HIGH Finally unleashing the full-power Mech Mode.

LOW Spending 45 minutes trying to beat a single platforming sequence.

WTF Are those seriously Dig-Dug enemies?

Might as well rip the band-aid off right away — yes, this is the Pac-Man Metroidvania.

It’s about a gamer who gets pulled into a strange Namco-themed dimension and has their soul dropped into a swordfighting robot. It seems that Puck, the ravenous yellow sphere, needed someone to help her activate a giant machine for reasons that are way too convoluted to get into here, so the player got dragged into an insane sci-fi struggle because it seemed like they had… decent reflexes?

After that absurd opening, things get even stranger, as Puck and her player sidekick explore bizarre, shattered landscapes crammed full of biomechanical horrors. The player can fight back using fairly standard 2D side-scrolling combat. There are slash combos, dodges, parries, and an array of power moves that the player can obtain by killing bosses scattered around the world.

Well, killing and eating them, technically.

In Shadow Labyrinth‘s most potentially-upsetting detail, simply killing enemies isn’t sufficient to obtain new abilities and crafting resources. Once the player has slashed an enemy into submission, they have to remember to call Puck out so that she can lunge forward and chomp her way through the enemy corpse, gathering the items the player will need to craft upgrades. Luckily, boss devouring is an automatic process, although the form Puck takes in order to unlock new abilities is as horrifying as any of the twisted foes the player will encounter.

While Shadow Labyrinth can be appreciated for its tight, easy-to-learn combat, what it should be applauded for is the innovative take it has on classic Pac-Man gameplay.

Scattered throughout the map are special electrified floors. If the swordfighter steps onto them they’re instantly transformed into Pac-Man, complete with automatic movement and wakka-wakka sound effects. However, it’s more complex than Pac-Man ever was, because Puck has access to a jump move that allows her to vault from one electrified floor to the next. This one addition allows the developers to include maddeningly complex sequences that require pixel-perfect precision in order to vault through gauntlets of energy fencing and spinning buzzsaws.

There are even special dedicated Pac-Man levels that the player can defeat in order to unlock resources. Each one is a clever take on classic Pac-Man gameplay, with the player trying to collect enough pellets to switch over to ghost-eating mode while zipping through mazes that gradually fall apart as pieces of the world transform into weapons to be used against the ghosts. It’s to Shadow Labyrinth‘s credit that they included a minigame so creative in the ways it uses assumed familiarity with Pac-Man that it easily could have been sold as a stand-alone product.

While the gameplay is stellar and art design are truly exceptional, Shadow Labyrinth does have one major drawback, and it’s that it’s — and please excuse the wordplay — a little too labyrinthine.

The map is simply enormous. It takes forever to get from one place to the next, and fast-travel nodes are few and far between. It wouldn’t be so bad if the levels were absolutely packed with interesting features and monsters to fight, but that’s just not the case — every single one one of the areas has at least a few sections that force the player to simply wander for minutes on end to get to another checkpoint.

What’s worse is the sheer number of movement abilities the player needs to unlock in order to make their way around this enormous map. While it’s relatively common that metroidvanias ask the player to get a couple of movement upgrades to see everything, Shadow Labyrinth sets the number absurdly high. There are multiple jumps, air dashes, a grappling hook, a giant laser, and more. The map isn’t much help in keeping track of all the locations players will need to revisit, either — the player can unlock markers for it, but there are just four colors, and close to a dozen obstacle types.

It took me over sixty hours to do everything, and it’s not exaggerating to say that nearly half of that time was spent scouring the map for places to use a new ability I’d unlocked in the hopes of finding a path forward.

Shadow Labyrinth is also punishingly difficult at times — not just the devious and brutal bosses, either. Ithas some of the trickiest platforming I’ve seen in ages.

At a certain point it became clear that I could progress no further until I obtained the ability to double-jump. The only place I’d failed to search was a winding tunnel made of instant-death spikes that could only be navigated by zipping from one grapple-point to the next, with the slightest mis-angled shot or split-second hesitation erasing all progress. I’d hesitated in exploring based on the assumption that it was the kind of late-game location I was supposed to conquer after getting all of the movement abilities, but no, this ridiculously complex and demanding exercise in free-fall platforming was the barrier keeping me from the double-jump. This truly is a situation where only the most dedicated players need apply.

Shadow Labyrinth is equal parts magnificent and frustrating.

The action is stellar, the setting — largely made up of deep-cut references to Namco’s arcade history — is uniquely fascinating, and the retro Pac-Man gameplay is perhaps the best the franchise has ever offered. At the same time, it makes exploration such a chore that I swore off finishing it and stepped away from it more than a few times. I always came back, though, which goes to show just what an incredible job the developers have done here.

Even when I hated what I was doing, it was always a pleasure to engage with, and there aren’t a lot of games I can say the same about.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed and published by Bandai Namco. It is currently available on PC/SW/PS5/XBS. Copies of the game were purchased on Steam obtained and reviewed on the PC. Approximately 60 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode. The game was completed. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated T and contains Blood and Fantasy Violence. It’s fantastical and stylized action, and it’s safe for just about anyone to play. I’m serious about how scary Puck eating enemies is, though. It’s absolutely brutal, and deserves a warning if younger teens are interested in checking the game out.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: All information is delivered via text on screen. I played most of the game without audio, and encountered no issues. This experience is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: The game’s controls are not remappable.

The post Shadow Labyrinth Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH Unique creatures to transform into!

LOW The backtracking feels like it only exists to pad the playtime.

WTF A Dark Souls-esque currency-dropped-on-death system that can be turned off anyway.

For years, the so-called metroidvania subgenre has been a favorite for many indie developers. Biomorph is Lucid Dream Studio’s crack at the classic formula, and they deliver a satisfying and modern experience that many fans will appreciate.

The adventure begins with an animated cutscene, whose art style (along with the art direction for the humanoid characters) is reminiscent of 2012’s Dust: An Elysian Tail. Characters offer an interesting blend of animal characteristics without necessarily drawing to mind any specific animals — instead of a generic cat girl, a character may have cat-like ears but a reptilian face, or wing-like arms.

The monster designs are where the team’s creativity shines, as they manage to be unique and monstrous — even disturbing — while still fitting into the more ‘cartoony’ world, which is especially important as one of the main character’s signature powers is transforming into enemies they have defeated. After besting enough of an enemy type, that type can be morphed into at any time, each coming with their own movesets and movement options to solve puzzles or offer advantages in combat. One monster let me hover past spike pits that would otherwise kill me; a majestic elk-looking monster offered little in terms of traversal options but did have great kill power.

