We at the Gaming Review love a bit of nostalgia, in fact we are so nostalgic that we should originate from the island of Nostal, situated in the sea of Yearning just off the coast of Wistful. Anyway, we like the olden days and olden games even more so, so when this kickstarter title appeared for backing, we couldn’t help but being a teeny weeny bit gooey and excited and when we were offered the chance to get a special hands on play test of the game..well.. we exploded in a mist of 80s luminescent goo.
So, whats the big deal? Well, the premise of the game is pretty simple. You are a knight on a mission to shoot lots of beautifully animated enemies whilst riding a Gryphon. Simple concept and yet a real joy to play. The game maintains a retro look whilst at the same time looking every bit the modern game. The characters are beautifully drawn and animated and it has a real Castle Crashers feel to it, you know, the kind of thing where every screen brings something new to gaze at and every enemy is ever so slightly different to the last. In a break from tradition the game allows you to move not only left to right but also right to left, top to bottom and bottom to top. You are also presented at various points in your quest with a choice of which pathway you want to take, presumably so you can retread old ground and maybe earn a few more coins or acquire that power up you missed the first time around, or even offering branching paths to choose from and new areas to discover?
Oh, and the game is hard. Not your Dark Souls kind of hard, but old school arcade cabinet kind of hard. You know the sort – the game you’d watch some spotty kid kicking 7 bells out of at your local arcade making it look really easy until you get your grubby mitts on the joystick and last literally 30 seconds.. Put enough time into the game and you will most definitely get better and be that spotty kid who impresses the heck out of your mates! For the first time in years and years I wished I had an auto fire button on my controller, as my “shooters thumb” (tm, patent applied for) flared up after a few decades of recovery time!
It will be interesting to see what further developments will bring, especially with the kickstarter funding which the game will hopefully achieve. It would be good for them to reach $100,000 to see some coop multiplayer thrown in there – maybe some local coop as well as the obligatory online multi player option! Also, maybe some form of level editor or randomiser for some longer lasting Gryphon fun! But these are really all “nice” extras, the focus should be on the base game first and foremost as this is really where the fun lies at the moment!
So far I’m really impressed with what the guys are doing here and it’s definitely one to watch. If you are feeling generous then why not chuck a few quid their way and support what is looking to be a great little title from a small team. Top work guys, keep up the good work, we will definitely be back to look at the finished product!
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