Hunter x Hunter: Nen x Impact has several good ideas, but very little follow through in catering to diehard fighting game players, new players unfamiliar with the tag-fighter subgenre, or even folks unfamiliar with the franchise. It’s fun yet fluid fighter, don’t get me wrong; only time will tell if it reaches a more fulfilling state in the future.
It’s been far too long since the Hunter x Hunter series has been anywhere near relevant in the broader media zeitgeist, but that shouldn’t be a bad thing. There’s never a “wrong” time for a reinvigoration of a series that’s been on the backburner for far too long. I mean, look at One Piece, the series that doesn’t seem to ever have an end but has been pushed into the spotlight thanks to the live action Netflix special with an upcoming second season.
When Hunter x Hunter: Nen x Impact was announced in 2023, multiplication symbols in its name and all, I was immediately intrigued by what it was planning on bringing to the table. At that point in time, tag fighters were quite rare in the fighting game competitive space save for Dragon Ball FighterZ, Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite, and Skullgirls. In late 2024, Hunter x Hunter: Nen x Impact was delayed to July 2025 in order to implement rollback netcode, a must-have in a fighting game. Since its original announcement, though…2XKO and Marvel Tokon have been announced as upcoming tag fighters.
The question now remains: How is Hunter x Hunter: Nen x Impact faring now that it’s released in the wild? Better yet…is it worth the $60 pricetag? A simple Google search or quick perusal through the recent news may answer that question, but I’ll give you a slightly deeper perspective, one that’s tailored to the Nintendo Switch version.
My gut tells me that Hunter x Hunter: Nen x Impact on the Nintendo Switch is subpar, but it’s not far from the current state of the version that exists on Steam and PS5. The reality is that many of its aspects are good ideas in theory, but they lack the substance needed to appeal to many audiences, let alone one.
Take for instance the single player content, which is comprised of a story mode, a “Heaven’s Arena” which is essentially a survival mode containing 31 rounds, some small trials, and a simple arcade mode. Single player modes are often used to prepare players for the competitive online play, if not to give them something to do to practice against the CPU and/or unlock new content when the servers are down for maintenance. The Story mode, which served as a brief set of tutorials and even briefer showcase of stills from the show, could be completed in maybe 15 minutes, maybe a smidgen longer if you’re struggling with the optional side missions in each chapter.
It’s disappointing that the Story mode ends up being so short, especially since it could have been used to bring new players into the Hunter x Hunter universe by giving them more exposure to the cast, the stakes, and the several arcs that comprised the nearly 150 episodes in the entire series. When I finished the story mode, I walked away having little idea as to Gon, Netero, or Razor were in the grand scheme of things or what their goals involved.
I’m sure that fans of the show, which ended in 2014, may be pleased with the bigger moments that are captured in Nen x Impact’s story mode. For a less familiar player like me, though, the stills from the anime alongside the bare minimum of voiceover in each chapter was not enough for me to become attached to who I was playing. Instead, I was mentally preparing myself to complete each chapter’s three side missions just so that I could feel like I had completed the mode in its entirety.
Remember, Hunter x Hunter has been out of many players’ eyes for a hot minute, and now is a fantastic opportunity to reinvigorate the franchise while being a standout tag-fighter in a genre full of upcoming titles with nothing yet in players’ hands.
Hunter x Hunter: Nen x Impact contains some truly fun tag-fighting mechanics that are equally accessible yet fast-paced. This says quite a bit, especially when I’ve heard some describe the tag-fighter genre as one best enjoyed by “sickos” because of fast-paced combat, long strings of combat, and generally unforgiving gameplay. Here, there are three-on-three battles where you can quickly tag in one of your teammates to continue the battle while another character recovers health (assuming they haven’t been downed).
The tag mechanics feel so fluid and help with boosting simple chains of attacks into long creative combos. Some special attacks require one or two inputs, giving even the newest of fighting players access to strong moves without mashing every button into oblivion and turning their Joy-Con joysticks into nubs from excessive rotations. Heck, there’s even a “Rush” mode where, when holding the ZL button and mashing the other inputs willy-nilly, the game will automatically input combos. Those combos could be abused, sure, but the standard pushback mechanics and other less noob-friendly moves will separate the pros from the, err, not-yet-pros.
The fact that I could turn on autopilot and let the game showcase what combos can look like with the “Rush” mode should be praised. New players, especially those who are interested in fighting games but lack the chops that you and I may have from years in the arcades, should get a taste of those cinematic showcases of power just so they have something to chase and achieve when put to the test against a higher skilled opponent. Far too often do fighting game communities gatekeep bombastic plays behind seemingly impossible-to-pull-off input chains.
When 2XKO was announced a short while ago, many players were excited about its potential roster. As of now, it has less than 10 characters as it prepares to enter its Open Beta. Hunter x Hunter: Nen x Impact has slightly more characters (16, with four more on the way should you choose to obtain its Season Pass), but still not enough to feel like there’s a wider array of team compositions. Keep in mind that MvC: Infinite had over 30 characters including DLC, so expect to play against relatively similar team compositions should you play online.
Speaking of the online play, remember how I said that this game was delayed to implement rollback netcode? If you’re a Switch owner, you’re unfortunately left out from the rollback netcode. As of now, though, that doesn’t amount to much seeing rollback netcode improvements are supposedly on the way in a future update. I played a small handful of online matches during my review period, not for lack of trying, but because I was unable to find players to play against on the Nintendo Switch version. When I did play against someone, fights were inconsistent, laggy, and generally unpleasant.
Perhaps this subpar online experience is due to the game’s high price of $60. Perhaps it might be because players have been scared off by the negative press surrounding the game’s current rollback netcode on PC/PS5. Perhaps it might be because it’s difficult to find the game on storefronts because of it using a different “x” symbol (trust me, I had trouble finding it on Steam). Perhaps it might be because players don’t know enough about the game/series to feel like it’s worth the investment on their brand new Nintendo Switch 2 (or Switch – the game runs on both just fine). Regardless of reason, I find it hard to recommend to someone at its current price.
I know that there’s more content on the way from Bushiroad Games thanks to its Season Pass and their recent announcement that online upgrades are coming soon. However, I hope they also consider adding content in the form of unlockables like costumes, color variations, or even new stages. I doubt this could be done, but even having unique character endings for those who complete the arcade mode will give folks a sense of achievement for finishing the game with their favorite characters, let alone an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the Hunter x Hunter franchise.
Hunter x Hunter: Nen x Impact has several good ideas, but very little follow through in catering to diehard fighting game players, new players unfamiliar with the tag-fighter subgenre, or even folks unfamiliar with the franchise. It’s fun yet fluid fighter, don’t get me wrong; only time will tell if it reaches a more fulfilling state in the future.
