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rynlingDragon Ruins II
A retro first-person dungeon crawler, not for me
The sample images of this game are very beautiful and look like a combination of King’s Field IV (an early FromSoft game) and Vermis (a strategy guide for a Soulslike game that doesn’t exist). Unfortunately, the game itself is very primitive and has no charm or color or atmosphere at all.
Essentially, you fill in the grids of simple maps while your characters auto-battle in a separate text box. You can’t customize the characters or heal between battles, and everything (from leveling up to leaving a dungeon) requires money. The numbers are very poorly balanced; and, when I realized it would take at least an hour to get all of the characters in my party to Level 2, I dropped the game.
I think I only spent fifteen minutes with Dragon Ruins II, but I’m happy to give the indie developers my $12. I hope they get good feedback and go on to make better games.
Timespinner
A pixel art Metroidvania, not for me
Like Dragon Ruins II, the pixel art for the characters is very pretty, but the rest of the game is completely generic. In a video game genre where exploration is important, the environments need to be worth exploring.
In addition, the combat is very clunky. Your character can only attack in a horizontal line, and she can’t move while attacking. She also can’t move for a fraction of a second before or after attacking, and she can’t parry or otherwise defend herself. She also can’t heal. The enemies are numerous, move quickly, and respawn every time you leave a screen, the combination of which is a bad match for the slow-paced combat. I don’t think the game is meant to be difficult, but it’s not fun to play.
The key mechanic is that the character can freeze time. This has a lot of potential, but it’s implemented in a very stupid way that I don’t need to get into. I feel like Timespinner is what happens when people want to make a game but don’t really understand how games work. Maybe they should have drawn a comic instead.
Auridia
A no-combat Metroidvania, very good + bookmarked for later
Okay this one was a pleasant surprise. It reminds me a lot of Animal Well (my beloved), but much more engaging and far less opaque.
Each of the areas in the game is well-defined and atmospheric, and each screen is thoughtfully planned. The exploration abilities are interesting, and there’s a neat twist – for each exploration ability you gain, you have to sacrifice some of your health and vitality. The background lore of the game is the standard “a civilization went too far,” but every element of the gameplay underscores this by nudging you toward making the same choices.
About two hours in, the game opens up and becomes surprisingly spacious. In addition, the platforming challenges become trickier. I still wouldn’t say Auridia is on par with Animal Well in terms of “what the fuck am I supposed to be doing,” but it’s a larger and more complicated game than I expected.
Auridia just came out, so I’m going to give people time to write/film walkthroughs before I jump back in. Still, I’d say it’s more than worth it if you only play for the first two hours, which are super fun and snappy and accessible.
A retro first-person dungeon crawler, not for me
The sample images of this game are very beautiful and look like a combination of King’s Field IV (an early FromSoft game) and Vermis (a strategy guide for a Soulslike game that doesn’t exist). Unfortunately, the game itself is very primitive and has no charm or color or atmosphere at all.
Essentially, you fill in the grids of simple maps while your characters auto-battle in a separate text box. You can’t customize the characters or heal between battles, and everything (from leveling up to leaving a dungeon) requires money. The numbers are very poorly balanced; and, when I realized it would take at least an hour to get all of the characters in my party to Level 2, I dropped the game.
I think I only spent fifteen minutes with Dragon Ruins II, but I’m happy to give the indie developers my $12. I hope they get good feedback and go on to make better games.
Timespinner
A pixel art Metroidvania, not for me
Like Dragon Ruins II, the pixel art for the characters is very pretty, but the rest of the game is completely generic. In a video game genre where exploration is important, the environments need to be worth exploring.
In addition, the combat is very clunky. Your character can only attack in a horizontal line, and she can’t move while attacking. She also can’t move for a fraction of a second before or after attacking, and she can’t parry or otherwise defend herself. She also can’t heal. The enemies are numerous, move quickly, and respawn every time you leave a screen, the combination of which is a bad match for the slow-paced combat. I don’t think the game is meant to be difficult, but it’s not fun to play.
The key mechanic is that the character can freeze time. This has a lot of potential, but it’s implemented in a very stupid way that I don’t need to get into. I feel like Timespinner is what happens when people want to make a game but don’t really understand how games work. Maybe they should have drawn a comic instead.
Auridia
A no-combat Metroidvania, very good + bookmarked for later
Okay this one was a pleasant surprise. It reminds me a lot of Animal Well (my beloved), but much more engaging and far less opaque.
Each of the areas in the game is well-defined and atmospheric, and each screen is thoughtfully planned. The exploration abilities are interesting, and there’s a neat twist – for each exploration ability you gain, you have to sacrifice some of your health and vitality. The background lore of the game is the standard “a civilization went too far,” but every element of the gameplay underscores this by nudging you toward making the same choices.
About two hours in, the game opens up and becomes surprisingly spacious. In addition, the platforming challenges become trickier. I still wouldn’t say Auridia is on par with Animal Well in terms of “what the fuck am I supposed to be doing,” but it’s a larger and more complicated game than I expected.
Auridia just came out, so I’m going to give people time to write/film walkthroughs before I jump back in. Still, I’d say it’s more than worth it if you only play for the first two hours, which are super fun and snappy and accessible.