The base character has a variety of attack and action options, thanks to a system of ‘chips’ which can be swapped out and upgraded. One chip offers standard directional melee punches, while another may offer ranged options, or a shield that can block an enemy’s attack.

Movement is basic and somewhat limited. Jump height can be adjusted by how long the button is held, and there’s a short ‘slide’ the player can perform to get through tight spaces or dodge high-aiming attacks. Platforming can be somewhat dull due to these limited options, although some enemy forms offer other options to navigate certain rooms, and I would say this is fairly standard for the subgenre.

Exploration in Biomorph is fairly standard for metroidvanias, with backtracking encouraged when new powers are gained, and a map that’s easily readable and allows for the placing of various pins to notate areas that need to be revisited. There main and side quests that are generally marked on the map and are rarely if ever confusing to follow.

However, there are occasions where back-and-forth travel required by missions serves no purpose other than wasting time. For example, several missions required meeting a character in the main town after finding them elsewhere in the world. Then that character makes the player walk across town to ‘submit a form’ so they can establish a business, and then they return to the same spot. Why not just have the character set up shop as soon as they return to town?

It’s worth noting that by default, Biomorph has a souls-esque system of making the character drop all currency when they get killed, before immediately auto-saving. However, if the currency is lost in a boss room, the pile will spawn outside, which is great. With that said, there’s an option in the menu to simply turn this soulslike mechanic off entirely, which was a good move as it felt tacked on as a nod to FromSoftware, rather than a thoughtful inclusion to their own work.

In terms of bosses, Biomorph‘s are scattered throughout the world, and they offer a different experience from the usual platforming and basic puzzle-solving. These bosses are, for the most part, not particularly difficult and tend to devolve into jumping around until they offer an opening to get some hits in. Simply rinse and repeat until they explode into a gory mess. They serve their purpose but ultimately weren’t memorable.

Ultimately, Biomorph is a serviceable addition to the metroidvania subgenre that I think most fans of the content will enjoy thanks to the appealing look of its graphics and the novelty of the main character’s ability to transform. It might not break much new ground, but a solid experience doesn’t necessarily have to.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Buy Biomorph – PC– PS – XB – SW

Disclosures: This game was developed and published by Lucid Dreams Studio. It is currently available on Switch, PS5, XBO/X/S, and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the Switch OLED. Approximately 12 hours were devoted to the game, and it was not completed. This is a single-player-only title.

Parents: This game has received a T rating from the ESRB and contains Blood and Violence. While none of the characters players fight are human, monsters do explode in messes of gore and viscera when defeated. Fighting these monsters is frequent and encouraged via gameplay.

Colorblind modes: There are no colorblind modes.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: All dialogue is written and no gameplay segments encountered required sound cues. This game is fully accessible.

Controls: The controls are fully remappable.

The post Biomorph Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH Satisfying combat and addictive metroidvania mechanics.

LOW Short runtime and lack of truly fresh ideas.

WTF The fairy queen’s sprite is basically Dark Souls’ Gwynevere…

As the fifth installment in a series I’ve never tried before, Momodora: Moonlit Farewell was revealed to be a competent 2D metroidvania set in a dark fantasy world brimming with themes like sacrifice and maternity, all presented via a captivating art style.

As a priestess of the order in charge of protecting a village from evil forces lurking both below and above,  Momo Reinol is one of the few beings capable of stopping the approaching darkness in its tracks.

Armed with a magical leaf whose reach and damage potential extend at the final stage of its three-hit combo, she embarks on a journey across several biomes to collect items and parlay with deity-like beings to secure mankind’s (or at least, the village’s) survival. Moonlit Farewell’s art direction fits the setting with a carefully chosen color palette and memorable enemy designs. It all fits together beautifully.

Another of Moonlit Farewell’s most notable strong points is how approachable it is, especially for genre newcomers.

While most metroidvanias are keen on keeping the player stuck until that “a-ha!” moment finally presents itself and allows us to unlock the rest of the content, here the map clearly tells us which parts we have yet to explore and exactly which areas still hide a secret. Thus, as we slowly navigate through combat and platforming challenges, we can quickly consult with the map to ensure we haven’t missed anything along the way. The breadcrumb trail of power-ups evolves organically and logically, arming the player with just enough power to never let Momo’s fighting prowess come up short.

So, as is the case with most metrodivanias, gameplay consists of three segments — combat challenges against enemies with deadly melee attacks, molotov cocktail-throwing smarties, and disturbing entities that explode on death, platforming sections where we’ll have to manage our stamina bar, the longevity of our jumps, and the use of other abilities later unlocked, and screen-filling boss encounters, which round up the campaign’s “acts” and often bestow Momo with a new power upon defeat.

Aside from those core elements, Moonlit Farewell is brimming with hidden power-ups that, if successfully unearthed, will expand Momo’s health and mana pools, as well as the stamina recovery which allows her to sprint and dodge.

Despite all the power-ups and items to find, difficulty isn’t the point of Momodora: Moonlit Farewell — there aren’t any wild spikes or overpowered bosses hell-bent on punishing even the slightest mistake. Instead, the power-ups seem more about granting benefits that synergize with each other, and selecting the right array for a given challenge.

For instance, by donning an ability that granted a barrier upon healing myself, I was able to more confidently charge in by synergizing with powers that boost melee damage. In another instance, I combined the “exploding arrows” ability with one that allows Momo to fire three projectiles at once, and suddenly turned into Legolas, feeling pretty good about myself!

Of course, the most powerful abilities are hidden behind demanding obstacles, but hunting for them isn’t necessary to roll credits. Everything Moonlit Farewell throws at the player is well-balanced and solvable simply by using observation, rationale, and the abilities one will naturally come across on the critical path. 

As such, the only real complaint I want to raise is Moonlit Farewell’s lack of innovation. While it offers a nicely curated experience, it never tries to challenge or alter established genre boundaries in any way — there are no big surprises, nor any or game-changing abilities that might’ve enticed other developers to copy from Momodora: Moonlit Farewell in the future.

Ultimately, Moonlit Farewell is a game that excels at what it sets out to do, though it doesn’t try to achieve anything too surprising or outside the norm. Even so, it kept me glued to my console from start to finish, and no fan of this genre will find much fault with it.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Buy Momodora: Moonlit Farewell – PC – PS – XB – SW

Disclosures: This game was developed by Bombservice and published by Playism. It is currently available on Switch, PS5, XBX/S, and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the Switch Lite. Approximately 18 hours of play were devoted to the game, and it was completed 100%. This is a single-player-only title.

