackling some light platforming segments and shooting every enemy you come across. This all sounds pretty much straightforward, because it honestly sort of is.

The single-player, which is 12 levels long, follows a pretty predictable roadmap. You start off on one planet, shoot everything, hop to the next planet, shoot more, do a couple of refreshing objectives and get to the end of the stage. Even at those refreshing moments, you do mostly (guess what) more shooting. There is nothing wrong with that per se, as it is simple yet engaging action, but someone searching for something deeper won't find that here. There are various weapon pickups to grasp and toy around with, but those moments don't last that long. Not because they lose their charm, but due to a limited amount of ammunition.

The controls feel absolutely fine and I enjoyed playing around with its mechanics. Controlling Robo is simple as he moves smoothly over the battlefield with such ease. You will come across finicky situations, like a couple of bosses, but our new friend helps you to pull it off. The bullets or obstacles fired at you can be really precise, but I found acting accordingly was nothing too difficult. It made me want to finish the game as the mechanics really pushed me towards the end. The missions became harder, but that strengthened the appeal here.

The most fun to be had is in the multiplayer options. It is here that you can play the campaign fully in co-op and work together as a team. Particularly on the go, the simple controls are a perfect fit for the separated Joy-Con and that makes it a very handy travel game to have. What helps is that the amount of enemies is changed accordingly and it fits the way you play. The Hunting Grounds is quite entertaining as it solely focuses on clearing objectives first. This can be destroying a specific enemy amount or getting to a certain score first. There are modifiers that change up every mode as well, which is a solid amount of fun.

Robonauts was a fun game with some glaring faults. As a single-player game, it really isn't that strong. The mechanics shine but it lacks a meaty experience to enjoy. Where it makes up for this deficiency is in its multiplayer offerings, which provide a lot of excitement. It changes up the campaign maps in a significant matter as well as offering a fun time anywhere you are. If you are up for that, then Robonauts could be the experience you’re looking for.