Iconoclasts

An experience that at times is reminiscent of Cave Story's blend of smooth action game-play and compelling interesting story, Iconoclasts can at times stumble with at times confusing direction and some annoying backtracking. But these are minor issues that don't mar the rest of the game and overall I heavily recommend the game to anyone looking for a fun action metroidvania-light with a nice story and great characters.

Can't believe the high rating that this game got. The story is boring, weird, depressive and makes no sense. Completing the game felt like a chore rather than being enjoyable. Also, the translation of the game is pretty average which doesn't help with the story. Add to this very long uninteresting dialogs. About that, can't believe the number of peoples which think that those dialogs are '"deep". On the positive side, all the basic mechanics of the game (the wrench, the teleporter gun, etc.) are well thought out and implemented. Control is tight and responsive. Graphics won't won an oscar but they are neat and colorful. If you are a huge fan of Metroidvania games like me, you may take a chance with that game, but in my opinion you will be disappointed. The fun never really kicks in.

You can already tell that people generally like this game and for a good reason: it's pretty (I wonder if you could possibly be tired enough of pixel art to hate it, but I doubt it... and if so, just wait till it passes and them play it), music and sound are pretty good (I didn't actually like the music at first, but it sort of grows on you and even gets better later on)... yeah, the story with the visuals really reminds me of Final Fantasy VII, it's definitely not a regular fairytale. It has lots of humor, but quite a few drastic twists too, quite a lot of them you really won't see coming even after being warned... Now, I can't really say much negative about the gameplay... it's not repetitive exactly, each stage is somewhat different and you'll probably be delighted by some unexpected gameplay design ideas, but it gets vary arcade at times... you'll have to "learn" bosses and quite a few stages too. The game is not especially supportive of improvisation. You rarely get any health between save points. Enemies sometimes drop something, but not nearly often enough in my experience, and it quite often just get stuck somewhere where you can't reach it... I made it through most of the game on harder difficulty, but since CIty One I just really wanted it to end. Made it through every boss fight I came across, but the last challenge on way to the final boss has just too many damage-by-touch, and I grew to despise them with all my hearth and mind... yeah, it means I technically suck at this game, and my controller is probably not the best one for this, it's a real dilemma between D-pad and the left analog stick (the stick is too slow and the D-pad inaccurate)... Long story short: wonderful game... and really serious harder mode. This is probably the first game I've had to quit and watch the rest on YouTube just for the sheer difficulty in final stages (sure, could have started over on easier mode, but I really don't want to touch this again for at least a few months)...

This game is INCREDIBLE!! I typically play metroidvanias more so for the gameplay than the story, but babyyyy this game's story flipped that. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, there was SO much curiosity. I won't spoil any major plot pieces, but I thought the commentary around authoritarianism, personal freedom, and environmentalism was VERY dope. I'm usually a characters > setting type of gamer, but I was so engrossed in the geopolitical landscape of this game, which was a nice shift. Speaking of the characters, they were FAN. TASTIC. Robin is, in essence, a silent protagonist, but she still very much has a personality and adds SO much to the narrative. I liked Robin and Mina's budding friendship and the growth of both Mina and Robin's brother, Elro. I also liked that the cast had friction. I love a "best friend squad" as much as the next person, but it was nice having a group that had the heartwarming moments AND moments of sincere conflict and disagreement. But it's not to say the gameplay wasn't also stellar. Smooth controls, gorgeous environments, I felt so acrobatic and powerful playing as Robin and her friends. The game was also SO dynamic--sometimes it felt like a boss rush. There were so many moments where you were thrusted into boss fights and each one was truly unique. On top of that, sometimes you had to practice stealth or play mini-games to get through areas and I just loved how the game never felt stale. It was always introducing new scenarios, new bosses, and you never quite knew what you were going to get--in the best way! Lastly, kinda random, but I also liked that there was no "level-up" mechanic. Anyways, this game has an incredible story, cast, and gameplay mechanics. If you're a fan of Metroidvanias or political intrigue, you definitely want to give this one a try!!

This game is equal parts Metroidvania and equal parts boss-rush. Towards the end, you get about 1 boss fight every 10 minutes. My biggest complaint of the game is the dialogue dumps. Every 15-30 minutes you'll be subject to a 10-15 minute dialogue dump. Instead of sporadically giving information throughout, they would just suddenly hit you with a ton of dialogue, much of which you aren't even in. Overall, a strong B+ game with too many boss fights and not enough Metroidvania.