Parents: This game has received a “T” (“Teen”) rating by ESRB and contains Blood, Fantasy Violence, and Suggestive Themes. The official rating summary reads: This is a platformer game in which players assume the role of a priestess embarking on a divine mission. From a side-scrolling perspective, players traverse environments, interact with characters, and battle human bandits and demons. Players use magic and arrows to defeat enemies in melee-style combat. Battles are highlighted by impact sounds, colorful light effects, and small blood-splatter effects. Some environments contain bloodstains on the ground/walls. One female fantasy creature is designed with exposed breasts, though with no discernible details (i.e., no nipples); another character is depicted in a revealing outfit (e.g., deep cleavage).

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers:  All dialogue in this game is shown via textboxes, so they’re easy to keep track of at all times. Text cannot be altered or resized. All enemy attacks are clearly telegraphed on-screen with enemies signaling when they will strike next and in which general direction. No audio cues are needed for play. This game is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: This game offers a controller diagram and players can freely remap any action to any button. 

The post Momodora: Moonlit Farewell Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH It’s a fantastic reinterpretation of the metroidvania formula.

LOW Being unexpectedly locked out of the explorer frog’s sidequest.

WTF Hummus is easily available on a world like this??

Sparky has done a great job in covering Caravan SandWitch with his main review, and I don’t disagree on any of his points, other than perhaps the degree to which we enjoyed the experience. For me, it was easily one of the year’s best.

One thing that made it stand out were the vibes. As he correctly indicates, it’s an extremely chill experience, and that laid-back quality was was quite welcome in this tumultuous year of chaos. The lack of fall damage and combat were revelations, and after spending 12 hours with Sauge trying to complete every quest possible, I rolled credits without missing either. SandWitch didn’t need them, I didn’t crave them, and it says a lot about how certain experiences can choose non-traditional paths and thrive.

I also loved how the overall world design dovetailed with this fresh direction. The conceit of a large multi-galaxy conglomerate leaving the planet and abandoning all of their facilities, robots and gear was fascinating — coming across huge warehouses with the goods still in them, secure areas left unguarded, power plants sending electricity to nowhere, and autonomous robots performing tasks that no longer serve a purpose were all excellent world building, and spending time with the people left in capitalism’s wake is perhaps a tiny peek into our own future.

The scope of SandWitch was quite welcome, too. While the map makes the available territory seem much larger than it is, it’s quick and simple to cross from one end of the land to the other in a matter of minutes, and that was just fine! It never felt onerous or tedious to get anywhere, and I never felt like I needed or wanted tons more space. In fact, this cozy area suited me so well that I eventually became familiar enough with the landscape that I knew where I was going, even without the map.

With both the setting and size taken into consideration, it was then a bit of a revelation to see a truly fresh application of the metroidvania formula laid atop SandWitch‘s foundations.

SandWitch takes the traditionally-2D system of finding powerups and opening skill-gated parts of a world and successfully extrapolates it to a fully 3D open world environment. Rather than closing off sections of the world, certain buildings were closed or key facilities were inaccessible, so the freedom of being in an open world was still present. Of course, there were certainly places that the player would have to mentally make note of and return to later once they’d received some of the tools that Sauge eventually adds to her arsenal, but it felt logical and organic, and never artificially constrained. I’m honestly quite tired of the metroidvania formula as it is traditionally interpreted, but something about SandWitch made the proposal feel so new and curious that I was immediately sucked in and wanted to uncover every single secret.

Unfortunately, Sparky is dead correct when it comes to the story and the translation. For a game that clearly displays so much love and attention in so many aspects, it’s a shame that the script, dialogue and individual conversations fall flat.

Throughout the campaign there are tons of examples of phrases that feel slightly off, of someone’s point not quite being made, and a general lack of dramatic buildup to the climax despite of the fact that there are many, many opportunities for poignant moments and unfolding revelations.

I must stress to every developer reading this review — don’t skimp on the translation!! Don’t give it to AI for cleanup, and don’t give it to a friend who kinda-sorta knows English. A script can make or break an entire experience, and while Caravan SandWitch is something I absolutely loved, this could have been an all-time classic if the characters and story were better written. The translation is a huge, avoidable mess for a title that is otherwise precisely on-point, and it pained me to see how uncaring I was about the story in general.

With a script that’s so off, it really says something that not only was I invested enough to play Caravan SandWitch to completion, but that it ended up being one of my favorite experiences of the year in spite of the poor dialogue. Exploring this extremely chill, open world while digging around amongst the ruins of corporate greed held my attention from start to finish, and even by the time I had solved all the mysteries and had done all the things, I was still quite ready to spend more time in this world. It’s not without its flaws, but Caravan SandWitch remains one of my favorite experiences of 2024, and I would strongly encourage the developers to continue their work — I look forward to being delighted with something new.

Rating: 8.5

Disclosures: This game is developed by Studio Plane Toast and published by Dear Villagers. It is currently available on PC, PS5 and Switch. This copy of the game was obtained via retail purchase and reviewed on PS5. Approximately 12 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 Language and Violent References. This is a terrible classification. The mentioned violence is no worse than your typical 6PM newscast and I can’t recall Sauge ever going harder than “drat”. My main reservation is that in one of its endings a character commits suicide by choosing to remain behind (offscreen) in an exploding building. Even with that, I would not put this above E10. The world’s most tedious and unlikable people (perhaps the ESRB raters are among them) will also be annoyed that Sauge has two dads and many individuals are referred to with they/them pronouns.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game is fully accessible. All dialogue is in text, but text cannot be resized or modified. There are no essential sound cues in gameplay.

Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls on PC. MK controls are as shown in the attached images. Controller defaults to X for interaction, Y for exiting / returning to van, A for jumping or acceleration boost (in van), B for exiting dialogues. Left and right sticks default to move and look, respectively, left and right triggers default to decelerate (in the van) and accelerate (on foot and in the van).

The post Caravan SandWitch Second Opinion appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

Today GameCritics is happy to present this video covering Gestalt: Steam & Cinder from guest contributor Arlyeon. For more from Arlyeon, you can check out their YouTube channel or their Discord. Also, you can support them on Patreon!

TRANSCRIPT: Hey Folks! My Metroidvania binge continues- since I’ll be tackling Metamorphosis Games’ Gestalt: Steam & Cinder – which takes a narrative heavy approach to the genre. But that begs the question, doesn’t it? Was Gestalt a whole lot of hot air, or was it more than the sum of its parts? I’m your host Arlyeon, Let’s find out together.

