Unfortunately, besides cool pixel art, the game can’t boast of anything else.
Conceptually, this is a typical Metroidvania game, with abilities gradually unlocked to open up previously inaccessible paths. Abilities include: double jump, dash in the air and special shots that allow you to destroy obstacles.
The main problem with this is that the game does not motivate you to explore old locations at all. At a minimum, this is due to the fact that there are no normal teleports in the game – you can only move between special. devices (like in Blasphemous), and not between save points (bonfires). But even in Blasphemous it was possible to open the possibility of teleporting between ordinary bonfires. And the map, compared to the same Blasphemous, doesn’t look good at all. At least it gives an understanding of the direction, and thanks for that.
And even if you do explore, there’s usually all sorts of rubbish there. Yes, there are items in the game that you can put on yourself (if you level it up, you can even put on 4 pieces!), they slightly increase various attributes. Some ingredients can be used to assemble cooler items. Yes, yes, for some reason they even managed to add a neutered opportunity to craft clothes from the seller. But visually this is not reflected in any way on the character, unfortunately.
There are other consumables, for example, for restoring an analogue of mana, but it’s easier to fill them with attacks on opponents. But there is no item to teleport to the nearest fire. But for some reason there is a potion to reset the skill, although there is no need for it, because. To. in such an organic way you can open everything, that there is no point in redistributing anything at all.
A lot of artists worked on the game, judging by the credits, but it’s as if they forgot about the GM and the narrative designers, or they forgot that they needed to work together, otherwise it feels like everyone was cutting their own part separately.
Story
I often caught myself https://jackpotjoy-casino.uk/ thinking that the team wanted to make a visual novel, not a platformer. The first 5-10 minutes were endless dialogues, which quite discouraged the desire to play.
In games like this, at least I still come for the gameplay. Wall texts about Persians and from Persians, about whom I know nothing, about whom I do not care? Questionable decision.
It’s better to have no story at all than a presentation like this. In addition to endless dialogues, in some transitions between locations we will also be shown inserts (yep, about 10 times in the same dungeon) where characters we are not interested in are always discussing something. At the same time, the story itself is not bad, a generic story about the invasion of demons, but tolerable, except for the completely merged ending with a cliffhanger.
And this is even if you don’t take into account that it slows down the pace of the game and constantly knocks you out of combat.
Gameplay
Briefly about the combat – casual. Seriously, the first time I died was on boss 3 or 4. And that’s because I didn’t level flasks for most of the game – I was running around with either one weakling or two. And for the entire game as a whole there was no problem with the fact that there were not enough heals.
The developers tried to diversify the combat with the ability to open kombuks. When we gain a level, open save points and in some places on the map we are given points that can be distributed for improvements. There are those that simply permanently increase HP or damage from a sword/pistol, there are also those that the new kombuchas give: a downward strike while jumping, an enhanced attack, dash -> attack, etc. d.
But many attacks cannot be interrupted. On nimble opponents it is easier to poke with regular attacks and dodge. Although, on the other hand, you can simply face-roll attacks by damaging them with strong attacks, simply then healing all the damage received. Speaking of dodge.
There is no stamina in the game, you can attack as many times as you like, but after using a dodge, the CD is suspended for a few seconds, which completely kills all the dynamism. At the end of the game, I still didn’t find a way to improve this aspect; I had to avoid most attacks by jumping.
Balance
Suffering on all fronts. This applies to how the locations are put together, to the combat, and to the abilities. There are often straight canonical platforming jambs here. As an example, when you can jump through one platform/staircase, but not through another.
You can push off from one box/platform, but not from another. You can climb onto one platform by clinging to it, but not on an illogical one nearby. On the other hand, the platforming itself is not particularly annoying compared to other games. And falling into an abyss or onto spikes will only teleport you back a little and take away a couple of percent of your HP.
The opponents don’t present any challenge at all, even the bosses. The most annoying thing, which is typical, was the moments with flying opponents in the sections with platforms.
When moving to some locations, new opponents became 3-4 times fatter. I understand, this is such a rather lazy way to throw a challenge to a player who has already pumped up quite a bit. But, again, this is a very clumsy decision, which leads to the fact that you will simply miss opponents. At a minimum, because picking them is simply boring, and, secondly, there is no shortage of experience in the game for leveling up. Plus, if there are a lot of opponents, you essentially have no choice, because. To. dodge will almost always be on cooldown.
Well, the last section with the boss rush, where the bosses are not particularly stronger than ordinary opponents, generally ruined the whole impression.
Conclusion
I had the game on my wish list for a long time, t. To. I follow several artists. Visually it came out really great. But we don’t come to games like this (only) for that. The GD and narrative department clearly do not match the art component, which completely kills the game. Fortunately, it can be completed in 6 hours (100% probably around 8-10 hours). Well, the developers also decided not to add the Russian language “because of the war,” yes.
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