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[h1]Overall Rating - Seriously Flawed ★★☆☆☆[/h1]
[h1]First Impressions[/h1]
Not only do I not remember where I got Cataegis : The White Wind (CW), I don't even remember how many times I've thought about playing it again so that I can review it, but just haven't had the interest or desire to do so. Checking the dates, I first played it back in 2017, so it's certainly long overdue. There's no reason to hold it off any longer, so let's get this over with.
[h1]Gameplay[/h1]
Based in part on how the game looks, I'd imagine it draws inspiration from platforming classics of the NES era, such as Castlevania or Ninja Gaiden. You'll fight off enemies using your sword, advancing past obstacles, and occasionally getting power-ups. Stages might include a mini-boss, but otherwise each will end with a boss battle. One thing I'll give the game credit for is not having sluggish movement speed or attacks, as the main character here isn't held back by his suit of armor. The thing about older games is that they were simple and straightforward, so I believe that's about all there is to it.
[h1]Controls[/h1]
The game worked just fine with my controller, though I did find some of the choices a bit strange. For instance, there's a slide dash move, which you use by ducking and hitting the jump button. I kept expecting to use it by running first, as I'd think the two would be related. Another issue came from the running segment as you're being chased by a bus, because you'd outpace the vehicle and wind up on the far edge of the screen, unable to see any of the upcoming obstacles you need to dodge to get past that section.
[h1]Story[/h1]
In CW, you play as a white knight. No, not that kind. He's a true warrior, bestowed with the moniker White Wind. With the red embellishments on his uniform, it's not a bad design or concept, as it could have interesting symbolism. Plus, it'd reinforce that the protagonist does his actions in broad daylight, with nothing to hide. Unlike those rioters who wear all black. Throughout the game, you'll clear out enemy forces and take out their boss. At that point, you'll have the option to either spare their wretched life or execute them on the spot. I think that's a decent idea, as almost all games assume the death of the boss after you beat it, but why not make it a matter of choice after you've vanquished them?
[h1]Visuals[/h1]
CW's saving grace isn't in its visuals, and it's not for the reason you might expect. The pixel graphics get the point across as to what everything is, and generally I don't think the designs are that bad. Admittedly, I do find the main character's running animation kind of goofy looking. What really sinks the visuals for me is how certain colors are heavily overused, often within the same screen or area. After you finish the tutorial, which was primarily blue, the first screen is almost exclusively yellow. You're walking past a series of buildings, and they're all made up of this same material with almost no breaks, except for large slabs of gray. There's an odd distortion about how colors are distributed, as if they were really limited on how many they could make use of, and it makes for a lot of unpleasant backgrounds, “Welcome to the future, where everything is either red or yellow.”
[h1]Sound Design[/h1]
Something else I'd give the game credit for is having pretty solid music. I wasn't able to find a soundtrack online, but when I listened to the tunes instead of playing the game, I enjoyed the music. There's a few notes with an odd quality to them, but it otherwise makes use of a good sound font to produce the songs. They're lively and upbeat, making for a good accompaniment to the gameplay style the developers were aiming for. I believe bosses also have unique tracks as well, though I couldn't verify that.
[h1]Pros[/h1]
🌟 Your character has respectable movement speed and attack range.
🌟 It's not Labor Day yet, so wearing white is still acceptable.
[h1]Cons[/h1]
❌ The game is unforgiving, as I had difficulties on the first level. I didn't really feel like trying multiple times to get past it, though I had more success with it before. Maybe I was more patient then.
❌ There's 32 endings, but why would you want to beat this game 32 times to unlock them all? I'm not even beating it once.
[h1]Tips[/h1]
🔍 You won't fight bosses using careful dodges and hitting those sweet spots with perfect timing. Learn how to clear the stages while taking minimal damage and spam your attacks until the boss falls.
🔍 The game design isn't advanced enough that anything will change one attempt to the next. Memorization will help.
[h1]Final Thoughts[/h1]
Over time, I've become more discriminatory in what bundles and games I acquire, and based on the review score CW has, I wouldn't have gotten it in the first place by my current standard. So, in some ways, reviewing it feels slightly like beating a dead horse, but I've got plenty more of those to tackle in my library. Either way, the disappointing aspect about CW is that there are some good ideas here. You can use a handful of weapon power-ups and charge moves for various situations. The mobility is theoretically pretty good with the ability to run and dash-slide. However, much like the visual design, it falls apart in the execution.
Based on how the mini-boss was designed on the first stage, it's as if you're expected to carefully dodge all of those attacks; the massive wall of fire, his charge forward, and both the projectiles he shoots and the ground sweep effect after they land. Then, you'd hit him with a solid charge attack, maybe a few follow-up swipes with the sword, and start dodging again. Due to how large your character and enemy attacks are though, that's not at all how you'll really play CW. You'll either get to the boss fight with enough health and lives to tank it by spamming your attack, or fail. What was intended doesn't line up with reality, and makes for an unsatisfying gameplay experience. It shows how much fine-tuning is required to get all those important aspects just right: visuals, controls, proportions, HP, damage, and so forth. I can't recommend getting CW.
[table]
[tr]
[th]PC Specs[/th]
[th]Performance[/th]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Ryzen 2700
RTX 2070
16GB RAM
ADATA SSD
1920x1080
[/td]
[td]The game ran without incident on default settings.
💖 - CW is healthy
[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