To say that the world of Gestalt is troubled, is to put it lightly. First, the Calamity leveled the world- reducing it to a post Apocalyptic state. That said, it was then followed closely by the opening of the Abyss, a nigh-literal gate to Hell. Oblivion seemed all but assured- until humanity built a bunch of friggin Sentai, fueled by the Abyss to fight back. There were definitely no repercussions to this. Surely, these Abyssal Knights didn’t become corrupted by their power, kicking off a rebellion which tore the remnants of society apart. And, a generations long civil war? Unfathomable.

So, yeah- the world of Gestalt is in pretty rough shape, to the point that it’s honestly surprising they’ve reached steampunk levels of technology. Not that it’s doing much good, given that a -third- apocalyptic event is potentially due, and an attempt at a truce fails -right- out the gate.

Terrible stuff, really. Which makes it a relief that the focus of this story is Aletheia- a Soldner (*Cough*Mercenary*Cough*) who’s just trying to get by. Or, she would be- were it not for the fact that she finds herself in the wrong place at the right time- and soon finds herself embroiled in a conspiracy that will determine the fate of the city, and reveal her own forgotten path.

All in all, it’s a fairly neat premise- and one that the game puts a lot of work into telling. Only- the way it’s executed frequently comes at the expense of the gameplay. Let me explain myself here. In and of itself, the cutscenes do a decent job of laying out the overall premise of the game- but, they’re extremely intrusive, often queuing up as you’re progressing through an area. And I do mean often, since if you’re moving at a relatively steady clip (see: not exploring/grinding excessively)- it’s entirely possible for the game to wrench you out of playing the game not even 15 or 20 minutes after an earlier scene. And this can just *chain* together, given the sheer number of scenes lodged in Gestalt.

Which then brings me to the next point. Because as jarring as that is- what finally broke any semblance of immersion for me, was how more than half of Gestalt’s story wrench the focus away from the protagonist, and settle it squarely on the machiavellian plots that are currently happening behind the scenes. Much of which, I should mention, boils down to a combination of exposition, and foreshadowing for some fairly belated pay offs.Ultimately, I came away feeling that the story is less a matter of organically discovering the events at hand, and more a matter of sitting through the synopsis of a plot.

A sometimes repetitive synopsis, given the dialogue will echo itself- as though it has little faith in the players ability to follow along. But, honestly- despite everything, I do have to give it credit. At the end of the day, Gestalt had managed to build up some fairly central questions- which I was legitimately looking forward to seeing answered.

And then the game ended. It’s hard for me to describe how abrupt the conclusion feels, but if I have to: Shameless Sequel baiting feels the most accurate. I felt -robbed-, both by the ending itself, and the sheer lack of closure, or answers. It’s just more ominous foreshadowing and the promise that the player will eventually get answers, if only they’d poke at the sequel. Yeah. Sort of a grim note to finish the story segment segment on, but, here we are.

So, let’s shift gears and talk shop about Steam & Cinder’s gameplay. Which, given its nature as a Metroidvania, means it’s about time to tackle its’ exploration elements. Aaaand the awkwardness I ran into here. Now, I do want to be clear here- I am rather fond of the Gestalts stage design, as venturing through the regions felt nice enough the first time around, and I couldn’t help but appreciate the manner in which they each harbored their own distinct obstacles and enemies. And I will never complain when a game takes steps to enable efficient shortcuts for a diligent player. That said- for a title that exists within this genre, the experience felt fairly linear.

When I explored a region, I generally found myself guided through the bulk of its content, to the point that it began to cultivate a sense of almost being on rails. While this does mean you’ll get to see the gist of the puzzles and obstacles that will define each of the regions, and in fact, would be hard pressed to bypass what it has in store for you- this ultimately makes the game feel closer to an action platformer, rather then the exploration focused endeavor I was hoping for.

That’s not to say side paths didn’t exist, but, the majority of them felt quite shallow, to the point that there were only a handful of times where I found myself rewarded with anything more than a new shortcut, or a small nook with a chest or collectible, after I’d backtracked to a location with the double jump, or air dash.

And even when it did provide -something- it’d be extremely limited in scope- to the point that I’d only really encountered a handful of solid optional puzzles by the time the game had run its’ course, and the crux of those were near the finale.

So, yeah- again, I was *super* grateful that the shortcuts were as robust as they were, because between that, and early access to a fast travel system- it meant that backtracking was less painful than it might otherwise have been, given the pay off.

But, okay- I’ve said my bit on navigating its world. What I haven’t addressed is the combat and character building- and this is where Gestalt has a bit more to offer on a mechanical level. Take the basics of combat- while you’re initially limited to a brief sword combo, a 1 shot pistol, and a pair of (stamina-limited) evasive options, it wastes very little time before introducing the stagger meter, and a secondary pistol shot which eschews direct damage in favor of chunking it. – Given that a staggered enemy is disabled for a decent amount of time, loses any existing defense they may have -and- takes extra damage- this small change already provides players with more choices, such as whether they should focusing on disabling an armored enemy to finish it off, or to pick off potentially squishier enemies while it’s disabled, or even just use the guns normal shot to just vaporize something small to facilitate maneuvering around. (And Gestalt’s ammo system adds another strategic layer entering the equation, since the bulk of your energy is generated by hitting enemies who -aren’t- staggered- forcing you into the fray in order to make use of the mechanic).

Something, I should note, that worked incredibly well during the boss fights, since their health and defense ensured fights will drag on by default, forcing a player to find the gaps in their attack patterns to generate the energy needed to stagger and melt them.

And that feeling was further reinforced when I unlocked the crunchy heavy attack, which provided a short range option to spend ‘ammo’ on. But even with that, it didn’t actually take all that long for Gestalt’s combat to feel as though it had plateaued for me.

The biggest factor simply boiled down to how its fights pan out, because, sure, there may be a decent array of enemies to fight- but a lot of those normal enemy encounters boil down to them spamming one of two attacks, generally only leaving enough time to roll through, take a slice, and back off. And I do mean needing to back off, because enemies do not have any form of hit stun, disincentivizing attempts at trying to do more elaborate combo-chains, if you don’t want to trade hits. (And remember that whole- ‘Estus Flask’ thing?).

No small wonder, then, that I began to cheese the encounters as best as I could. Such as sitting on a platform below an enemy, and tickling their feet with standing or jumping slices until they died, or smacking one through a wall.

