mixed genres have been a staple of many of my favorite old school games ( Master Blaster on the NES and Undercover agent and Raid on Moscow on the Commodore 64 are the first that come to mind) and, at first glance, Abandoned fits perfectly in this area in a positive way. But it’s not self-sufficient enough to make it a truly unforgettable classic experience.
I have no problem with a game resting on the pillars of the repository genres, but when the end result is an amalgamation of Dark souls, Metroid, and Dead cells, one would think that the fundamentals and mechanics of these games would be quite obvious – at least on a more than superficial level. Instead, Canadian developer Big Blue Bubble finds itself in an embarrassing limbo where comparisons to the classic titles I mentioned above, at least in terms of level design and overall gameplay, cannot be avoided. , leaving Abandoned looked a little pale in comparison. Yet on this hike through the various realms of Calagan, I can’t say that I didn’t have a great time.
In Abandoned, the player takes on the role of a referee – a genetically modified super-soldier, essentially. The Arbitrators were created to do justice and restore the war-torn but technologically advanced world of Calagan by defeating Project Hera (a Phoenix-type boss who will test you in various forms). The setting in which our heroine finds herself is really a tip of the hat in the world of Dead cells, and it does a decent job of replicating the 2.5D perspective and pixel art color scheme of this title. The level design also has a similar flavor, but these levels are built in “Metroidvania»Mode – employing mostly action and exploration techniques seen both Metroid and Castlevania series – rather than relying on a procedural build that randomizes the level / dungeon with each game, and is a staple of the plethora of “Roguelike” titles available today.
Abandoned attempts to tell a linear story across a world with meticulously placed platform after platform. Similar to Dark souls, Abandoned tries to link the game world with shortcuts and secret passages, but unlike Dark souls, which is more open, Abandoned is more linear and predictable – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as you won’t get lost as easily or constantly refer to the map. However, the story is never really brought out in the in-game dialogue; rather, it is told in a weirdly sporadic fashion by ancient tomes that you find scattered across the world. That, unfortunately, doesn’t really work, as it leaves you rather indifferent to the narrative as a whole. As a result, you struggle more to play and overcome the various obstacles rather than getting caught up in the story, which is a shame (especially for someone like me who really digs into the why’s and why’s with strong narrative hooks) because that there is a fascinating story to tell Abandoned.
When you have gameplay as smooth as the one featured in Abandoned, it is difficult to choose the nits, but I will do it. Above all, what you have here is a beautiful ballet of balls and blades that can, sad to say, get a little wobbly. The Arbiter’s animations are elegant, but it can be difficult to chain attacks together, and even the most basic actions (double jumps or slides to get under sawblades or fire jets) sometimes feel like to be “off”, causing bothersome and preventable damage. Ordinary enemies are mechanical, ad nauseam repeat attack patterns, but that is offset by boss battles – which are, in a nutshell, sublime, striking the right balance between pattern recognition and pure adrenaline rush. . contraction skills.
While Abandoned Getting to the basics of a 2D Metroidvania, the coolest ride for me was how ammo for your ranged weapons (pistols, shotguns, bows, energy blasters, daggers, and gunchucks) is analyzed. Your ammunition is strictly limited. To reload, you not only collect new rounds (as you would expect), but have to attack enemies directly in melee combat. It becomes a precarious dance between melee and ranged / shooting styles, alternating between dedicated styles of different weapons.