Slain: Back From Hell Deluxe Edition Upgrade

I would like to review this game again, beacause it deserves it! The first release of Slain! was disapointing. I was quite happy when it was released and also in my first (short) review. Maybe I was overwhelmed by the great graphics and music. But the controls and combatsystem maked me to put the game back on the shelf. I followed everything about this game on the Steam forum and was very happy when I read the game gets an update and all the flaws will be fixed. All the news I read and sceeenshots and movies about the upcoming update/upgrade maked me so exciting. I just could not wait anymore. And there.. finally v2.0 was finished. On Steam it was avialable immidiatly. I didn't want to wait for the GOG version so I bought it.... holy crap!!!!! My first thought; THIS IS FANTASTIC!!!! The worked so hard to make this game great, and you will see that. They put more stuff in it then the origanal release. So if you already finnished the first (fixed) version, then it's not waste of time to finnish it again. More enemies, a whole new level, 3 new bosses (old bosses are harder to defeat now), damn the whole game is thougher now, a real challenge. I think it deserves the title "MUST HAVE". Thnx developers! And have fun guys!

[Yes, a shame you cannot even correct typos once the review is published: GOG, let's edit them!] So, I take the chance offered by this Deluxe Edition Upgrade to correct typos in my former review and praise again this game. Do you like 2D hand drawn graphics? Do you like heavy metal music album covers, their aesthetics and their epic -and just a bit cheesy- take on Norse mythology and chivalric literature, mixed with modern dark fantasy? Do you mind a little humour in it? Have you just answered "no" to all questions? Well, you should try Slain all the same, because it is a challenging and rewarding game. Take "Castlevania: Simphony of the Night" beautiful graphics and pump it up to the max, then apply it to a mostly linear level structure. Better yet, for those who remember it, take Psygnosis' "Shadow ot the Beast" approach to platform/action adventure and "Oh my!" visuals: Slain is indeed a worthy successor. Difficult, at times very difficult, some passages requiring many tries and experimenting with your three different weapons/blades before finding the right approach; but, except for some very long areas and a multiboss without intermediate check points, Slain is usually quite balanced and not as infuriatingly difficult-for-the-sake-of-being-difficult-then-tell-users-it's-their-fault, as so many recent platformers tend to be (you know, the ones where developers and fans say "git gud" and try to simply get away with that phrase). Then again, the reward is high: you will want to overcome any difficulties just to see some more of that beautiful, multi-layered art, parallax-scrolling by before your astonished eyes. Notice I did not praise the metal music score: I enjoyed it for the first 30 seconds of every level, then it sadly becomes too repetitive and generic sounding. Let's be clear here: it is surely appropriate for the mood and for the whole Slain vibe, but none of the tracks really sticks to mind in the continually looping form that is offered during the game. When listened on purpose and in higher quality FLAC format, though, you can appreciate more nuances and some of the tracks gain back in personality.

I gotta say this is the most fun I've had in a while. It's hard as heck but not frustrating. The controls are dead on using a game pad, I haven't needed to try the mouse/keyboard combo. The graphics really work for this game, especially the transparency effects. Dark atmosphere and killer soundtrack. The achievements even gave me a chuckle. I hadn't played the original release so this version is all I have to reference. I really can't say enough good things about this game.