Excellent movement metrovania.
LETS GO FURRY NATION
It's a pretty unique spin on the metroidvania genre.
Unfortunately, it's plagued by some of the worst boss fights I've had the misfortune of experiencing. The bird pope was especially bad, but the crab made me outright quit the game.
I don't care for the furry character designs; they could have been human and it wouldn't have changed the story. I didn't really care for the story either. It's gritty and gory, which I like, but there's no substance to it. Even if the ending is good, I'll never see it as the game never gave me a reason to stick around that for that long.
The music was nice, but there's very little variety. I spent so much time listening to the same "sad girl" tracks on repeat that at some point, I had to put on a podcast to replace the music to keep me from losing my mind.
I should have quit this game 2 hours in. I suffered through it for 10 hours. I wanted to finish it, but I'm done. The unskippable 9-minute cutscene of a boat slowly going from right to left was... yeah. I have no words. What were they thinking? This game is soft torture.
It also doesn't run at 60 fps on the Steam deck; it barely reaches 45.
Unfortunately, it's plagued by some of the worst boss fights I've had the misfortune of experiencing. The bird pope was especially bad, but the crab made me outright quit the game.
I don't care for the furry character designs; they could have been human and it wouldn't have changed the story. I didn't really care for the story either. It's gritty and gory, which I like, but there's no substance to it. Even if the ending is good, I'll never see it as the game never gave me a reason to stick around that for that long.
The music was nice, but there's very little variety. I spent so much time listening to the same "sad girl" tracks on repeat that at some point, I had to put on a podcast to replace the music to keep me from losing my mind.
I should have quit this game 2 hours in. I suffered through it for 10 hours. I wanted to finish it, but I'm done. The unskippable 9-minute cutscene of a boat slowly going from right to left was... yeah. I have no words. What were they thinking? This game is soft torture.
It also doesn't run at 60 fps on the Steam deck; it barely reaches 45.
There won't be any plot spoilers in this review but I will mention certain items necessary for progression and non-contextualized moments throughout the game. I have not finished the game yet and plan on doing so, but I'm close to the end.
Starting off with the positives: this game looks amazing. The art, the style, the animations, and the details; they're all very visually appealing. I enjoy the character designs quite a bit, they all complement the world they live in and the details in their animations make interacting with them feel very real.
The game's dialogue can be a little cringeworthy at times. There's definitely an overuse of cursing, but it's not enough to take away from it as an immersive and charming experience. The overall atmosphere of Laika is one that can keep you hooked for quite some time.
The music is good, and I enjoy the unique mechanic behind it playing in theory. In Laika, areas don't have their own themes as you'd expect in other Metroidvanias; instead, your soundtrack is what Laika listens to on her music player and you can expand what songs you hear by discovering cassettes throughout the world. This is a really cool idea in concept, but in execution, it leads to a lot of repetition of the same songs. Eventually I started to play the game without sound on because I got sick of hearing the "oooooh, ooooh, ooohoohoooh" beginning of one song and the rest just got stale. There's also another problem with the system that I'll address further on in the review.
Moving on, I didn't know what to expect when I first heard about this game. I never liked those old motorcycle flash games but I really enjoy Metroidvanias; so a crossover between those two stuck out to me as something I should try. This game, at its best, is so much fun, and some of the most rewarding and enjoyable combat I've experienced in a game of this kind. If you can really master the mechanics, then you're gonna roam the wastelands feeling like a total badass the entire way through. There's a lot of special effects and details that make shooting birds feel extremely cathartic. Shielding yourself from bullets with your bike, parrying bullets, the different types of weapons... there's a lot you can do here to kill enemies and it makes traversing the wasteland feel amazing. I think it's also cool that the game makes you do flips in order to reload your guns and your parry ability. The level design lends itself to those pretty well. However, when you aren't totally owning the game, that's when the drawbacks to the combat system start to drag the game down. You die in a single hit, which isn't a problem in and of itself; there's respawn points EVERYWHERE and the biggest punishment you'll receive is losing money that you have to reclaim from where you died ala Hollow Knight. You also die if you mess up a flip or a landing. This is intentional; respawning after death is addressed in-universe as Laika's family's superpower and you receive achievements for dying a bunch. You're going to die a LOT in Laika. However, enemies will also respawn upon death, and more begin to appear as you progress through the game. Some of these enemies are just so annoying to deal with. There's ones who shoot lock-on missiles that don't lose sight of you, so you need to take out the missile if you have one going after you; there's the ones with the gatling guns that you can't shoot from the front, but my least favorites are the ones who jump out of crates and shoot out like a million kunai in a huge circle around them. I hate those ones not JUST because you only have a small timeframe to shoot them, but because the game tricks you into thinking you can shoot them before their hitbox actually comes out, meaning if you're not paying attention, you're gonna waste a bullet. There's also a mechanic where you can keep shooting enemies after they're dead in order to build up a combo, as well as shoot their weapons to make them fire. All this ends up doing, though, is block your bullets from hitting your actual target. It can get extremely frustrating, especially if you're dealing with a large group of enemies at once. There are weapons you can unlock to help with situations like this, but the times where I feel like they'd do a better job than the revolver are few and far between. As a result, dying in these areas means you need to keep throwing yourself at these sections until you can kill every bird. Again, this isn't a problem in and of itself, but the game goes overboard in certain areas with just how many enemies there are. There's also some areas have paths that the game expects you to use to fight these enemies, so if you're not coming from one of those paths, you're kinda screwed. To move away from the negativity, though, situations like this are not even close to the entirety of Laika. For the most part, you're going to dispatch a few obviously set-up enemies in between checkpoints and feel cool as hell for killing them.
Now, the bosses in the game are about half good and half terrible. As in, the first three bosses I fought I really enjoyed, and the last two bosses were some of the worst designed fights I've ever had the displeasure of engaging in. A Hundred Hungry Beaks, A Long Lost Woodcrawler, and A Caterpillar Made Of Sadness were really engaging, fun, badass fights. I have nothing negative to say about them. They exemplify the game's mechanics and provide a challenge to the player with respect to where they're at in the game without leaning into the very easy trap of feeling unfair and overly punishing because Laika dies in one hit. A Gargantuan Swimcrab and Pope Melvia VIII, however, are absolute dumpster fires. Swimcrab involves climbing up a tower doing some platforming, then dodging the crab's bubbles before shooting the bird piloting it. This fight is horribly punishing. If you mess up the platforming, you must restart the whole fight. If you get hit by a pink bubble, you die and must restart the whole fight. If you get hit by a blue bubble, hope and pray to God that you're able to land yourself upright without hitting another bubble. Trying to situate yourself precisely between bubbles is not easy on the motorbike, and shooting the bubbles is risky because you have very limited room to reload your weapons. It's not a fun challenge, the fight is long and the fact it resets after every small mistake just killed so much of the goodwill I had towards the game up until them. It's the worst of Laika encapsulated into one fight. Pope Melvia VIII is a little easier and much less punishing, but still not fun, and has the same problem with spacing and dodging that Swimcrab has. Those two fights are a perfect display of the weaknesses in the game's mechanics and it's surprising to me that they both made it into the final product.
