Gastova: The Witches of Arkana

Игра супер платформер старой школы SNES (sega). Смесь стиля игр мега мена и мира метройд суперское решение.

I am leaving a early review to help boost this cute metroidvania while it works it way thru early access. This game left an immediate positive impression on me. The controls are tight and responsive. The default control scheme is reasonable. I am always surprised when dash/dodge ISN'T on the B button for a 2d action platformer. (it does use B button in this game, FYI.) The map is informative on a basic level and also provides more detailed information like the types of enemies in the tool-tipped area.

好玩不火...

Though originally pitched as Megaman + Wonder Boy, the latter influence has been pared down quite a bit. What emerged from early access is something like Megaman with experience levels and the kind of sprawling multidirectional level design often seen in 16-bit platformers. The music is great, the art is colorful and detailed throughout, and control is responsive and fluid. It takes a little bit to get going as the first couple of levels are pretty low-key, but once it picks up, it's a fun time. Although both you and your elemental skills gain experience levels, these aren't dramatically noticeable. The staves and outfits are more impactful. Staves are weapons with particular attack patterns and attached elements that drop from certain enemies; outfits are pieced together from seeds scattered around the world (these are the only remaining collectibles) and grant passive effects or upgrade certain staves. It's fun to work out the combinations and playstyles that work best for you, but the outfits themselves range in power from novel to game-changing. I found the one that boosts healing magic to be near-mandatory for the later boss fights, as getting hit on hard mode can cost a third to half of your health. The level design is where the game's development challenges are most evident. The world is divided up into discrete, plot-gated areas that once held more to collect than they do now, and you can see the empty nooks, ledges, and dead-ends where items used to be. The village hub, as well, doesn't play much of a role anymore, as there's not much reason to visit without the shop that was originally there. The developers are now considering winding back some of these changes post-release, giving the impression that they may not have total confidence in their vision, or are perhaps just too eager to please. There are MANY boss fights in this game, and they're generally fun, flashy, and creative, though difficulty can vary quite a bit. This is also where the game plays its favorite trick: the teleporting boss. Many if not most bosses will either blink in and out or hover out of reach of most weapons, and they especially enjoy teleporting directly on top of you. With the right elements and strategy, though, most can be eliminated fairly quickly. A few late-game bosses crossed into frustration for me - especially one in particular, a double boss fight with a limited vulnerability window whose randomized attacks often combined into patterns that I found virtually impossible to avoid. The final boss was also exhausting to fight, because if you lose to its second phase, you have to run back from the save point, fight the first phase again, and watch a fairly lengthy cutscene before you can try again. A retry checkpoint was sorely needed here. So, while not perfect, and not exactly how it was pitched six years ago on Kickstarter, it's a fun and pretty lengthy Megaman-like adventure. I think it's worth checking out.

It’s a pretty simple Mega Man-ish game but it’s kinda charming. Gastova is a delightful protagonist, any character whose motivation "I thought I wouldn't have to do anything and I'd get paid for it" is okay in my book. A little too easy at first but turns more challenging in its second half. It has a few minor issues and some rough voice acting but it’s still pretty decent

If Christina plays this game we all will, all hail the overlord.

游戏整体不错，普通难度前期还好到后期尤其是十二星座BOSS摸两下就没了（目前43级，防御才19点）EA阶段的商店也取消了。建议提高升级防御增加值（毕竟游戏不属于魂类，还是应该以轻松为主）。

游戏是一点引导都没有的，一堆名词不知道啥意思，什么女神石，什么元素力，困难难度把我打笑了，什么元素升级，什么人物升级，屁用没有，越后面的boss出招无前摇，而且随意性大，最搞笑的是各个boss自带闪现，有很大概率直接出现在你身上，然后碰撞伤害扣血，伤害碰一下半血以上，用技能的那个像魔法书的玩意还得打怪有极低概率掉落，法杖很多又很幽默，一点伤害都没有

A failed kickstarter project. This was originally supposed to be a metroidvania but the game went into dev hell and in a desperate attempt to salvage this they turned it into a boring linear megaman like game. Don't buy this, there are so many better games out there for you to play instead of this.

There's definitely much to be improved on. That being said, the game's got good music and nostalgic graphics that I absolutely love! Whatever Christina buys, I will buy too