Way of the Red

In spite of being somewhat marred by inconsistent hit-detection, finicky edges, attack cancels, state-changes and animation for either player character and monsters - resulting in frequent and extremely punishing unrecoverable mistakes from pixel-wide miscalculations. Where in the end the game sometimes only lets you succeed by tiring out the game's attempts to murder you, rather than by careful use of the dodging, flying and calculated attack mechanics. In spite of that, Way of Red has a very good approach to a puzzle-like level-design, in the sense that you navigate freely between battles and climbing as you wish. Many of the most difficult fights are for example set up so they are probably not possible to win without taking damage - but you could dodge the attacks, jump past and proceed through the level unscathed. Making the challenge often to choose when to attack, and when to dive, take cover, and simply move on. And this is what makes this game refreshing, in spite of it's torturous difficulty, That there's simply a flow to the game that, for all it's frequent stumbling, makes it both entertaining as well as thoughtful. Which, as it happens, also could be said about the game's narrative and writing. Score: Make more games, lone developer guy!

I feel a little conflicted writing this review; this game is a passion project by a single developer and like most people I love a good under dog story - but it's better to be completely honest in these situations. This is a very average game at best, with a lot of rough edges. -The default controls are strange, I was able to remap them in the options menu so not necessarily a problem right - well certain things can't be changed, such as pressing 'down' to interact with characters and going through doors. (there's no tutorial to speak of so I had to mash buttons to find that out) -The main character floats a little bit making some platforms tricky to jump on. -The level design is very 'meh', both visually and in terms of how things are placed in the scene. -The enemies are quite fun to kill in fairness and have different attack patterns that reward good timing. But their visual designs are kind of boring and their placement in the level and how they spawn is also a little weird at times. This is a game that does have some charm to it and it's not terrible by any stretch. But at the same time it's very obvious that this is the work of a single person. A few extra hands or months in development would have done it a world of good. I'm going to give it 3 star instead of 2, because it's so cheap, I had roughly 2 hours of play time and I still feel I had good value for money. This might be worth checking out in a sale if you REALLY love action platformers but be wary of it's lack of polish.

I enjoyed this game thoroughly. I can't speak for the other reviews, I had no problem with controls and there was nothing really super glitchy. what we have here is a game designed to play like a NES era platformer. The influence of Cave Story on this game did not go unnoticed. The engine physics is rather fluid, but I actually like that, the action plays as a cross between Gunstar Heroes and Ninja Gaiden. The art design aesthetic and soundtrack are top notch. The game does leave you wanting more. I will easily play through again a couple times, unsure on multiple endings or secret endings. It's 4 bucks, there's a lot of bang for your buck in this game. Would easily spend on an expansion pack or buy designer's next game.

This is my second playthrough (the first one was when the game first came out) and I must say Way of the Red is a really enjoyable platformer, especially considering it was made by a single person, and it does provide a true ''Nes'' experience with some innovation. In particular, I enjoyed the fact the most of the level design (which is average, but fun enough) has been developed with verticality in mind (since you're a bird and all). So, nothing ground-breaking but certainly a good game right there.