An Advertisement For Better Metroidvanias?
HIGH A colorful and vibrant art style.
LOW The combat system feels off.
WTF Gaining XP but not being able to spend it until finding the upgrade
The metrodvania genre has a long history, and it’s one I have an affinity for. The name is a portmanteau of two seminal titles in the genre, Metroid and Castlevania. These experiences are typically in 2D and have extensive maps that are gradually unlocked by exploring and learning new skills that open the way to previously-inaccessible places.
The sense of discovery lends a sense of reward, particularly in how the worlds often fit together, and this design style is both popular and has had a broad influence on videogames in general. There are many, many metroidvanias out there, and given the competition, sometimes being a bit too derivative can be an issue. However, a unique hook or being an exceptionally smooth experience can make one stand out. Sadly, Mars 2120 lacks either of these.
As Sergeant Anna Charlotte, players crash down onto the eponymous planet near a colony where no one appears to be alive. Instead, the facility seems to be overrun by mutants and other enemies. Once the action begins, Mars 2120 makes a decent first impression. It sports fairly attractive visuals with a clean, vibrantly-colored style and a soundtrack that does a good job of building atmosphere, though it’s typical sci-fi fare.
However, it’s not long before feelings of overfamiliarity set in, since Mars stars a female character in a metroidvania who happens to be wearing a combat suit. It’s impossible not to immediately think of Metroid, and given the general look of things, specifically Metroid Dread. This is also clear in the combat, which comes in two variations – shooting and melee.
Shooting is done with a rifle that has different states but lacks power, further let down by no discernable visual feedback. Enemies don’t react to being struck with gunfire — they just stand there or continue advancing as a tinny audio sample from the gun plays. Combos are more effective than firearms, but they’re repetitive as Anna will be doing the same combos over and over again. Additionally, most bosses maintain the same boring pattern throughout — stagger them by shooting and then use a melee combo, repeat ad nauseum.
The other side of the expected experience is, of course, exploration, and again there’s nothing exceptional here — the environments are well-designed, with some nice graphical details such as shimmering ice in an ice cave location, but it offers the typical environmental tropes typically found in games of this type, with few exceptions.
Ironically, Mars 2120 lacks the interconnectivity in level design that the best metroidvanias boast, yet but I still often found myself lost due to a lack of a clear indication about where to go next. There are times when Mars 2120 switches from a 2D perspective to a 3D one — which looks interesting and shakes things up — but can also lead to some confusing platforming. It already feels a bits floaty and imprecise, so this lack of clarity and direction only adds to the overall sense that this key aspect of play is unsatisfactory.
There are other issues as well. Early on, the narrative drive is absent, though this does improve later in the campaign thanks to audio logs. Additionally, the developers have chosen a perplexing level-up system, where the player accrues experience points but can’t spend them until a skill is found in the world. It turns the experience system into a pointless exercise, as I frequently racked up huge amounts of experience but couldn’t use them to customize or make choices for huge stretches of time. It was hardly different than simply finding a skill and moving on without any EXP involved, much like most metroidvanias.
All of these things (and I haven’t even mentioned the performance issues!) all add up to the fact that Mars 2120 just doesn’t have anything to make it stand out, let alone stand above the rest of the competition in this already-saturated genre.
Rating: 5 out of 10
Disclosures: This game is developed and published by QUByte Interactive. It is currently available on XBO/X/S, PS4/5, Switch and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the XBS. Approximately 10 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed. There are no multiplayer modes.
Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated T and contains Blood and Violence. I would definitely say that the violence depicted in Mars 2120 is on the mild side — there’s no sexual content nor any salty language. The use of violence is of the sci-fi variety and not graphic.
Colorblind Modes: Colorblind modes are present.
Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. The subtitles can be altered and resized. I did not notice any issues when playing without sound, though the game did have trouble with telegraphing enemy attacks, but it had nothing to do with audio. Also, the accessibility options for Mars 2120 were extensive. This game is fully accessible.
Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls.
He hopes that through GameCritics he'll find different types of experiences in gaming and to share his love of the medium.
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