A little over fifteen years ago Nintendo saw massive success with the Puzzle/Edutainment title, Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain? On the Nintendo DS handheld, which would recently have a new rendition released on the Nintendo Switch. Following suit, the Big Brain Academy series now presents its latest offering on the Nintendo Switch, Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain.

If you are familiar with the format of past titles in the series, you’ll get exactly what you expect; there are five ‘categories’ (Identify, Memorise, Analyse, Compute and Visualise) each which test your mental agility. Within the categories there are four different activities ranging from basic mathematical minigames to shape and object memory games.



Regardless of what you decide to choose, the game encourages you to try out and become familiar with the minigames on your own before entering the two to four player party mode. In the solo mode you start off your practice sessions in the Sprout league and progress up the highly competitive Super Elite league, all in short minute gameplay bursts. Once time has run out the game’s mascot, the infamous Dr. Lobe analysis your performance and ranks your efforts accordingly. For every correctly completed effort you’ll score a number of points based on how quickly you finish the task. Get these wrong however and you’ll have an aggressive number of points deducted.

...the game encourages you to try out and become familiar with the minigames on your own before entering the two to four player party mode.

In the beginning the quick deduction of points can have players demotivated but it allows for you to tackle the tasks with more concentration and clarity the next time around to obtain a significantly higher score. For the most part, the evaluation system is fair especially when going head-to-head with other brainiac players.



Once you feel confident with your knowledge of the minigames from the practice mode, you can choose to take part in actual tests where you make your way through one minigame from each of the five categories. Once done you will be presented with a graph showing you where your strengths and weaknesses lie. These results are shared on a results leader board so that you can compare your results with the online community as well as your Switch friends list. A Ghost Mode is also available where players activity in Practice or test mode are recorded for you to compete against. You can choose to play against global players, friends, family members using the Nintendo Switch or you can search for specific players using a unique ‘Ghost ID’.



Practicing and honing your skills in the Solo-Mode does feel rewarding, not because of the random avatar clothing items or greetings you can unlock but more from a sense of growth. As fun as this is, the true Big Brain Academy experience comes from the couch co-op Party Mode with friends. This takes the Edutainment aspect out of the scenario and turns the game into a frantic, fun-filled party experience among friends.

The twenty minigames at first feel a little underwhelming but you quickly realise that perfecting each of these discipline takes a whole lot of practice. If you get a golden rank in each of the minigames in Practice Mode you unlock an even more challenging Super Practice Mode that will without a doubt humble you for the first few tries. At the mid-range price point of the game it’s a perfect balance of content and gameplay.

...the true Big Brain Academy experience comes from the couch co-op Party Mode with friends.

Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain is a solid single player experience that is a pleasure to return to, even on a day to day basis. It might not unlock and skyrocket your mind’s genius-o-mometer to heightened levels but is definitely an entertaining way to keep yourself sharp and less dreary. Where Brain vs. Brain truly shines compared to prior entries in the series is that the minigames feel lest like work and more accommodating and accessible overall, especially when playing with friends. It’s a simple offering but what it manages to provide, it provides well. An uncomplicated interface to keep you sharp and have a crazy fun party outing with other players both young and old. If you’re looking for a mid-range priced offering for the Nintendo Switch look no further, Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain is where it’s at.