Still, what’s weird about all this, is that it runs afoul of another of Gestalt’s systems- specifically, Aletheia’s leveling tree. While the majority of it is composed of stat nodes that boost her health, or damage- there’s also a number of skill nodes, ranging from passive extensions to light combo, or ammo capacity, to more active options- like new heavy attacks. Which sounds like it’d be neat, but- well, I never found a point where attacking out of a backstep was more efficient than rolling behind an enemy. It certainly didn’t leave me as vulnerable.

And this is only compounded in the case of the alternate heavy attacks, because while they’re pretty- they also tend to be situational, to the point that I never really found myself leaning on any of them organically. Their case also wasn’t helped, by the skill nodes which further ramped the power and utility of the safer gun options. If you cap out the skill tree, they are powerful to an unhinged degree- and well, Gestalt makes it easy, since even after maxing out the tree & emptying the skill point shop, I had leftovers.. (But then, it is kind enough to grant them for leveling, completing quests, and for certain collectibles).

Not that this enables you to break the game early on, since Alethia’s leveling tree is gated, with portions of it only unlocking once she’s acquired the relevant progression ability. Also, this weird bit of generosity isn’t just limited to your skill points- since it also provides you a few backup materials to improve your healing item. …and by a few, I mean- there came a point where I was hoping to see something else would pop out of a chest. Seriously, even with potion upgrades costing more with each new improvement, I had enough to boost it again, and still have change left over. Which is sort of busted, because the boosts to healing efficiency you unlock in the skill tree are additive, making each one practically a full heal by the end of the game.

No, what I was hoping for was more accessories, because- well. Accessories are perhaps the only real difference most players will see in their characters’ end game builds- being a set of up to 4 items you can equip to our stalwart Soldner. And they are certainly useful, being able to reduce damage you take by a percent, or boosting your damage.. Or- um. Yeah. No, the vast majority of them really do boil down to being stat sticks that you slot in. That’s not to say there aren’t a couple novel ones in there, like one that makes potions faster to use,, but- it’s mostly a matter of crunchy numbers. – Not everyone’s cup of tea- but, I enjoyed building a semi efficient Crit Build. And it’s not like you’re disincentivized for messing around, given there isn’t a death penalty. (Yet another merciful mechanic, just Like Gestalt choosing to eschew pits as a source of instant death. Hence why I finished the game with only 4 fatalities by the tail end.)

Anyways, that’s gameplay- so, here we are. The aesthetics. The thing that caught my intention in the first place, because- yeah. Gestalt is a great looking game from start to finish. Whether it’s the enemy, the world, or the protagonist- everything looks -great-. I mean, yes, the maps themselves can be a little bit hazy at times- but, frankly, this is offset by the fact that you can put down relatively precise markers for points of interest to explore later.

Really, the only lingering flaw that stuck out in my mind by the game’s end, is the way that the dialogue portraits can sometimes clash with a scene that’s playing out. Because each character only has 1. Still, what we’re given instead is a world where the actual characters are animated during the scenes you’re seeing- so, I think it’s a worthwhile trade, however distracting it may be. Oh, and audio wise? The music slaps. It does such a great job of breathing a bit more life into the world, and building its ambience.

But, it doesn’t change my final thoughts on Steam & Cinder. And what those thoughts are, is that Gestalt is ultimately in a bit of an odd place. It’s a metroidvania that doesn’t really provide all that much on the exploration angle of things, an action platformer that can’t help but constantly interrupt its own action with multiple cutscenes, and a narrative experience that kneecaps its finale, while offering an empty mystery to mull over.

That’s not to say I particularly dislike any of these elements as a whole, but they’re all a bit off the mark. Working at odds with each other, rather than synergistically. Which is a shame, because I came into this title -wanting- to like it more than I do. But when I think about the 9 and a half hours I spent fiddling through it- it’s not exactly the sort of thing I’m excited to talk about. 

At the end of the day, I think Gestalt is an adequate experience- but, It’s not something I’d find myself immediately recommending to someone in search of a Metroidvania, Or an action platformer, or even a narrative oriented game – unless I couldn’t think of anything else off hand – or they absolutely needed a post apocalyptic steampunk aesthetic.. So, yeah, in my book, Gestalt: Steam & Cinder is a beautiful, yet bizarrely fumbled experience.

Also, it sorta pained me to realize that the bulk of Gestalts’ side quests are literally MMO-tier Filler goals. I.E. kill 5 or 10 of a given trash mob, or farm drops from a given biome. Woo.
P.S. if anyone has considered commenting on how Corgi accessory would push my crit past 100%. I know. But It also enforces god mode. So, nah.

Anywho, Thanks for tuning in. If you have something ta’ say, leave a comment. I’ll catch you on the next episode of Crit Hit. Take Care till then, Folks.

The post CRIT HIT VIDEO – Gestalt: Steam & Cinder appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

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.

The post Mars 2120 Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH Simply chilling in high places and taking in the view of the world.

LOW The ending, which is poorly designed and written, and riddled with bugs.

WTF Oh, so that’s not a frog statue.

The planet Cigalo is dying. Its ecosystem has been shattered, its swamps drained, and its surface strip-mined in order to build a spaceborne array of solar panels that will eventually block out its sun. An environmental catastrophe interrupted the project and forced the exploiters to depart, leaving behind abandoned facilities and mountains of scrap.

As Caravan SandWitch begins, players step into the role of a teenage pilot trainee and Cigalo native named Sauge. She’s just received a distress signal from her sister, who was assumed dead after disappearing on on this half-ruined planet six years ago. Although that premise sounds grim, Caravan SandWitch itself is anything but. The desiccated world of Cigalo is rendered in attractive, saturated, cel-shaded graphics. There’s no combat whatsoever, and most of its play loops are built around exploring, collecting items, and driving folks around in a big, bright yellow van.

Sauge progresses the story mostly by reaching new sites in the world. Initially this is gated by a need to disable “jammers” that block communications and blot out the map, but as the plot unspools, it becomes necessary to reach specific locations to empower transmitters and link disparate decrepit industrial locations through a kind of teleportation network.

As is standard for third-person open-world games, these tasks are presented with a minimum of time pressure. A few character-related quests get locked out when Sauge gets a new tool, but more time is always available to finish these before moving on. The passage of days is noted, but nothing moves forward until Sauge collects enough scrap parts to build the next sensor or grapple gun and the player chooses to advance to the next chunk of the adventure.