In regards to general exploration and movement, it's about what you'd expect from your average Metroidvania. It's pretty easy to fill out the map very early on since the NPC who sells maps is usually out in the open in the new areas. There's a couple teleportation stations around the map that you can use to make getting around faster, but they require a resource in order to use until you get a certain item. There were times I had no issues with exploration and there were times I found it annoying just how much I had to move through an area without transportation, but I've had experiences like that in Metroidvanias that I think are great if not flawed like Aria of Sorrow and Metroid Prime, so it's not a point against Laika. That's just par for the course for the genre. What isn't par for the course is the lack of movement upgrades. I'm close to the end of the game and the only upgrades I'm aware of are the shotgun, and then a dash which basically makes the shotgun obsolete. The dash is straightforward and feels fine, but the shotgun is just so finnicky to use. I like the idea of using different guns to move around but it just does not feel good to use the shotgun. The lack of movement upgrades also make the game feel stagnant, since you're moving through each area in the exact same way. The new movement options are reserved for extras and secrets or for areas that are explicitly designed around them.
Laika also has resource collection and crafting. This is just my opinion, but I've hated the crafting system in every single game I've played and the best ones are the ones that are as optional and ignorable as possible. While Laika certainly isn't the most egregious perpetrator of locking better weapons behind collecting resources (cough cough dawn of sorrow cough), it's not something I'm particularly fond of. You also need to find blueprints in order to unlock the option to even craft the other weapons, on top of needing to collect the resources themselves. There's also resources specifically for cooking, which gives you boosts for a limited time depending on the food you make. You can get more money for each enemy killed, a longer pull range so you can collect resources and your money sacks from further away, and more ammo space in your weapons. The thing I don't understand, however, is that having more than one parry is also something you can only have from one of these boosts. I don't understand the reasoning behind that, it seems like something you should also be able to upgrade. The parry is extremely useful as a tool in Laika's kit but it's just so silly that you have to make food in order to do it more than once before needing to reload.
The most disappointing part of Laika, though, are the quests. The grand majority of them are fetch quests. You talk to an NPC, they tell you that they want something, you go to an area to find it, then you bring it back to them. The worst part of THAT, is that for a decent chunk of them you literally just need to buy them from a gas station. That also goes for a lot of the more expensive resources, gifts for Puppy, and cassettes. It's so lame, and the rewards really aren't worth it either. You could get more than these quest rewards by just shooting a resource thing. I love doing side quests in games but these are just so disappointing, especially in a world as immersive as Laika's. There's a couple cool ones where you have to kill enemies but for the most part it's just fetch quests.
Finally, I'll go over a few nitpicks I have. I don't like that if you go back to Where We Live after exploring, you NEED to sleep before you can go back out. It's not so pervasive that it gets to become a genuine problem, but it seems strange. Oh God, that boat cutscene. Whose idea was that? 9 minutes long with basically no dialogue, just a ship slooooowllly moving to the left. It was made even more absurd when you could actually control the boat immediately after and it moved at a reasonable speed. That whole area sucked because it was designed around the shotgun.
Overall, I really want to like Laika more than I actually do. It has tons of cool ideas but only a few of them are truly executed well. There's definitely fun to be had, but its weakest parts really hold it back from being anything great. It's hard for me to recommend to most people, but if the game piques your interest in anyway, then you should give it a try.
Starting off with the positives: this game looks amazing. The art, the style, the animations, and the details; they're all very visually appealing. I enjoy the character designs quite a bit, they all complement the world they live in and the details in their animations make interacting with them feel very real.
The game's dialogue can be a little cringeworthy at times. There's definitely an overuse of cursing, but it's not enough to take away from it as an immersive and charming experience. The overall atmosphere of Laika is one that can keep you hooked for quite some time.
The music is good, and I enjoy the unique mechanic behind it playing in theory. In Laika, areas don't have their own themes as you'd expect in other Metroidvanias; instead, your soundtrack is what Laika listens to on her music player and you can expand what songs you hear by discovering cassettes throughout the world. This is a really cool idea in concept, but in execution, it leads to a lot of repetition of the same songs. Eventually I started to play the game without sound on because I got sick of hearing the "oooooh, ooooh, ooohoohoooh" beginning of one song and the rest just got stale. There's also another problem with the system that I'll address further on in the review.
Moving on, I didn't know what to expect when I first heard about this game. I never liked those old motorcycle flash games but I really enjoy Metroidvanias; so a crossover between those two stuck out to me as something I should try. This game, at its best, is so much fun, and some of the most rewarding and enjoyable combat I've experienced in a game of this kind. If you can really master the mechanics, then you're gonna roam the wastelands feeling like a total badass the entire way through. There's a lot of special effects and details that make shooting birds feel extremely cathartic. Shielding yourself from bullets with your bike, parrying bullets, the different types of weapons... there's a lot you can do here to kill enemies and it makes traversing the wasteland feel amazing. I think it's also cool that the game makes you do flips in order to reload your guns and your parry ability. The level design lends itself to those pretty well. However, when you aren't totally owning the game, that's when the drawbacks to the combat system start to drag the game down. You die in a single hit, which isn't a problem in and of itself; there's respawn points EVERYWHERE and the biggest punishment you'll receive is losing money that you have to reclaim from where you died ala Hollow Knight. You also die if you mess up a flip or a landing. This is intentional; respawning after death is addressed in-universe as Laika's family's superpower and you receive achievements for dying a bunch. You're going to die a LOT in Laika. However, enemies will also respawn upon death, and more begin to appear as you progress through the game. Some of these enemies are just so annoying to deal with. There's ones who shoot lock-on missiles that don't lose sight of you, so you need to take out the missile if you have one going after you; there's the ones with the gatling guns that you can't shoot from the front, but my least favorites are the ones who jump out of crates and shoot out like a million kunai in a huge circle around them. I hate those ones not JUST because you only have a small timeframe to shoot them, but because the game tricks you into thinking you can shoot them before their hitbox actually comes out, meaning if you're not paying attention, you're gonna waste a bullet. There's also a mechanic where you can keep shooting enemies after they're dead in order to build up a combo, as well as shoot their weapons to make them fire. All this ends up doing, though, is block your bullets from hitting your actual target. It can get extremely frustrating, especially if you're dealing with a large group of enemies at once. There are weapons you can unlock to help with situations like this, but the times where I feel like they'd do a better job than the revolver are few and far between. As a result, dying in these areas means you need to keep throwing yourself at these sections until you can kill every bird. Again, this isn't a problem in and of itself, but the game goes overboard in certain areas with just how many enemies there are. There's also some areas have paths that the game expects you to use to fight these enemies, so if you're not coming from one of those paths, you're kinda screwed. To move away from the negativity, though, situations like this are not even close to the entirety of Laika. For the most part, you're going to dispatch a few obviously set-up enemies in between checkpoints and feel cool as hell for killing them.
