Helvetii

I've known one of the developers for nearly a decade and to say that they've poured a lot of love and effort into this project is an understatement. Also, disclaimer, lol. Helvetii draws heavy inspiration from Muramasa: Rebirth, a game on the [b]legacy[/b] system known as the PS Vita. Both Helvetii and Muramasa are period piece games that draw from local folklore (ancient Swiss Gaul in Helvetii's case) to influence the art style and gameplay. Team KwaKwa made a great decision in allowing their game to stand on its own as a rougelike. This allowed them to include combat assists (straight up Jojo stands), a ridiculously fun combo system (IT'S MAHVEL BABY), and various gameplay modifiers. [h1]STOP READING THIS REVIEW, THE SHOPKEEPER IS AN OWL NAMED BOB. AND YOU CAN COOK WITH HIM.[/h1] Dale North did a fantastic job with the music. I personally preferred the slower tracks, they're kind you sit at the menu to listen to for a minute or two. Emi Evans, most popularly known as the singer for the Nier series, features several times in the soundtrack. While I really enjoy her singing, I would have liked to have heard a different vocalist for some of the tracks. Helvetii has just received its final patch, which introduces a lot of quality of life improvements, fixes, and additional content. Since the beginning, the team has been dedicated to delivering the best possible version of the game to players. If anyone is interested in games set in ancient Swiss Gaul, or rougelikes, or even if you want to support a video game developer who is a literal owl, please consider picking up Helvetii.

Let me preface this by saying I didn't think I'd enjoy the floaty nature of the game and was absolutely in the ballpark of "hey, a friend made this game so I'll support it". Then I played it and pretty much 180'd on that and can say that it's just great. Everything feels hefty, the flow is mostly immaculate and the passion is oozing throughout. It's floaty but in the best way, and most of all, it WANTS you to be a dumb ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ with big combos exploiting the game and finding that build that breaks it. If you want a procedural generated, tight brawler with some sick music and wonderful art, I'd recommend this. A wonderful labour of love from a studio of three people, great work. Oh and there was a bug where one of the characters could parry damage ticks, such as poison. They kept it in as a powerup you could acquire during a run, which is infinitely hilarious and should inform you how dedicated to fun the devs are.

So I found out this game existed by looking up 2D DMC like games, and it scratches that itch in the brain amazingly well. Each character feels different enough to make any run have different priorities when it comes to gaining loot and the ability to spend cores after each level instead of at the start of a run makes the sigil growth system integral to finding success on normal mode as you are learning the ropes. The game also allows in the main menu to modifer base damage rate of all enemy damage, my sweet spot was 75% but for those wanting a challenge you can set it to 200% and take double damage at all times. Over all I love it

"Muramasa - the demon blade" meets roguelite. "Helvetii" is wearing the inspiration on its sleeve but that's hardly a bad thing. The lovely hand-drawn style hooked me in but I stayed for the gameplay. While most roguelites are already heavily combat-focused, Helvetii stands out by actually rewarding long combo streaks and more stylish play. With three distinct and unique characters, it's all the more fun. The difficulty never felt punishing though it had a bit of an odd curve. Maybe it's just me, but the second stage main boss feels a bit harder than the third stage boss (especially with the Druid who has a hard time keeping up with the mobility of the boss). Other than that, the gameplay loop is rather fun, especially with the variety of stage elements. The permanent upgrade progression feels a little slow but fortunately the game rewards skill very generously, so normal mode can be cleared without a long grind. The upgrades during runs can make a big difference without having to actually consider a build, which I will ENDORSE, since most roguelites emphasize builds, some of them a little too much. "Helvetii" is an experience where each run's success mostly depends on the player's skill. The amusing dialogue between the characters and Shopkeeper Bob's lines are a nice touch too. Overall, "Helvetii" managed to stand out to me in a year PACKED with roguelites and deserves a genuine recommendation. 8.5/10

Once you get a character's moveset under your hands, racking up big combos is super fun. Starting from a position of strength gives you enough freedom to learn the game and makes the stat upgrades and item chests feel substantial and rewarding. The game runs at a consistent and silky smooth 60fps and the art is gorgeous and detailed. It's really good!

Bon jeux, graphiquement très joli et le gameplay est tres propre.

A beautiful action game with a great flow and wonderful soundtrack. I was worried that the detailed visuals would make it difficult to follow what's happening in combat, but the team did a great job of emphasizing the things you need to see quickly. The three characters have very distinct playstyles, and all three feel good in their own way. The game starts off fairly easy, but quickly ramps to a level where you'll need to stay on your toes to succeed. Like any good roguelike, thinking about your build - and sometimes passing on items that don't fit - is key to keeping ahead. The best thing I can say is that each new enemy had me simultaneously saying "oh wow" at the art and "oh hell" at the realization that this guy was about to stomp me into the dirt, in a good way. This is a fantastic pickup if you're remotely interested in the genre.

The game looks, sounds, and feels incredible. I'm not usually hyperbolic, and I've tried to type more nuanced thoughts, but that's really everything haha.

I came for the unique art style and stayed for the smooth combat, interesting setting and addicting gameplay. That's big praise considered that I usually have a hard time warming up with sidescrolling games, but as a huge rogue-like/rogue-lite fan, seeing some familiar and beloved elements in this game kept me playing until the combat really drew me in for good :D I'd also like to mention that I had a game breaking bug when I first downloaded the game, and the devs replied to my support request WITHIN MINUTES and put a new version of the game on Steam immediately. Never had such responsive support before for any software!

An excellent action roguelite all round. Great visuals and music, a lovable trio of dorks, and incredibly solid combat especially for a game built around a single attack button. I've been looking forward to it ever since playing the demo and the full release is everything I hoped for. Just remember to jump cancel your dashes.