Although driving the van is generally smooth, one could complain a bit about the platforming. Sauge will frequently clip through a ledge while mantling, particularly if the shape is odd. On tight ledges, Sauge will sometimes rotate in a random direction while jumping, though they will still grab and mantle to the next ledge correctly. Even when the animations got dodgy, the result was generally what I intended, and the small number of unexpected failures didn’t result in any permanent harm since Caravan SandWitch has no fall damage.

The total harmlessness of falling even from enormous heights might support a chill experience, but it also plays a part in rendering events curiously inert. It’s fine for a story not to have combat, but Caravan SandWitch feels like it goes beyond this to evict any kind of conflict entirely. Despite the desperation of the scenario players are presented with on Cigalo, Sauge gets to drift through it without truly confronting the planet’s exploiters, the elements, or even her parents.

For all her ominous looming, the eponymous Sand Witch does almost nothing directly injurious to any of the characters. The planet’s native sentient species, who suffered cultural and physical genocide, hold no apparent animosity towards the lingering humans on the planet. Only one character evinces even the slightest negativity towards Sauge and he’s quickly won over. Caravan SandWitch even shies away from confronting the damage the loss of Sauge’s sister’s caused the family.

The poorly-translated dialogue contributes to this problem. Almost every line in Caravan SandWitch is intelligible, but they’re often abrupt and unmusical, as if important nuances from the original French were elided by the translation. The conversations are functional, but any emotion comes across as perfunctory and shallow. It’s particularly bad towards the end of the campaign as the subpar dialogue interfered with the intelligibility of the action, sapping what little power there was in SandWitch’s contrived, half-baked endgame choice.

Despite its numerous charms, Caravan SandWitch just didn’t sit right with me. There is perhaps something to be said for a chill attitude in the midst of apocalypse, but this experience gets there by avoiding all of its tragedies, save one. The looming death of this world and seeming indifference from everyone inhabiting it left me too uneasy to fully accept the atmosphere Caravan SandWitch seemed to be after. While Cigalo was beautiful to see and relaxing to visit, even as the planet crept ever closer to collapse, I kept wishing that someone would rage against the dying of its light.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed by Studio Plane Toast and published by Dear Villagers. It is currently available on PC, PS5 and Switch. This copy of the game was obtained via retail purchase and reviewed on a home-built Windows X PC equipped with a AMD Ryzen 2700X processor, an ASRock X470 motherboard, 32 GB RAM, and a single GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card. 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 Language and Violent References. This is a terrible classification. The mentioned violence is no worse than your typical 6PM newscast and I can’t recall Sauge ever going harder than “drat”. My main reservation is that in one of its endings a character commits suicide by choosing to remain behind (offscreen) in an exploding building. Even with that, I would not put this above E10. The world’s most tedious and unlikable people (perhaps the ESRB raters are among them) will also be annoyed that Sauge has two dads and many individuals are referred to with they/them pronouns.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game is fully accessible. All dialogue is in text, but text cannot be resized or modified. There are no essential sound cues in gameplay.

Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls on PC. MK controls are as shown in the attached images. Controller defaults to X for interaction, Y for exiting / returning to van, A for jumping or acceleration boost (in van), B for exiting dialogues. Left and right sticks default to move and look, respectively, left and right triggers default to decelerate (in the van) and accelerate (on foot and in the van).

The post Caravan SandWitch Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH Engaging enemy design. Great platforming mechanics.

LOW One of the cooler combat features is hard to pull off on a controller.

WTF A boss called “Grief” is too real for a game about dead cats.

Crypt Custodian is solo developer Kyle Thompson’s third game released in four years. While he humbly admitted in a Reddit thread on how poetic it’s been to stick to such a schedule, it’s a doubly impressive feat considering that these frequent releases haven’t shown any drop in quality. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Following in the footsteps of his previous titles Islets and Sheepo, Crypt Custodian has the level of polish, completeness, and whimsy of nearly any metroidvania released by a major studio in quite some time.

Crypt Custodian opens with Pluto, an animated cat who’s recently passed away. Thanks to the frog boss of the afterlife preventing him from gaining access to cat heaven (he was judged a bad kitty) Pluto is sentenced to be a janitor, tasked with cleaning up any and all messes that the residents of the afterlife leave behind.

Although not shown from the typical 2D side-on camera angle, Thompson’s top-down title is a metroidvania by any other name. There’s interconnection, backtracking, and item discovery, but Crypt Custodian offers those experiences between charming interactions with supporting characters. When not chatting with acquaintances, Crypt Custodian’s gameplay involves wandering the afterlife, tracking down other ghosts to meet, and cleaning up their messes. Pluto is armed with nothing but a broom that he uses to sweep his enemies away.

Crypt Custodian‘s world isn’t the typical metroidvania affair, either. It tasks the player with navigating through regions of the afterlife held together by… nothing in particular. Floating islands and drifting bogs are everywhere on the map, seemingly represented as pieces of worlds littered with trash ready for cleanup. The crazier landscapes range from a bioluminescent fish graveyard to a broken-down amusement park emblazoned with devil imagery. There’s a sense of disconnection between them all yet it makes a haphazard sense and brings a kind of messiness that Pluto needs to sort through.

Pluto’s mechanics are similarly erratic — there are buttons to jump, sweep, and roll out of the way of dangerous enemies, yet each enemy never posed any particular threat at close range, instead being much deadlier with projectiles they emitted. Some took normal shots straight at Pluto, but others released devastating area-of-effect strikes, homing projectiles, or waves of damage that move around the screen in unpredictable ways.

This combat actually accentuates Crypt Custodian’s themes of disconnection by directly linking to how the encounters are designed. In certain rooms, Pluto needs to cross many platforms to get to an exit, and these exits are often blocked by hordes of enemies. However, Pluto can’t just run around at random. Every room needs to be planned out carefully with a series of dodges, attacks, and jumps to sweep all the enemies off their feet. Add in Crypt Custodian’s “curses” (extra challenges like enemies shooting more projectiles or limiting Pluto’s health to one hit) and these skirmishes are more like precise puzzles rather than rooms to brute force through.

Bosses follow this same pattern. I fought about twelve throughout Crypt Custodian and while I didn’t find any to be particularly difficult, each presented unique challenges via their attack patterns. Some of the first few were just massive versions of smaller enemies I’d already seen, later foes were more creative. Between a lunar-faced man, a rail-riding devil, and bosses that phase-shifted in and out of reality each time I dashed, I was pleasantly surprised and challenged with every new opponent, and ultimately I found these encounters to be the most engaging parts of Crypt Custodian.