Now, the bosses in the game are about half good and half terrible. As in, the first three bosses I fought I really enjoyed, and the last two bosses were some of the worst designed fights I've ever had the displeasure of engaging in. A Hundred Hungry Beaks, A Long Lost Woodcrawler, and A Caterpillar Made Of Sadness were really engaging, fun, badass fights. I have nothing negative to say about them. They exemplify the game's mechanics and provide a challenge to the player with respect to where they're at in the game without leaning into the very easy trap of feeling unfair and overly punishing because Laika dies in one hit. A Gargantuan Swimcrab and Pope Melvia VIII, however, are absolute dumpster fires. Swimcrab involves climbing up a tower doing some platforming, then dodging the crab's bubbles before shooting the bird piloting it. This fight is horribly punishing. If you mess up the platforming, you must restart the whole fight. If you get hit by a pink bubble, you die and must restart the whole fight. If you get hit by a blue bubble, hope and pray to God that you're able to land yourself upright without hitting another bubble. Trying to situate yourself precisely between bubbles is not easy on the motorbike, and shooting the bubbles is risky because you have very limited room to reload your weapons. It's not a fun challenge, the fight is long and the fact it resets after every small mistake just killed so much of the goodwill I had towards the game up until them. It's the worst of Laika encapsulated into one fight. Pope Melvia VIII is a little easier and much less punishing, but still not fun, and has the same problem with spacing and dodging that Swimcrab has. Those two fights are a perfect display of the weaknesses in the game's mechanics and it's surprising to me that they both made it into the final product.
In regards to general exploration and movement, it's about what you'd expect from your average Metroidvania. It's pretty easy to fill out the map very early on since the NPC who sells maps is usually out in the open in the new areas. There's a couple teleportation stations around the map that you can use to make getting around faster, but they require a resource in order to use until you get a certain item. There were times I had no issues with exploration and there were times I found it annoying just how much I had to move through an area without transportation, but I've had experiences like that in Metroidvanias that I think are great if not flawed like Aria of Sorrow and Metroid Prime, so it's not a point against Laika. That's just par for the course for the genre. What isn't par for the course is the lack of movement upgrades. I'm close to the end of the game and the only upgrades I'm aware of are the shotgun, and then a dash which basically makes the shotgun obsolete. The dash is straightforward and feels fine, but the shotgun is just so finnicky to use. I like the idea of using different guns to move around but it just does not feel good to use the shotgun. The lack of movement upgrades also make the game feel stagnant, since you're moving through each area in the exact same way. The new movement options are reserved for extras and secrets or for areas that are explicitly designed around them.
Laika also has resource collection and crafting. This is just my opinion, but I've hated the crafting system in every single game I've played and the best ones are the ones that are as optional and ignorable as possible. While Laika certainly isn't the most egregious perpetrator of locking better weapons behind collecting resources (cough cough dawn of sorrow cough), it's not something I'm particularly fond of. You also need to find blueprints in order to unlock the option to even craft the other weapons, on top of needing to collect the resources themselves. There's also resources specifically for cooking, which gives you boosts for a limited time depending on the food you make. You can get more money for each enemy killed, a longer pull range so you can collect resources and your money sacks from further away, and more ammo space in your weapons. The thing I don't understand, however, is that having more than one parry is also something you can only have from one of these boosts. I don't understand the reasoning behind that, it seems like something you should also be able to upgrade. The parry is extremely useful as a tool in Laika's kit but it's just so silly that you have to make food in order to do it more than once before needing to reload.
The most disappointing part of Laika, though, are the quests. The grand majority of them are fetch quests. You talk to an NPC, they tell you that they want something, you go to an area to find it, then you bring it back to them. The worst part of THAT, is that for a decent chunk of them you literally just need to buy them from a gas station. That also goes for a lot of the more expensive resources, gifts for Puppy, and cassettes. It's so lame, and the rewards really aren't worth it either. You could get more than these quest rewards by just shooting a resource thing. I love doing side quests in games but these are just so disappointing, especially in a world as immersive as Laika's. There's a couple cool ones where you have to kill enemies but for the most part it's just fetch quests.
Finally, I'll go over a few nitpicks I have. I don't like that if you go back to Where We Live after exploring, you NEED to sleep before you can go back out. It's not so pervasive that it gets to become a genuine problem, but it seems strange. Oh God, that boat cutscene. Whose idea was that? 9 minutes long with basically no dialogue, just a ship slooooowllly moving to the left. It was made even more absurd when you could actually control the boat immediately after and it moved at a reasonable speed. That whole area sucked because it was designed around the shotgun.
Overall, I really want to like Laika more than I actually do. It has tons of cool ideas but only a few of them are truly executed well. There's definitely fun to be had, but its weakest parts really hold it back from being anything great. It's hard for me to recommend to most people, but if the game piques your interest in anyway, then you should give it a try.
sympa
Hay ocasiones en que un juego te marca, te deja una imperturbable huella grabada a fuego directamente en el corazón, en definitiva te hace sentir algo especial y difícil de explicar. Como podéis imaginaros vengo a hablaros de «Laika Aged Through Blood», lo último del estudio español Brainwash Gang (Friends vs Friends, It’s Either Them or us o Mother of Many) y que publicó Headup Publishing el pasado 19 de octubre en PC.
Si hay un género que brilla entre el desarrollo patrio es el de los metroidvanias, ejemplos de ello son Aeterna Noctis, Souldiers, Blasphemous 1 y 2, The Knight Witch, Metroid: Samus Returns,… y tantos otros que inundan el mercado hasta considerarse que se encuentra saturado de ellos. Sin embargo, Laika Aged Through Blood viene a aportar un toque de aire fresco, una original y divertida mezcla de plataformas, acción y motos. Si, lo has oído bien, este «motorvania» te hará vivir sobre 2 ruedas y disfrutar muchísimo. Pero no quiero adelantarme, si queréis saber lo que he encontrado tras 18 horas de juego, acompañadme en este viaje.
Donde se narran las historias
Hablar de la narrativa y el argumento de Laika es abrirte a sentimientos reales, en ocasiones muy duros de digerir y llenos de tristeza, en otras ocasiones repletos de emoción y satisfacción. Laika Aged Through Blood cuenta la historia de una tribu de coyotes, que está siendo oprimida por los pájaros, una sociedad capitalista y avanzada tecnologicamente, pero deshumanizada casi por completo. Una crítica brutal y sensacional a la vida misma. Los pájaros han arrasado el lugar donde viven estos coyotes y lo han convertido todo en un páramo postapocalíptico y además están asesinando poco a poco a los pocos supervivientes que han resistido.
