Retro-inspired 2D action adventure that came out to considerable fanfare in 2018. I've been playing it on the Switch over the last week.
You are 'The Messenger'. The chosen one. One of the last surviving members of the human race, which - given the genocidal onslaught of demons - has taken the precaution of becoming ninjas en masse. Anyway, as the chosen 'Ninja' you must deliver a 'Scroll' somewhere in order to reverse the demon blight. Brief chat with obligatory, whiskery Village Elder and off you go.
It plays as a very slick level-based, linear action platformer in an 8 bit style, with great controls and a slew of imaginative (occasionally ball-breaking) bosses. Music is wonderful, all up-tempo chiptunes. Graphics and level design also great, very charming. Standard enemies are OK but somewhat limited in variety/attacks and don't put up much of a challenge, but this means you do feel quite ninja-like as you pirouette about them dealing shuriken death.
And then, about halfway through, there's a story twist and the game reverts to a 16 bit version of itself. This is the way the game deals with a time-travel mechanic: 8 bit is present and 16 bit is future. Again, it looks fantastic, and switching between these is always a delight as you're left wondering which is the most impressive (they both win). The music changes between 8 and 16 bit in these transitions, too, which is another treat.
Less happily, the game becomes a metroidvania at this point. This involves lots - and I means lots - of backtracking chasing random-sounding artefacts that you've never heard of up until then (8 bit and 16 bit worlds open different paths and completely new areas). But as the main level architecture that underpins it all is basically linear and there are very limited fast-travel options, adding a metroidvania twist to them makes them a bit of a chore. Especially when those levels consist of sending you back through variants of nasty insta-death platforming challenges that you have already traversed, and which are frequently a bit beyond the bounds of tolerable frustration (for me anyway). I've not been enjoying these sections very much at all - especially when my little demon companion jokingly ribs me about how many times I've died, every time I die (400+ and counting). Then again, you do get to find completely new/hidden levels in the metroidvania bits, so it's a bit churlish to complain.
Fortunately, the game seems to acknowledge that the metroidvania section is a bit unbalanced as it lets you buy solutions very cheaply to the cryptic prophecies that are meant to guide your progress. I've bought every single one on offer so at least I'm not chasing long dead-ends on a hunch any more, and I think I'm approaching the endgame now.
I really want to polish it off as the free DLC (Picnic Panic) is meant to focus back - and up the craziness - on the linear action-ing that characterised the first half of the game, and which is definitely the best part of it.
It's also a very humorous and knowing game, breaking the fourth wall and poking fun at genre conventions and indeed the player - somewhat like Shovel Knight, but rather more insistently. This means it's genuinely funny although it can grate on occasion - to the extent where the game actively spoilers itself.
PROTIP: if playing on Switch, use a Pro controller if you have one, so you can comfortably hold the glide button and spam attack at the same time. This helps keep you airborne for the game's weirdly distinctive double-jump mechanic. Very difficult to do this using the joy-cons.
You are 'The Messenger'. The chosen one. One of the last surviving members of the human race, which - given the genocidal onslaught of demons - has taken the precaution of becoming ninjas en masse. Anyway, as the chosen 'Ninja' you must deliver a 'Scroll' somewhere in order to reverse the demon blight. Brief chat with obligatory, whiskery Village Elder and off you go.
It plays as a very slick level-based, linear action platformer in an 8 bit style, with great controls and a slew of imaginative (occasionally ball-breaking) bosses. Music is wonderful, all up-tempo chiptunes. Graphics and level design also great, very charming. Standard enemies are OK but somewhat limited in variety/attacks and don't put up much of a challenge, but this means you do feel quite ninja-like as you pirouette about them dealing shuriken death.
And then, about halfway through, there's a story twist and the game reverts to a 16 bit version of itself. This is the way the game deals with a time-travel mechanic: 8 bit is present and 16 bit is future. Again, it looks fantastic, and switching between these is always a delight as you're left wondering which is the most impressive (they both win). The music changes between 8 and 16 bit in these transitions, too, which is another treat.
Less happily, the game becomes a metroidvania at this point. This involves lots - and I means lots - of backtracking chasing random-sounding artefacts that you've never heard of up until then (8 bit and 16 bit worlds open different paths and completely new areas). But as the main level architecture that underpins it all is basically linear and there are very limited fast-travel options, adding a metroidvania twist to them makes them a bit of a chore. Especially when those levels consist of sending you back through variants of nasty insta-death platforming challenges that you have already traversed, and which are frequently a bit beyond the bounds of tolerable frustration (for me anyway). I've not been enjoying these sections very much at all - especially when my little demon companion jokingly ribs me about how many times I've died, every time I die (400+ and counting). Then again, you do get to find completely new/hidden levels in the metroidvania bits, so it's a bit churlish to complain.
Fortunately, the game seems to acknowledge that the metroidvania section is a bit unbalanced as it lets you buy solutions very cheaply to the cryptic prophecies that are meant to guide your progress. I've bought every single one on offer so at least I'm not chasing long dead-ends on a hunch any more, and I think I'm approaching the endgame now.
I really want to polish it off as the free DLC (Picnic Panic) is meant to focus back - and up the craziness - on the linear action-ing that characterised the first half of the game, and which is definitely the best part of it.
It's also a very humorous and knowing game, breaking the fourth wall and poking fun at genre conventions and indeed the player - somewhat like Shovel Knight, but rather more insistently. This means it's genuinely funny although it can grate on occasion - to the extent where the game actively spoilers itself.
PROTIP: if playing on Switch, use a Pro controller if you have one, so you can comfortably hold the glide button and spam attack at the same time. This helps keep you airborne for the game's weirdly distinctive double-jump mechanic. Very difficult to do this using the joy-cons.
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