It's been a while since I enjoyed a game this much. But it's not for everyone. I enjoy the game's atmosphere, scope, and 90s weirdness. But it is very micro-heavy and the AI is not particularly good. If you're someone who can look past a bit of jank to appreciate excellent atmosphere, this game might be for you. If the idea of playing as the civilization that came before the events in the Book of the New Sun then this is for you. If you're after perfect gameplay design then you might not love this.
Here is the best description of just how much this game captivated me. I played a demo of it when I was young and from that moment I saved my pocket money until I could afford it. This was the longest I ever saved up for anything as a kid and even with a contribution towards it because of a birthday, it still took several months. When I finally got home with the box I started up the game and found out that there was a bug with my graphics card that caused the game to crash when I tried to save. This was before I had access to the internet so I never found a fix. I loved the game so much that I finished it despite not being able to save. There was no auto-save either so dying meant starting over from the beginning. Hours of gameplay could be lost in an instant because of a trap, a failed jump or an enemy that proved too much of a challenge. Now I got to play this masterpiece again. To enjoy the dark and lonely atmosphere. Learn and master the combat. Appreciate the luxury of being able to save.
If you enjoyed Slain: Back from Hell you will love this. Combat is better, there are power ups and pick ups, the pacing and tempo is better. I even prefer the music and the setting (which I wasn't expecting going into the game). Get this game if you want to cause metal havoc.
I like a good metroidvania game as much as the next old fool with inch-thick nostalgia glasses but I completely fail to see the appeal of this game. Pros: - nice dark atmosphere - kind of neat graphics - crisp controls Cons: - it's not a lot of fun
