This review contains spoilers
This scratched, quite nicely, the Super Metroid itch that's been plaguing me since I first played that game. So far, this game, and I think Vision: Soft Reset (which I'll be playing "next") might be the closest I've come outside of Super Metroid ROM hacks.
The story is intriguing, but I did my funny "leave it alone for too long" thing, and kind had to figure out what had happened. However, when I picked it up again, I tried very hard to maintain some momentum, and I think I managed to fill in most of the gaps. Dead worlds are always a fascinating concept, and I ended up coming out liking neither Athetos's side or the Rusalki's side. I honestly felt like I, as Trace, was stuck in a bad situation, where neither side was the ideal, and I had to choose the lesser of two evils. Elsenova feels very pragmatic and vindictive, especially when she straight up murders Trace in the second act (or whatever that part of the story was). I did like Ophelia, though she didn't have very much presence.
Gameplay wise, it's very straightforward and simple, and that's the beauty of it. Run, jump, shoot, and you got a few modifiers for each to help you along the way. One of the few complaints I have is the 8-directional aiming. It's forgivable in Super Metroid (and for some reason AM2R as well, but I have no idea why) because a limitation of the hardware, but it's just kinda finnicky in a more modern setting. If it's an intended feature, I respect and appreciate it, but I don't have to like it. :P
The variety of weapons in this game is broad and may be somewhat too much. By the end of the game, I only used maybe a few guns regularly (in particular, the Heat Seeker, the Ion Beam, the Lightning Gun, the Data Bomb, the Voranj, the Kilver, and the Inertial Pulse), and the rest (that I found; apparently I missed a few) were either useless, meh, or redundant. Still, very interesting to play with when you get them. Their animations are pretty fun too, especially the Voranj and the Lightning Gun.
Music was very unique. I enjoyed most of the themes, though I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to listen to them. I really liked the texture it had, sounding very much like it was comprised of analogue synthesizers, in addition to more modern production techniques.
Sound design was also unique, sounding kinda chipsynthy but really intricate in a way that makes it definitely not chipsynth. Like if a wavetable generator had a heck of a lot of channels and per-instrument filters. Some of the sounds were really good, some of the sounds were quite annoying, but I could hear the effort put into them.
Aesthetically, this game feels both like a NES game and a SNES game. The color depth feels more limited, like the NES's colors, giving the game an almost jarringly monochromatic look (though it's not), but the detail in the graphics besides the color is on the level of a SNES game, giving it a very distinct visual style.
Technical details aside...whoa...!
This game feels like an H. R. Giger concept. There was shades of that in Super Metroid, but this game runs with it, and boy does it run with it well. It's not as grotesque and macabre as Giger's work, but it has just enough viscera, just enough technology, just enough biomechanics, just enough otherworldliness to, in my opinion, make the man proud. Having said that, I also greatly appreciate that there is no Xenomorph-type creatures in sight.
A lot of the enemies also feel like they're straight out of Super Metroid, in a very good way. In fact, a lot of them wouldn't look out of place in a Metroid game, and again, that's a good thing.
Very good game. Very eager to play the sequel. I wanna know what Trace gets up to next.
The story is intriguing, but I did my funny "leave it alone for too long" thing, and kind had to figure out what had happened. However, when I picked it up again, I tried very hard to maintain some momentum, and I think I managed to fill in most of the gaps. Dead worlds are always a fascinating concept, and I ended up coming out liking neither Athetos's side or the Rusalki's side. I honestly felt like I, as Trace, was stuck in a bad situation, where neither side was the ideal, and I had to choose the lesser of two evils. Elsenova feels very pragmatic and vindictive, especially when she straight up murders Trace in the second act (or whatever that part of the story was). I did like Ophelia, though she didn't have very much presence.
Gameplay wise, it's very straightforward and simple, and that's the beauty of it. Run, jump, shoot, and you got a few modifiers for each to help you along the way. One of the few complaints I have is the 8-directional aiming. It's forgivable in Super Metroid (and for some reason AM2R as well, but I have no idea why) because a limitation of the hardware, but it's just kinda finnicky in a more modern setting. If it's an intended feature, I respect and appreciate it, but I don't have to like it. :P
The variety of weapons in this game is broad and may be somewhat too much. By the end of the game, I only used maybe a few guns regularly (in particular, the Heat Seeker, the Ion Beam, the Lightning Gun, the Data Bomb, the Voranj, the Kilver, and the Inertial Pulse), and the rest (that I found; apparently I missed a few) were either useless, meh, or redundant. Still, very interesting to play with when you get them. Their animations are pretty fun too, especially the Voranj and the Lightning Gun.
Music was very unique. I enjoyed most of the themes, though I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to listen to them. I really liked the texture it had, sounding very much like it was comprised of analogue synthesizers, in addition to more modern production techniques.
Sound design was also unique, sounding kinda chipsynthy but really intricate in a way that makes it definitely not chipsynth. Like if a wavetable generator had a heck of a lot of channels and per-instrument filters. Some of the sounds were really good, some of the sounds were quite annoying, but I could hear the effort put into them.
Aesthetically, this game feels both like a NES game and a SNES game. The color depth feels more limited, like the NES's colors, giving the game an almost jarringly monochromatic look (though it's not), but the detail in the graphics besides the color is on the level of a SNES game, giving it a very distinct visual style.
Technical details aside...whoa...!
This game feels like an H. R. Giger concept. There was shades of that in Super Metroid, but this game runs with it, and boy does it run with it well. It's not as grotesque and macabre as Giger's work, but it has just enough viscera, just enough technology, just enough biomechanics, just enough otherworldliness to, in my opinion, make the man proud. Having said that, I also greatly appreciate that there is no Xenomorph-type creatures in sight.
A lot of the enemies also feel like they're straight out of Super Metroid, in a very good way. In fact, a lot of them wouldn't look out of place in a Metroid game, and again, that's a good thing.
Very good game. Very eager to play the sequel. I wanna know what Trace gets up to next.