The only downside to the combat is that outside of the broom and a special attack that charges, there isn’t much variety. Pluto does eventually get the ability to throw his broom around as a “broomerang”, but it’s a bit clunky to execute on a controller.

Beyond combat and bosses, Crypt Custodian is littered with extra platforming challenges that give Pluto upgrade points, new special attacks, and upgrades to his damage and attack speed. A few noteworthy challenges involved phase-shifting platforms, a series of switches that Pluto had to press in a certain order, and dodging waves of damaging poison attacks. Many of them are on timers, but thankfully they don’t punish the player if they don’t nail them on the first try.

Finally, tying together the world navigation and combat is a fairly charming story. While Pluto’s main objective is to clean up trash and defeat bosses, the real objective is to make friends along the way. Pluto will be tasked with countless side errands from finding wandering souls to looking for someone who will listen to them. In a world of convoluted lore-based metroidvanias, it’s nice see Crypt Custodian offer hilarious (yet engaging) dialogue based on the most mundane situations of life, like getting ready for a dinner party or babysitting.

You could make an argument for any one part of Crypt Custodian being the thing that holds it together — the writing, the tactful platforming, or even the somber-yet-delightful world design. But while no single part stands out, these disconnected parts make the whole world worth exploring, experiencing — and yes, cleaning — to its very end.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

— Jack Dunn

Disclosures: The game was developed by Kyle Thompson and is co-published by Kyle Thompson, Top Hat Studios, and H2 Interactive Co. It is currently available on PC, Switch, XBX/S/O and PS4/5. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on Switch. Approximately 10 hours was devoted to the game, and it was completed. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: This game has an ESRB rating of E for Comic Mischief and Mild Fantasy Violence. All of the violence in is in fighting the various enemies and bosses with a broom, and no blood or gore is depicted.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind options.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Gamers: The only dialogue and sounds are communicated through speech bubbles. The text for these speech bubbles cannot be resized. There are no relevant audio cues needed for gameplay. This game is fully accessible.

Remappable controls: Controls are fully remappable.

The post Crypt Custodian Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH Exquisitely designed and beautifully crafted. 

LOW Basic mobility is a little funky towards the beginning of the game. 

WTF Didn’t expect the baseball bat…

When Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus (Bō) first appeared on my radar, I rushed to request it. With my personal interest in Japanese folklore and visual art I was keen to jump right in, and I must say that I was not disappointed. 

Bō is an adventure that draws from Japanese folklore and legend. Players must navigate Bō — an adorable lotus-shaped creature called a Tentaihana — through different worlds, meeting and helping other spirits and creatures along the way. 

Bō is visually captivating, and exploring the worlds that Bō encounters is a treat. Bō’s landscape contains two and three dimensional elements, which Humble Games describes as 2.5D.

When playing, I felt as if I were gliding, jumping, and running through a painting. Every location is more beautiful than the last, but I was particularly enamored with the creepy, bruise-hued Kitsune Burrows. They provided a satisfying change in scenery in an otherwise pastel colored environment, and I found myself lingering there a bit longer than necessary just to look around. The crystalline Ice Caverns are also a favorite of mine, though the icicles are a bit tricky to maneuver. Everything looks so lush, and the accompanying musical score makes it feel all the more immersive.  

While exploring, players can equip Omamori, little tabs that help Bō in a myriad of ways, and each tab triggers an effect that becomes increasingly more complex as players collect more of them. Because Bō is very combat focused, I found the health centered Omamori tabs to be the most helpful. I almost always had Vitality equipped, which heals Bō’s health based on the amount of enemies they defeat.

Shrines serve as spaces where Bō can refill their teapot — an important tool that helps Bō regain their health. It can be used both in and out of battle, and can be accessed in a pinch (which players may find themselves in, more often than not). The teapot also helps Bō during combat and contains a heat gauge that works in tandem with Daruma dolls. Daruma dolls each have specific effects and attacks that can be used to help take down difficult enemies — as the heat gauge rises, the Daruma doll’s attacks increase in damage. I will almost always choose ranged battle if I can swing it, so the doll which shoots homing orbs at enemies near Bō became a necessary part of my arsenal.

Players can also update their weapons as they progress. Bō has an earring that doubles as a staff that players access early on, which eventually evolves into other items when needed. I was amused by the baseball bat, and while it did feel a bit out of place it made for a quirky game mechanic. While it’s mostly used as a weapon that allows players to parry and attack enemies, it’s also necessary when completing certain quests for the spirits Bō meets. In one such quest, Bō must collect Armapillos (armadillo like creatures) for a spirit named Shimeji, and the only possible way to corral them is to hit them with the bat. Hitting the Armapillos felt a little mean! (And punting them back and forth required more precision and dexterity than I thought necessary…)

It’s a good thing that Bō gives the player these options, as it’s actually quite challenging to play! While the side-scrolling adventure genre is an undeniable part of Bō’s DNA, the amount of items, buffs, and weapons players can access make it so that Bō fits just as comfortably within the soulslike genre. Boss attack mechanics aren’t extremely complex, but can be quite difficult to dodge or counter, which can lead to silly mistakes. One awkward or poorly-timed jump and players might find themselves having to restart a tedious battle from the very beginning. 

The first major boss battle, which takes place in the Uzumaki cave, was a bit of a pain for me. A lot of this had to do with the basic mobility control system, which ended up being my biggest gripe with Bō.

While the mechanics are simple in theory, players are often expected to push many buttons at once to perform a mechanic as straightforward as jumping. Jumping is a necessary part of gameplay and some of the Daruma dolls require that Bō be airborne to be effective in battle, so struggling to perform these actions might be a bit frustrating for some. I initially had the most trouble with a sequence of lanterns that Bō must hit in order to ascend towards their next location, but they must be hit perfectly. Otherwise, Bō will fall and the sequence must be started over. I quickly learned that patience was perhaps the most necessary tool for success in Bō, which is kind of lovely.

As Bō progresses their actions and attacks become a bit more effective, and when that initial roughness is left behind, the worlds that players encounter afterwards are so beautiful that any early game hiccups are forgotten. Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus is exceptional. With its visually stunning worlds and exciting battles, Bō has all the elements of an indie action classic. 

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed by Squid Shock Studios and published by Humble Games. It is currently available on PS5, Switch, PC, XBO/S/X, and iOS. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher, and reviewed on PS5. Approximately 7 hours were devoted to the game, and it was not completed. There is no multiplayer mode. 

