blue14

Man I was so hyped for this game at first. The MUSIC, art style, setting it has everything going for it. You can tell the creators really put a lot into this game over the years. The lack of voice over in the dialog was something I could easily overlook as the game presents very well. Everything was smooth sailing except for a few hard timed puzzles. Even up through the first two or three bosses I was fine despite some rather annoying fight-extending mechanics like random teleporting around the screen. That was until I cam across Magus. Needless to say this game does not hold your hand past the first boss. Be prepared to try each boss 20-40 times and this is on normal. This is clearly not a casual game. By this time the controls beginning to show their true colors as the all-important dodge mechanic is used by pressing down+left/right. This wasn't a problem if you only need to time one of these maneuvers however stringing them together especially in different directions was an effort in futility. Sometimes it works and sometimes your character will sit there and take the full brunt of an enemy attack despite you "dodging". Oh, and sometimes you will randomly "dodge" straight down while trying to platform left or right resulting in having to redo your previous five minutes of platforming. This could have been a result of the controller I was using having a joystick however a keyboard didn't seem to do much better. Magic is also tied to a similar system. RT+down/left/right/up will cast a variety of customization spells after a couple of attempt of course. Sticky controls coupled with the fact that anything a boss attack, a trash mob, a spawned flying sword (or four as Magus is fond of) will knock you back and off platforms makes parts of the game keyboard-breakingly frustrating. Ledge grabbing, long a staple of platforming games, seems random. Sometimes you will grab a ledge (only to be knocked off by a sword/mob/dodge) and sometimes your character will just face hump the wall for several jumps. Nothing I have played recently has made my blood boil like having to pray to the platforming gods that I will grab a ledge in a boss battle, have my wish be granted, only to be chain knocked off by a boss attack, a sword, a lightning attack, and have to start all over again with half health. Do you like timed puzzles? Great! This game has them in spades. And I'm not talking about the kind with a second or two of leeway for you to complete. I'm talking the kind that have 9 frame perfect jumps complete with dodging for extra speed and unreliable magic abilities. And I'm not even talking about the end of the game. This was happening from the second boss onward. Want that upgraded armor? You had better be prepared to do the same jumping puzzle 10, 20, 50 times until you can input the correct set of commands in frame perfect timing. My hat is off to the artist and composer for this game. Hell even the overall design is pretty interesting and reminds me a lot of Dust. That being said, some sticky controls, frustrating mechanics, and some huge difficulty spikes drag this game down hard. I'm all for challenging games however challenging games need to have airtight controls and, in the case of a plat former, perfect jump physics to be successful. This game has neither. It's a shame too the game had so much promise.