En medio de este panorama encontramos a Laika, nuestra protagonista, un personaje pulido y con una personalidad muy trabajada. Desde el principio empaticé con esta madre coyote, una madre que tiene el don de la inmortalidad, lo que le hace regresar tras cada muerte. Un don o una maldición que se transmite de madre a hija en su familia y cuya hija Puppy está a punto de heredar, ya que llegará con su primera menstruación. Al recibirlo, Laika perderá su poder, como ya le sucedió a su madre. Su historia es dura, bonita, imprescindible, es la historia de un héroe que no quiere serlo, pero debe serlo. Una vengadora que lucha por su pueblo contra viento y marea, contra todo.
La clave de la maravillosa trama es esa sensación de tocar temas duros como la ocupación, el suicidio, la política, el exterminio, la paternidad, la violencia hacia los más débiles,… en fin, los actos más oscuros y viles del hombre pero trasladado a un mundo de animales con rasgos humanos. Pero lo toca con tan buen gusto, tan bien contado que puede llegar a emocionarte en varios puntos y hacerte sentir una experiencia muy viva y difícil de olvidar.
Donde los metroidvania tocan las motos
Para los amantes de los metroidvania, Laika Aged Through Blood debería ser obligatorio por varias razones, la primera es su original sistema de transporte en motocicleta. Una mecánica que nos aporta velocidad, saltos acrobáticos, loopings y mucha diversión en este juego de plataformas y acción. Con un control muy medido que nos puede jugar malas pasadas por frenadas o clavar la rueda, pero que una vez que dominemos nos hará gozar muchísimo.
La segunda seguramente es la alta dosis de frenetismo y acción que hay en cada enfrentamiento con enemigos y jefes, todo casi siempre a gran velocidad y que nos hará disparar desde ángulos casi imposibles y usar «el tiempo bala» para poder apuntar. Además disponemos de varios tipos de armas, desde una pistola básica a un lanzacohetes, pasando por una ballesta, una metralleta o una escopeta con retroceso que dará mucho juego. El sistema de recargado del arma consiste en dar vueltas en el aire, lo que favorece el estar haciendo acrobacias por la pantalla, para nuestro entretenimiento y diversión. Como buen «motorvania» podremos mejorar nuestra moto para acceder a lugares inaccesibles. Un clásico.
Donde la muerte no es el final
El juego está preparado para que muramos muchas veces, tanto que deberemos aprendernos la ubicación de los enemigos para no llevarnos sorpresas y seguir avanzando. Lo que hace que cada poco tiempo encontremos un altar de guardado y resurrección, algo que es de agradecer. Así que si caemos en combate, nos levantamos en el último punto de restauración y a repetir la operación hasta el éxito.
Junto a la trama principal encontraremos una serie de misiones secundarias que nos van dando los PNJ de Laika Aged Through Blood. Es este uno de los puntos que más flaquea, ya que lejos de aportar algo a la narrativa, la mayoría consisten en dar paseos a buscar flores y otros objetos que necesitan. Los recados se vuelven un poco repetitivos y alargan la duración del juego de forma artificial. Además, en muchos puntos deberemos dar varias vueltas hasta encontrar un objeto, haciendo que te sientas un poco perdido.
En cuanto a los enemigos y jefes a los que deberá hacer frente Laika quiero resaltar los originales diseños de todos ellos. Los enemigos finales disponen de mecánicas únicas que los hace sentir diferentes y nos obligarán a pensar en una solución exclusiva para vencerlos. Son combates, por lo general, divertidos y desafiantes, desde enfrentamientos más directos a persecuciones o huidas en la vertical. Si que he echado en falta variedad de los enemigos comunes pero nada que empañe la experiencia. Lo que ten por seguro es que deberás matar, matar mucho y sobrevivir para seguir luchando un día más.
Donde se hace el arte
En el apartado artístico es donde Laika Aged Through Blood da un Do de pecho, si el resto de apartados son sobresalientes, tanto los gráficos como la música son de matrícula de honor. Los diseños totalmente dibujados a mano de cada personaje, animación, escenario o enemigo son simplemente preciosos. Cada detalle está pensado para hacerte evocar sentimientos profundos. Es una obra de arte digna de ser atesorada en museo. Me parece de buen gusto, con una ambientación sublime y una oda al buen hacer.
Sonoramente es indescriptible, la banda sonora compuesta por Beicoli es puro sentimiento que ensambla todo a la perfección. Las escenas de gran carga emocional se disparan con lo que llega a nuestros oídos, el sonido hace que todo cobre sentido. ¡Es una maldita maravilla! Podéis echarle una oreja en Spotify y comprobarlo vosotros mismos. Cada melodía, cada canción, cada cinta que encontramos en nuestro camino por los páramos parece hecha con el corazón. Simplemente me queda dar las gracias por este regalo.
Donde concluye mi análisis de Laika Aged Through Blood
En conclusión, Laika Aged Through Blood es algo más que un buen juego, es una experiencia de las que te cambian la vida y te dejan huella. La huella de una historia profunda y con una narrativa brillante y dura. La huella de unos personajes creíbles y con los que empatizas muy rápido. Es fácil ponerte en el papel de Laika y querer venganza, hasta el punto de querer apretar el gatillo antes de preguntar, ya que se tocan temas delicados pero siempre con mucho tacto y respeto.
Para los amantes de los metroidvania, entre los cuales me incluyo, Laika me parece imprescindible, tanto por su acción frenética y divertida como por la original mecánica de ir en moto haciendo cabriolas y todo tipo de acrobacias mientras avanzas a toda velocidad. Para el final me dejo su mayor arma, su carismático y preciosista arte. Unos gráficos pintados a mano con animaciones bellas y sangrientas, y una banda sonora maravillosa le hacen merecer un 10 en este apartado. De matrícula. Solo me queda recomendaros este juego porque sin duda es de lo mejorcito de este 2023 y en mi caso me ha dejado huella, la huella de una coyote inmortal que lucha por la vida.
Si hay un género que brilla entre el desarrollo patrio es el de los metroidvanias, ejemplos de ello son Aeterna Noctis, Souldiers, Blasphemous 1 y 2, The Knight Witch, Metroid: Samus Returns,… y tantos otros que inundan el mercado hasta considerarse que se encuentra saturado de ellos. Sin embargo, Laika Aged Through Blood viene a aportar un toque de aire fresco, una original y divertida mezcla de plataformas, acción y motos. Si, lo has oído bien, este «motorvania» te hará vivir sobre 2 ruedas y disfrutar muchísimo. Pero no quiero adelantarme, si queréis saber lo que he encontrado tras 18 horas de juego, acompañadme en este viaje.
Donde se narran las historias
Hablar de la narrativa y el argumento de Laika es abrirte a sentimientos reales, en ocasiones muy duros de digerir y llenos de tristeza, en otras ocasiones repletos de emoción y satisfacción. Laika Aged Through Blood cuenta la historia de una tribu de coyotes, que está siendo oprimida por los pájaros, una sociedad capitalista y avanzada tecnologicamente, pero deshumanizada casi por completo. Una crítica brutal y sensacional a la vida misma. Los pájaros han arrasado el lugar donde viven estos coyotes y lo han convertido todo en un páramo postapocalíptico y además están asesinando poco a poco a los pocos supervivientes que han resistido.