Parents: This game is rated E by the ESRB and contains Alcohol and Tobacco references, Mild Fantasy Violence, and Mild Language. There is no blood, and no gratuitous battle sequences. Gameplay mechanics may be a bit complex for really young players, but not completely inaccessible. 

Colorblind Modes: This game does not have colorblind modes, but it does have a high contrast filter. 

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: The game offers subtitles. Subtitles cannot be resized. I was pleased to see that there are many audio accessibility options. Players with dyslexia can change subtitle and game font, game speed can be modified, action cue icons can be added, controller vibration can be modified, camera shake can be adjusted, and players have the option of making themselves invincible, or provide themselves with an infinite supply of mana. Therefore, the game is fully accessible. 

Remappable Controls: Yes, the game’s controls are remappable. 

The post Bō: Path Of The Teal Lotus Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH Full Swahli voiceovers.

LOW A break in rhythm after pausing the game.

WTF Again, everyone is speaking Swahili!

Africa is not a setting oft-used in the gaming industry, especially not in AA or AAA spaces, so to see a title that not only features the continent and its biomes, but its culture and language so prominently was a jarring, yet welcome experience! Tales Of Kenzera: Zau follows a young shaman named Zau attempting to bring his father back to life by making a deal with Kalunga, the God of Death – the irony is strong right from the jump in this one.

Before anything else, take a moment and try to recall the last time an Afro-centric title such as this one came out. What about the last time we saw a game fully voiced with an African language from start to finish? You can’t, and neither can I! That alone counts hugely in ToKZ’s favor.

In terms of narrative, themes of grief have been explored ad-nauseam in gaming, but ToKZ adds a few African twists that are true to form in terms of how grief is viewed and enacted — ancestral veneration for example, is a central focus. While the West and Japan tend to mourn the passing of loved ones, African cultures see grief as a way to maintain connection and an honoring those who have passed. Zau unfortunately took the “maintaining connection” bit a little too literally, though…

Symbioses with nature and spirituality is another heavy theme explored in ToKZ, and it’s done with care, as can be seen with the first boss. Where it would be unsurprising to see developers just go with a generic elemental wind theme, (without spoilers) instead they went for a more maternal, human angle which makes the story more believable, and the tragic ending to this mini-arc only adds authenticity to the hard task that a Shaman might face.

Mechanically, Tales Of Kenzera: Zau is a 2D metroidvania side-scroller. Traversal is exactly what one has come to expect from the genre in recent years, with lots of precise double jumping and dashing required to progress past challenging platform arrays. In fact, the traversal is so pleasantly precise that it leads to a fluid gameplay loop where the only failures come from the player’s own mistakes. One of my favorite was a challenging puzzle that included the freezing of water – Zau had to run on it while also timing the melting point to allow him to dash to the next section before being washed away by a strong current.

Besides challenging platforming, there’s also a healthy dose of combat that offers two aspects, abilities based on the Sun and the Moon.

The Moon is comprised largely of ranged attacks, and the Sun focuses on close quarters combat and melee. Enemies are weak to one or the other, but never both, forcing the player to switch rapidly back and forth between aspects. These fights can sometimes be considered puzzles, as the player has to keep track of not just one opponent at a time, but often several enemies at once who are not all weak to the same aspect simultaneously. In later levels, some enemies even have regenerating shields that allow them to fully absorb all damage if the player uses the wrong shaman power.

The combat skill tree is less expansive than many players might be accustomed to, but there is a such a thing as too much choice when it comes to levelling up abilities in modern gaming, and ToKZ’s streamlined upgrades help to maintain focus and precision. Plus, it’s important to note that most of the powerful abilities are gained as the main story progresses – things like the aforementioned ability to freeze water, or being able to throw a powerful spiritual spear that does extra damage. Also on the plus side for me was a lack of collectibles. While the grind of collecting a thousand bits and bobs can be cathartic for some, skipping the traditional collect-a-thon here was quite welcome.

While most of what I’ve described combines to deliver an engaging experience, there are just a few minor issues. One is that there is a clear two-second delay between unpausing and the game registering the next few button presses. Thankfully it doesn’t last longer than that brief window, but it’s definitely there. Another minor gripe is the unimaginative music chosen. There’s nothing wrong with traditional African music, but the initial setting (named Amani) left me longing for a glimpse into the modern African Metropolis display that players are treated to at the very beginning. A few futuristic or contemporary tracks would have been a nice consolation instead, and one or two SA house tracks would have also been welcome.

The campaign is special not in how it ends, but how it unfolds and the brave leaps it’s willing to make in order to explore the well-known “five stages of grief.” My favorite was denial, as Zau was quick to guide a grieving daughter out of her despair, but fails to escape its clutches himself when one of his best friends is clearly beyond saving — he even goes as far as lashing out at a companion when he’s preoccupied with rescuing his father from death.

I’d be hard-pressed to choose between story or the gameplay loop in terms of which one did most of the heavy lifting, but if had to choose, I think gameplay would win out. I usually don’t play sides-crollers for more than 30 minutes at a time, but ToKZ held me and made me put other games on the back burner. The platforming is precise, the puzzles and side activities are engaging and cleverly placed, and I didn’t feel like I was completing tasks, so much as I was exploring a rich world.

Tales Of Kenzera: Zau is a great expression of the boundless naivete, bravery and optimism afforded to the youngest of humans that also showcases cultures and settings that are rarely seen in videogames, but does so while delving into the stages of grief with reckless abandon and a positive outlook in an industry hell-bent on aggrandizing endless misery. As such, Zau is a near-masterpiece that embodies the phrase “breath of fresh air” in every sense.

Rating: 9 out of 10

— Patricio do Rosario

Disclosures: This game is published by Electronic Arts and developed by Surgent Studios. It is available on XBO/X/S, PS5, Switch and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PS5. Approximately 16 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was not completed.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated E. There are depictions of Fantasy
Violence. The official description reads: This is an adventure platformer in which players assume the role of a shaman dealing with the grief of his father’s death. From a side-scrolling perspective, players navigate mazes of levels, solve puzzles, and battle fantastical enemies (e.g., corrupted spirits, Adze) in melee-style combat. Players use spears and cosmic powers from the Sun and Moon to attack enemies. Battles are highlighted by colorful light effects, impact sounds, and dwindling health bars. Boss battles contain more protracted combat.

Colorblind Modes: Colorblind modes are not available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: Tales Of Kenzera: Zau offers no options for audio accessibility other than subtitles, but there are no necessary audio cues and the game is playable without sound. This game is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: All controls are fully remappable.

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