- Genre: Action/Adventure, Metroidvania
- Platform: PC
- Also Available On: PS5, Xbox Series, Switch, Switch 2
Frankly I just needed a break from Pokopia and the new Warcraft expansion and this one was the winner. I’d seen it popping up a lot on social media as something that may be a hidden game of the year with its console releases, so it seemed like I shoudl at least give it a shot. Social media was absolutely right here.
I know that the genres up there and the screenshot don’t make any sense together. Just go with it. This is Link to the Past if Zelda was a twin stick shooter. It jumps back and forth between overworld and dungeon segments like that. Where it gets the Metroidvania aspect is that the upgrades are generally more tuned toward things that aid in traversal that allow you to go back through areas you’ve visited prior for more content in a way that feels more involved than was typical of 2D Zelda.
As an example, early on it becomes pretty obvious that you’re limited by things like gaps and water, both of which are blockers for the player traversal. The first few dungeons give you upgrades straight in this progression. First you get a basic boost to move faster, which you can use to clear gaps with ramps. You then earn a jumpy/teleporty/dodgy maneuver to clear gaps on your own. You then get an upgrade to allow you to hover on water. These are all things that are earned by completing dungeons, but unlike Zelda these aren’t things that you use to complete a dungeon. Frankly, the bosses are all generally able to be defeated without them – although dodging through bullets or using speed boost to get to weak points quicker is certainly recommended. However, the upgrades have their biggest impact in the overworld. Even the biggest direct offense upgrade – a charge-based overpowered set of bullets – is used more to break down walls than really push combat. It’s that use of upgrades as overworld capabilities that makes this feel more directly Metroid than I was expecting.
But none of that would matter if the combat wasn’t fun and that does keeps me drawn in. The combat is constantly fun to engage with. Overworld combat is quick and aggressive with enemies coming from all over as you’re running through the world between dungeons and small little reward areas. Stuff will pop in and come in from off screen, making you stay on your toes. Dungeons have much more controlled room-based segments where waves with specific patterns come in. Some force you to move around in ways to avoid bullet waves, some to avoid enemies charging you, some to force you to kill things fast or be overwhelmed. Bosses then lean full in to the bullet hell where it often becomes less important to quickly kill the boss, and more important to avoid damage as first priority. I could disconnect the Zelda/Metroidvania metagame aspects and this game would still be good and still be engaging to run through as just a straight boss sequence (…which they let you do in the post game!).
However, it all felt fair. I usually enjoy bullet hell style games in pretty small bursts because they are usually exhausting. I finished this one in two seatings. I died a few times here and there, but checkpoints were common so I wasn’t necessarily losing a bunch of progress. Health during fights helps give some padding when I simply couldn’t avoid everything, and health drops were common enough (and could be upgraded to be more common!) to allow dungeon wave fights to feel pretty isolated from each other in a way that allowed them to individually be harder, knowing I would come out the other side with enough drops to be near full again. This is perhaps where the game felt the most Zelda to me in a way where difficulty came out of individual challenges, and not in stringing together a long sequence of simply avoiding damage.
I suppose pleasant surprise is the best way to describe this for me, but frankly it was the breath of fresh air I needed. Pokopia is a ton of fun, but it’s specific and detailed and slow in a way that I kind of jump in and out of it. World of Warcraft is fresh from a new expansion pack but is a game I’ve been playing for near 20 years and something I need to disengage from after a couple hours of play. This fit right in the gap for me. It was fast and exciting and interesting and fair and low friction while still being challenging. It was the break I needed.