En medio de este panorama encontramos a Laika, nuestra protagonista, un personaje pulido y con una personalidad muy trabajada. Desde el principio empaticé con esta madre coyote, una madre que tiene el don de la inmortalidad, lo que le hace regresar tras cada muerte. Un don o una maldición que se transmite de madre a hija en su familia y cuya hija Puppy está a punto de heredar, ya que llegará con su primera menstruación. Al recibirlo, Laika perderá su poder, como ya le sucedió a su madre. Su historia es dura, bonita, imprescindible, es la historia de un héroe que no quiere serlo, pero debe serlo. Una vengadora que lucha por su pueblo contra viento y marea, contra todo.
La clave de la maravillosa trama es esa sensación de tocar temas duros como la ocupación, el suicidio, la política, el exterminio, la paternidad, la violencia hacia los más débiles,… en fin, los actos más oscuros y viles del hombre pero trasladado a un mundo de animales con rasgos humanos. Pero lo toca con tan buen gusto, tan bien contado que puede llegar a emocionarte en varios puntos y hacerte sentir una experiencia muy viva y difícil de olvidar.
Donde los metroidvania tocan las motos
Para los amantes de los metroidvania, Laika Aged Through Blood debería ser obligatorio por varias razones, la primera es su original sistema de transporte en motocicleta. Una mecánica que nos aporta velocidad, saltos acrobáticos, loopings y mucha diversión en este juego de plataformas y acción. Con un control muy medido que nos puede jugar malas pasadas por frenadas o clavar la rueda, pero que una vez que dominemos nos hará gozar muchísimo.
La segunda seguramente es la alta dosis de frenetismo y acción que hay en cada enfrentamiento con enemigos y jefes, todo casi siempre a gran velocidad y que nos hará disparar desde ángulos casi imposibles y usar «el tiempo bala» para poder apuntar. Además disponemos de varios tipos de armas, desde una pistola básica a un lanzacohetes, pasando por una ballesta, una metralleta o una escopeta con retroceso que dará mucho juego. El sistema de recargado del arma consiste en dar vueltas en el aire, lo que favorece el estar haciendo acrobacias por la pantalla, para nuestro entretenimiento y diversión. Como buen «motorvania» podremos mejorar nuestra moto para acceder a lugares inaccesibles. Un clásico.
Donde la muerte no es el final
El juego está preparado para que muramos muchas veces, tanto que deberemos aprendernos la ubicación de los enemigos para no llevarnos sorpresas y seguir avanzando. Lo que hace que cada poco tiempo encontremos un altar de guardado y resurrección, algo que es de agradecer. Así que si caemos en combate, nos levantamos en el último punto de restauración y a repetir la operación hasta el éxito.
Junto a la trama principal encontraremos una serie de misiones secundarias que nos van dando los PNJ de Laika Aged Through Blood. Es este uno de los puntos que más flaquea, ya que lejos de aportar algo a la narrativa, la mayoría consisten en dar paseos a buscar flores y otros objetos que necesitan. Los recados se vuelven un poco repetitivos y alargan la duración del juego de forma artificial. Además, en muchos puntos deberemos dar varias vueltas hasta encontrar un objeto, haciendo que te sientas un poco perdido.
En cuanto a los enemigos y jefes a los que deberá hacer frente Laika quiero resaltar los originales diseños de todos ellos. Los enemigos finales disponen de mecánicas únicas que los hace sentir diferentes y nos obligarán a pensar en una solución exclusiva para vencerlos. Son combates, por lo general, divertidos y desafiantes, desde enfrentamientos más directos a persecuciones o huidas en la vertical. Si que he echado en falta variedad de los enemigos comunes pero nada que empañe la experiencia. Lo que ten por seguro es que deberás matar, matar mucho y sobrevivir para seguir luchando un día más.
Donde se hace el arte
En el apartado artístico es donde Laika Aged Through Blood da un Do de pecho, si el resto de apartados son sobresalientes, tanto los gráficos como la música son de matrícula de honor. Los diseños totalmente dibujados a mano de cada personaje, animación, escenario o enemigo son simplemente preciosos. Cada detalle está pensado para hacerte evocar sentimientos profundos. Es una obra de arte digna de ser atesorada en museo. Me parece de buen gusto, con una ambientación sublime y una oda al buen hacer.
Sonoramente es indescriptible, la banda sonora compuesta por Beicoli es puro sentimiento que ensambla todo a la perfección. Las escenas de gran carga emocional se disparan con lo que llega a nuestros oídos, el sonido hace que todo cobre sentido. ¡Es una maldita maravilla! Podéis echarle una oreja en Spotify y comprobarlo vosotros mismos. Cada melodía, cada canción, cada cinta que encontramos en nuestro camino por los páramos parece hecha con el corazón. Simplemente me queda dar las gracias por este regalo.
Donde concluye mi análisis de Laika Aged Through Blood
En conclusión, Laika Aged Through Blood es algo más que un buen juego, es una experiencia de las que te cambian la vida y te dejan huella. La huella de una historia profunda y con una narrativa brillante y dura. La huella de unos personajes creíbles y con los que empatizas muy rápido. Es fácil ponerte en el papel de Laika y querer venganza, hasta el punto de querer apretar el gatillo antes de preguntar, ya que se tocan temas delicados pero siempre con mucho tacto y respeto.
Para los amantes de los metroidvania, entre los cuales me incluyo, Laika me parece imprescindible, tanto por su acción frenética y divertida como por la original mecánica de ir en moto haciendo cabriolas y todo tipo de acrobacias mientras avanzas a toda velocidad. Para el final me dejo su mayor arma, su carismático y preciosista arte. Unos gráficos pintados a mano con animaciones bellas y sangrientas, y una banda sonora maravillosa le hacen merecer un 10 en este apartado. De matrícula. Solo me queda recomendaros este juego porque sin duda es de lo mejorcito de este 2023 y en mi caso me ha dejado huella, la huella de una coyote inmortal que lucha por la vida.
LAIKA VIRGIN UUUUUH
Frustrating af sometimes because the devs thought it would be a fun idea to make traversing needlessly difficult in a metroidvania, but it's such an original game with a BANGER of a soundtrack that I can't be too harsh on it. I mean there's a reason why I still can't get it out of my head despite the questionable design choices.
Esse jogo foi um parto pra terminar, é um metroidvania que simplesmente o ato de se movimentar no mapa é complicado. Com o tempo, fica mais fácil mas continua bastante punitivo.
Outra crítica é o inexplicável backtracking que é necessário fazer no último terço do jogo. O jogo obriga a fazer umas quests bem secundárias nos confins do mapa e praticamente não existe uma forma de teleporte decente no jogo.
Tirando isso, é um jogo obrigatório para quem é fã de metroidvania. A trama pesadíssima, as músicas são um deleite, a criatividade nas mecânicas de batalha e de uso da moto para deslocamento valem a pena.
Outra crítica é o inexplicável backtracking que é necessário fazer no último terço do jogo. O jogo obriga a fazer umas quests bem secundárias nos confins do mapa e praticamente não existe uma forma de teleporte decente no jogo.
Tirando isso, é um jogo obrigatório para quem é fã de metroidvania. A trama pesadíssima, as músicas são um deleite, a criatividade nas mecânicas de batalha e de uso da moto para deslocamento valem a pena.
A surprisingly compelling narrative set in an interesting world is let down a bit by some flaws in the gameplay. It's a good experience overall but the lows are really really low. It's nice to see games that aren't purely narrative experiences touching on some less explored topics like trauma, motherhood and growing up.
Such a beautiful game that's let down by a budget, fairly clearly rushed bits, and some bad nu metroidvania ideas.
The art, music, and everything with the presentation (minus one thing) is amazing. There was a clear love and time taken with these aspects to the point that I won't bother bringing them up from now on.
Now onto a big issue is that the game really did not need a lot of its fluff. Nothing about them adds anything, the sidequests are tonally interesting but it feels like a good number of them could have been included in some other way that weren't the most basic of fetch quests without good directions. One other specific gripe is that you can just see the entire map and area names from the start, it's just so odd to have that in a game about discovery.
Anyways the true damning issue of this game is how after a certain point things aren't flowing well. The emotional climax happens and the rest of the game goes by, including plenty of cuts and sudden things happening for an ultimately pretty subpar ending.
However, I still do think people should play it, just know that after the honeymoon things will just lose steam.
The art, music, and everything with the presentation (minus one thing) is amazing. There was a clear love and time taken with these aspects to the point that I won't bother bringing them up from now on.
Now onto a big issue is that the game really did not need a lot of its fluff. Nothing about them adds anything, the sidequests are tonally interesting but it feels like a good number of them could have been included in some other way that weren't the most basic of fetch quests without good directions. One other specific gripe is that you can just see the entire map and area names from the start, it's just so odd to have that in a game about discovery.
Anyways the true damning issue of this game is how after a certain point things aren't flowing well. The emotional climax happens and the rest of the game goes by, including plenty of cuts and sudden things happening for an ultimately pretty subpar ending.
However, I still do think people should play it, just know that after the honeymoon things will just lose steam.
One of the most conflicting games I've played this year. I went from "this is great" to "what is this" every 30 seconds
Positives first : the controls are tight and responsive. Hitting the road with the bike feels good and the movement options allow for a lot of creativity. The instant respawn is a godsend and should be a standard in every game where you die in one hit. Blowing birds to smithereens never gets old and the OST is pretty good. I didn't like the overall story but the ending is great
Unfortunately there's a lot of bad. The story is impossible to take seriously when characters swear everytime (NPC aren't much better and aren't helped by most quests boiling down to fetch). The enemy placement is really puzzling at times, especially later on when they get gatlings with shots that are pointless to reflect since they can only be hit from above or behind homing rocket launchers (and believe me those rockets follow you to the other side of the fucking planet). The upgrades are also bad. You need around 30k money to upgrade everything but most of those upgrades don't feel substancial. Only things you really need are shotgun, pistol and bag upgrades, the rest is pretty much bait. And good luck farming when there's the dark souls mechanic where you lose half your money upon death and have to retrieve it by going where you died (It's not that bad since there's a lot of checkpoints but it's still annoying)
On the mixed bag the game has 6 bosses. Similarly to the rest of the game most are good but the 2 bad ones (caterpillar and crab) really suck ass
Did I like the game ? I mean yeah I finished it but it's definitely an acquired taste. It's either a GOTY contender or a frustrating experience that feels worse than it could be
Positives first : the controls are tight and responsive. Hitting the road with the bike feels good and the movement options allow for a lot of creativity. The instant respawn is a godsend and should be a standard in every game where you die in one hit. Blowing birds to smithereens never gets old and the OST is pretty good. I didn't like the overall story but the ending is great
Unfortunately there's a lot of bad. The story is impossible to take seriously when characters swear everytime (NPC aren't much better and aren't helped by most quests boiling down to fetch). The enemy placement is really puzzling at times, especially later on when they get gatlings with shots that are pointless to reflect since they can only be hit from above or behind homing rocket launchers (and believe me those rockets follow you to the other side of the fucking planet). The upgrades are also bad. You need around 30k money to upgrade everything but most of those upgrades don't feel substancial. Only things you really need are shotgun, pistol and bag upgrades, the rest is pretty much bait. And good luck farming when there's the dark souls mechanic where you lose half your money upon death and have to retrieve it by going where you died (It's not that bad since there's a lot of checkpoints but it's still annoying)
On the mixed bag the game has 6 bosses. Similarly to the rest of the game most are good but the 2 bad ones (caterpillar and crab) really suck ass
Did I like the game ? I mean yeah I finished it but it's definitely an acquired taste. It's either a GOTY contender or a frustrating experience that feels worse than it could be
I was on board for the first couple of hours, but something quickly shifted and I had to stop playing. Perhaps it was the very clearly rigged blackjack minigame that I lost all my money on twice. I’ve read the developer saying it works the same as any casino blackjack, but basically any time I got 20 the house got 20 or 21.
This isn’t a blackjack game though, so I should also mention the looping soundtrack of not very good songs, the unintuitive traversal and aiming (I can imagine the latter being better on PC, but on a PS5 controller it’s rough, even with a generous aim assist) and badly written dialogue. I can’t really comment on the story but let’s just say it didn’t grab me.
I might come back to this another time, but for now it’s backloggd™️
This isn’t a blackjack game though, so I should also mention the looping soundtrack of not very good songs, the unintuitive traversal and aiming (I can imagine the latter being better on PC, but on a PS5 controller it’s rough, even with a generous aim assist) and badly written dialogue. I can’t really comment on the story but let’s just say it didn’t grab me.
I might come back to this another time, but for now it’s backloggd™️
First few hours with the controls feel amazing, but sadly it gets old, the game could have benefitted from a level based design instead of a metroidvania one, the combat and control system gets stale eventually. Big kudos for having cool controls.
there is absolutely no reason for that crab boss to be as hard as it was
So I'll start with what I liked: I thought the art direction was pretty great, and the soundtrack quite good. The combat and movement was initially fun. Thats about all the positives for me personally. I found the metroidvania elements tacked on for no real reason, and the story that it was presenting to be pretty mediocre with uninteresting characters and a pretty run of the mill revenge-esque story, at least at the bit I stopped. The crafting and cooking are also like... why? Your just filling the game with unnecessary bloat when you had a really good innitial gameplay setup. The issue with the gameplay and movement is, it doesn't really evolve and gets old FAST. after doing a few cool spins and parrys you pretty much experienced the highlights from what I could tell. Its not a bad game, especially if you dont mind the 10,000th metroidvania, but its not what I hoped. I wish they had focused and evolved the core gameplay and movement, evolved it in interesting ways and cut out all the crud. As it stands I have no desire to finish it.
Given how many hundreds of Metroidvania games have come out at this point, it feels almost inevitable that someone would decide to stick Trials motorcycle gameplay in one. The art style is cool, though I can't help but side-eye the anthromorphic animal character design, but the gameplay itself somehow feels too slow and in a weird way apathetic to match the mood of this dark and foreboding world. Like even your character knows you're just going through the motions of yet another side scrolling shooter.
Something about this game is way too hard. I had to use cheats to avoid the painSomething about this game is way too hard. I had to use cheats to avoid the pain of reloading. of reloading.
a dark edgy game that doesn't really earn it. you can just feel how soulless it is. cool movement tho.
Generic art
nonostante l'apparenza punta tutto sul gameplay, la storia null'altro è che la solita roba post apocalittica coi furry dove tutto è dark a più non posso (insomma the last of us fatto bene). Tornando al gameplay: figo indubbiamente la prima ora e anche dopo, unica pecca per me è l'assenza di diversi trick con la moto.
This might be the most conflicted I've felt about a 2023 release.
Like what a lot of people have already said, the mechanics are tough to wrap your head around with the mixture of Trials/Excitebike traversal and 2D twin-stick shooter combat with one-hit kills. It's incredibly thrilling and satisfying to pull off some of the motorbike bullet-time acrobatics, but this game also gave me two of the most frustrating combat sequences I've had all year. There are unnecessarily difficult mechanics that make some sections just tedious and aggravating.
Still, I admire the boldness in the direction that really clicks when you get into a weird stop-and-start flow state a la Hotline Miami. Closest thing that plays like it is Rollerdrome, which I ultimately prefer on a mechanical level, especially with its decision to not punish the player for not landing on your feet. While there's a practical reason for the growing homogeneity of video game control schemes, I can't help but respect a game that bucks that trend and comes up with its own set of controls to create unique moment-to-moment gameplay.
It's up there with Alan Wake 2, Hi-Fi Rush, and Season: A Letter to the Future for delivering the best aesthetic experiences in 2023 video games. Just a fantastic cartoony visual style reflected in the memorable character designs, striking background art, and the bombed-out brown and bloody red color palette.
The soundtrack is appropriately somber yet has this driving undercurrent of pent-up emotion brought to life by the beautiful breathy reverb-heavy feminine vocals, soft and sometimes relentless percussions, clean plucky melodic guitars, and melancholic keys.
It's a fuckin' mood biking through the desert wasteland of your war-torn home country devastated by avian colonizers with evocative place names like "Where the Doom Fell", "Where the Waves Die", and "Where Iron Caresses the Sky".
The narrative goes to some real dark places that aren't in any way softened by the cartoon animal characters. It's a game about dealing with the burdens of motherhood and the different ways of surviving and resisting under the brutal cruelty of imperialist forces. The cast goes about dealing with these challenges in very human ways, some of which are selfless and self-serving, all of which are written to be understandable if not relatable. The dialogue in particular is cutting in its raw honesty. It's not without moments of levity, but by and large it tells stories of suffering with a sense of poignancy.
All in all, it really is a special kind of game that I have a hard time recommending to just anyone. It's uncompromising in its vision, both in its mechanics and in its narrative. You need to have a ton of patience for its difficulty, and you need to have a strong stomach for its storytelling turns.
Like what a lot of people have already said, the mechanics are tough to wrap your head around with the mixture of Trials/Excitebike traversal and 2D twin-stick shooter combat with one-hit kills. It's incredibly thrilling and satisfying to pull off some of the motorbike bullet-time acrobatics, but this game also gave me two of the most frustrating combat sequences I've had all year. There are unnecessarily difficult mechanics that make some sections just tedious and aggravating.
Still, I admire the boldness in the direction that really clicks when you get into a weird stop-and-start flow state a la Hotline Miami. Closest thing that plays like it is Rollerdrome, which I ultimately prefer on a mechanical level, especially with its decision to not punish the player for not landing on your feet. While there's a practical reason for the growing homogeneity of video game control schemes, I can't help but respect a game that bucks that trend and comes up with its own set of controls to create unique moment-to-moment gameplay.
It's up there with Alan Wake 2, Hi-Fi Rush, and Season: A Letter to the Future for delivering the best aesthetic experiences in 2023 video games. Just a fantastic cartoony visual style reflected in the memorable character designs, striking background art, and the bombed-out brown and bloody red color palette.
The soundtrack is appropriately somber yet has this driving undercurrent of pent-up emotion brought to life by the beautiful breathy reverb-heavy feminine vocals, soft and sometimes relentless percussions, clean plucky melodic guitars, and melancholic keys.
It's a fuckin' mood biking through the desert wasteland of your war-torn home country devastated by avian colonizers with evocative place names like "Where the Doom Fell", "Where the Waves Die", and "Where Iron Caresses the Sky".
The narrative goes to some real dark places that aren't in any way softened by the cartoon animal characters. It's a game about dealing with the burdens of motherhood and the different ways of surviving and resisting under the brutal cruelty of imperialist forces. The cast goes about dealing with these challenges in very human ways, some of which are selfless and self-serving, all of which are written to be understandable if not relatable. The dialogue in particular is cutting in its raw honesty. It's not without moments of levity, but by and large it tells stories of suffering with a sense of poignancy.
All in all, it really is a special kind of game that I have a hard time recommending to just anyone. It's uncompromising in its vision, both in its mechanics and in its narrative. You need to have a ton of patience for its difficulty, and you need to have a strong stomach for its storytelling turns.
First impressions: this game seems very promising as a unique spin on the Metroidvania style with the motorcycle mechanics that remind me a bit of those internet biker games I played back in middle school. Gameplay took a bit to get used to, but I'm only getting started. It's furry too, always a plus. Getting myself prepped for a story that allegedly has a ton of feels.
La musica muy buena el arte muy bueno al historia muy buena, lo que no me gusta es que sea metroidvania preferiria que fuera por niveles la verdad, le pegaria mas imo, y una opcion de dificultad para malos como yo no vendria mal
Genial metroidvania con mecánicas innovadoras de movimiento gracias a la inclusión de la moto. Ojalá ver una secuela en la que se pueda profundizar en ello
combat is alright. it plays like an old ipad game.
story is cool.
why does any metroidvania use that ghost anymore??
story is cool.
why does any metroidvania use that ghost anymore??
This game is inspired. An absolute must for those who enjoy metroidvanias. Heart pounding action with massive moments of fulfillment when getting through areas either stylishly or by the skin of your teeth. Along with just good mechanics, which again, absolutely inspired, the game has a fantastic soundtrack. At first I wasn't fully feeling it because when I think of a shooter with time slow mechanics and unique movement I think Katana Zero, and that game has an infamous soundtrack for what it was going for. I think this game does as well, I truly feel with the emotion it presents the soundtrack is perfect. As is the means of unlocking the soundtrack.
As for the story, it's very good. I found myself doing every side quest, as well. Each character is unique and interesting, and while all the side quests are just fetch quests, they're not hard or unenjoyable as the main thing about this game is the movement and the way you get around continues to change as you acquire new weapons and abilities. The main story is very touching, it's a great mother daughter tale, and coming of age story in a very unique way. 10/10, a must play.
As for the story, it's very good. I found myself doing every side quest, as well. Each character is unique and interesting, and while all the side quests are just fetch quests, they're not hard or unenjoyable as the main thing about this game is the movement and the way you get around continues to change as you acquire new weapons and abilities. The main story is very touching, it's a great mother daughter tale, and coming of age story in a very unique way. 10/10, a must play.
Are you here investigating if you should play this game? Maybe you got it recommended to you somewhere, somehow? Do it. Play Laika.
This is the best indie game you haven't played this year. Laika Aged Through Blood bills itself as a metroidvania. I think it's better described as some kind of 4 parent love child spawned by Happy Wheels, Hollow Knight, Max Payne, and Hotline Miami. Then that child grew up and became a furry who binged watched every Tarantino movie because they loved the gore.
You play Laika, a motorbike riding cyote who is the recipient of her family's curse that causes her to come back to life. Laika, hates this. She's depressed. She's mad. And she is the only thing that can fight back against the bird army which is oppressing her village and daughter.
The story is dark, serious, and shockingly mature. While I liked it, you can ignore most of it because the core gameplay loop of BULLET TIME HAPPY WHEELS slaps.
The controls are unique and fun with a gamepad. Accelerate with the left trigger. Hold right right trigger to enter bullet time and release to shoot. Doing backflips in the air reloads your gun. Your enemies, and you, die in one hit.
While no single aspect in this game is too unique mechanically, they combine in a way that is more than novel. It is on par with Yoku's Island Express in terms of unique feel and freshness in metroidvanias.
On top of all of that, the boss battles are sublime. AND it's an easy candidate for best music of 2023. Laika feels so fragrantly under apricated that I made my very first TikTok review about it?!
If you've made it this far, put the game on your Wishlist. Buy it now. Because...
This is the best indie game you haven't played this year. Laika Aged Through Blood bills itself as a metroidvania. I think it's better described as some kind of 4 parent love child spawned by Happy Wheels, Hollow Knight, Max Payne, and Hotline Miami. Then that child grew up and became a furry who binged watched every Tarantino movie because they loved the gore.
You play Laika, a motorbike riding cyote who is the recipient of her family's curse that causes her to come back to life. Laika, hates this. She's depressed. She's mad. And she is the only thing that can fight back against the bird army which is oppressing her village and daughter.
The story is dark, serious, and shockingly mature. While I liked it, you can ignore most of it because the core gameplay loop of BULLET TIME HAPPY WHEELS slaps.
The controls are unique and fun with a gamepad. Accelerate with the left trigger. Hold right right trigger to enter bullet time and release to shoot. Doing backflips in the air reloads your gun. Your enemies, and you, die in one hit.
While no single aspect in this game is too unique mechanically, they combine in a way that is more than novel. It is on par with Yoku's Island Express in terms of unique feel and freshness in metroidvanias.
On top of all of that, the boss battles are sublime. AND it's an easy candidate for best music of 2023. Laika feels so fragrantly under apricated that I made my very first TikTok review about it?!
If you've made it this far, put the game on your Wishlist. Buy it now. Because...
God DAMN this game is good. Metroidvania that controls like those old driving flash games, and works shockingly well. Music perfectly matches the themes and atmosphere, and the hand-drawn art-style is so full of personality. Lots of the regions on the map are pretty well designed, and weapons/ abilities you gain naturally let you reach new locations as you go, and they encourage experimenting with movement and tech. There's 2 points in the game that are total slogs but otherwise it keeps pace for the runtime. Particle effects and smoke can limit visibility which is annoying, though this is highly dependent on your screen resolution. Play this game cause it is GOOD
Definitely, this game was a surprise for me. I had only seen the trailer and bought the game on a steam sale.
Besides the game's art being absurdly beautiful, the OST is one of the best things I've ever heard while playing something.
The mechanic of doing everything on a motorcycle at first seemed very difficult to me, but with time and with the assists the game gives you, like allowing you to bump your head on some things, everything becomes very fluid and natural.
The story is quite interesting; the world reveals itself to be more than just a "mad max" with animals, and it captivated me a lot, both the characters and the plot as a whole.
As a metroidvania, I liked it a lot. I think there could be more places to teleport to in such a horizontal world, but overall, it does everything that a satisfying metroidvania does.
The weapons have a good variety, with noticeable differences, and I noticed that I wasn't penalized for not using the ones I didn't like. It was clear that some would help me more in certain moments, but the fact that I could use any of them as a primary weapon left me satisfied. Another point I liked is that unlike other games, in this one, the initial weapon isn't left aside because the new ones are much better. I used the first weapon the whole game, just having to upgrade it, and it was very good. Another cool point is that the shotgun changes the gameplay, allowing you to reach previously inaccessible places.
The boss fights and enemy encounters are well balanced; the enemies have a small variety, but as you progress, they spread throughout the map, changing the environment.
Overall, I liked it a lot. A very natural and fun resource system, cooking gives significant improvements but not using them doesn't harm you, the gameplay is great, it has memorable areas, captivating characters, a good story, a wonderful OST—I highly recommend it!
Besides the game's art being absurdly beautiful, the OST is one of the best things I've ever heard while playing something.
The mechanic of doing everything on a motorcycle at first seemed very difficult to me, but with time and with the assists the game gives you, like allowing you to bump your head on some things, everything becomes very fluid and natural.
The story is quite interesting; the world reveals itself to be more than just a "mad max" with animals, and it captivated me a lot, both the characters and the plot as a whole.
As a metroidvania, I liked it a lot. I think there could be more places to teleport to in such a horizontal world, but overall, it does everything that a satisfying metroidvania does.
The weapons have a good variety, with noticeable differences, and I noticed that I wasn't penalized for not using the ones I didn't like. It was clear that some would help me more in certain moments, but the fact that I could use any of them as a primary weapon left me satisfied. Another point I liked is that unlike other games, in this one, the initial weapon isn't left aside because the new ones are much better. I used the first weapon the whole game, just having to upgrade it, and it was very good. Another cool point is that the shotgun changes the gameplay, allowing you to reach previously inaccessible places.
The boss fights and enemy encounters are well balanced; the enemies have a small variety, but as you progress, they spread throughout the map, changing the environment.
Overall, I liked it a lot. A very natural and fun resource system, cooking gives significant improvements but not using them doesn't harm you, the gameplay is great, it has memorable areas, captivating characters, a good story, a wonderful OST—I highly recommend it!