Marko: Beyond Brave

[table][th] Review by [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34633003-Gaming-Masterpieces/lists/] Gaming Masterpieces [/url] - The greatest games of all time on Steam. [/th][/table] Is this game a masterpiece? No, but it is beautiful and plays well - within its limitations. It was programmed by a Bulgarian team who aimed to develop an accessible platformer with above-average graphics and great playability, without being drawn into additional features, elaborate details and an eternally long story. In addition to the jumps, the focus is primarily on the battles with the monsters, whereby Marko only has his huge sword at his disposal. A spear is added later for ranged combat, but that's (almost) it. There are of course a few other items, plus selectable seals (to improve certain stats), but anyone expecting hundreds of items like in Diablo will be disappointed. The team is particularly proud of the hand-drawn animations, which wouldn't look out of place in a Studio Ghibli anime. We play Marko, a villager in a small rural town in a country called Zagora (inspired by the Carpathian Mountains). Life would be wonderful and we'd still be chopping down a few trees and twirling our oversized moustache in peace if a purple three-headed monster didn't suddenly appear at the entrance to the village, killing our friends and throwing us off the collapsing village bridge. We were supposed to be floating dead as a doornail in the river, but a stag with huge golden antlers brings us back to life and in a hidden cave we find a sword lying around just waiting for us. It's a magic sword, of course, and hacking enemies to pieces with it generates courage. And if we have enough courage, we can regenerate some health points, which is one of the core game mechanics. Striking with your sword, jumping over enemies, dodging backwards at the touch of a button, dashing forwards, hurling a spear (actually our improved sword...), using the physically correct double jump and skillfully dodging enemies (inspired by the Slavic legendary world - Kikimora, Vodnik, Usoi, Samovila, Dhampir, Prokoba,...) - that's how you'll spend most of the game. You can't parry, by the way - if you want to survive, you have to dodge, especially when fighting the numerous boss enemies (an enchanted prince, a bewitched goat,...), because they are merciless. You have five health points, and every hit or contact with an enemy (or with lava) costs you one point. If you have built up enough courage by eliminating enemies, you can regenerate several health points. Or you can choose not to use this ability and hit harder instead. If you die, you will be revived at the last save point, which can be found in several places in the game. In the village, you will meet some inhabitants who will help you (for a few coins) - like the blacksmith who will improve your sword. There are always hidden areas where there are usually a few nice extras, money and sometimes new characters lying around. However, there is no elaborate character development, so if you are looking for an extensive skill tree, you will search in vain. You play Marko, learn a few new skills (dash, double jump, javelin throw,...), improve Marko with the seals you find (you decide which ones to activate) and with a few upgrades (e.g. more health points), but the most important improvement comes from getting better at the game. As soon as you encounter a new enemy for the first time, an entry is created in the monster overview, which you can view at your leisure in the menu. At the touch of a button, a map of the current environment is displayed. I was lied to at Gamescom. Marko: Beyond Brave is not an easy entry-level metroidvania for in-between games. The game is tough as nails, and the bosses gave me a few more gray hairs (not that you'd notice). There isn't much backtracking necessary either, as a rule you fight your way forward level by level - but you can decide where you want to continue next. The graphics are really like something out of a Disney cartoon, beautifully animated and wonderfully colorful - just as I remember them as a child. [u][b] Conclusion:[/b][/u] If you're looking for a classic hack and slash action game for your PC, this is a game for you. High playability (assuming a certain level of skill on the part of the player), great graphics, a little bit of character development and a humorous embedding in a story full of references to various Slavic folk tales will keep you entertained for some hours.

I love the fact that its a Bulgarian game with folklore elements (as a Bulgarian myself) But I just can't get over the issues of the game, especially when considering the price tag, some of the issues include: * Missing VFX, SFX and UI polish * Missing user-feedback when doing certain actions * The art is good when it comes to the animated characters, but there is Inconsistency in the style, for example - background, foreground, enemies and visual effects often have a different style, and its noticeable in a bad way * Some actions feel a bit janky, either too snappy or floaty (for example the mid-air down-attack can be missed easily, no grace period where the attack hitbox stays active for a few more frames to check for collisions with an enemy) * Bad telegraphing, especially the first/tutorial boss * The difficulty of the game to a big extent doesn't come from a design/logical choice, but rather the combination of the missing telegraphing and user feedback when certain actions happen (ex: missing SFX when boss attacks, or needlessly fast animation with minimal delay) * Map design - some areas are not well connected, for an example the tutorial area could use some "railway" guidance to push the player properly in the right direction and learn the basic mechanics without feeling too lost or handheld * Missing basic tutorial steps * Buttons not displayed in the text (example: "Heal by pressing the Courage/Heal button", whichever that button is) * Bad default keyboard mapping * Missing Bulgarian translation (in a Bulgarian folklore game) At the end of the day its an indie game, and the devs are fixing some of the issues and taking feedback, so we could say its not "finished". On the positive side, the game has good music and artwork with folk elements (Personal favorites are Kozan and the Samodivas) Is the game worth 19€ in it's current state? For me - No. Does the game have room for improvement which the dev's are currently working on? - Yes. Will the game be worth 19€ after bugfixing and updating? - Its up to you. Currently I'm enjoying the game even with its current issues, but personally I would rather market it as a work in progress/early access game rather than a finished product. All in all it's very cool to see a Bulgarian themed game, and I wish the dev team good luck on their journey

I didn't enjoy this game for a multitude of reasons and thus requested a refund. But i can see the dev has been hard at work with dozens of patches since launch and is also planning to add 3 FREE dlc. Given this fact i cannot leave a negative review because then i'd screw the devs over twice. I'll just leave a thumbs up as encouragement to keep working on the game. And if they improve the game a lot i may revisit it later. For now though my issues were too numerous for me to enjoy the game fully. Things like janky controls, poor visuals feedback when getting hit and overal difficulty because of these two aspects. I gave up at the driad boss because the attacks came too fast with not enough telegraphs. Maybe they can add an easy mode later but i also saw some tougher platforming sections in a review that i had not yet encountered. I like tough platforming if the controls feel good but these felt inconsistent. Bosses were fun but again poorly telegraphed and too tanky. Items were too expensive in the shop and upgrades came sparingly. Level design was pretty basic and enemy placement was a bit annoying, especially the overly tanky flying enemies in the forest biome made me a bit annoyed. I did like the music, LOVED the intro cutscene and had relatively smooth framerate. I could write a whole essay about what can be improved but it's mostly about game feel when you play it. I wish the devs good luck in their endaveours, don't give up on this because with some more work it can become a good game.

Decided to play the game for some time because i wanted to give an adequate review. So here it is: Firstly, the game as a whole. It is a Metroidvania inspired by slavic myths and legends - yes please! So far I'm having an awesome experience. The art style is amazing. The character designs are unique and the background perfectly compliments the theme of the game. Man, that world map is just pure art!!! And not to mention the soundtrack - out of this world. Being Bulgarian myself and hearing Bulgarian folklore (or slavic in general) tones in the boss music just does something to me. It's like the fairytales from our childhoods came to life! Ok, now about the gameplay. I still haven't finished the game cuz i want to explore the whole map, find all the hidden treasures and just immerse myself in the world of Zagora. Overall i can say that the game is challenging. There are different types of zones in the world which require different play strategies. There are parkour sections (which for me a soooo irritating sometimes :D) which add to the diversity of the gameplay. You get to choose different strike moves, you can also unlock abilities to aid you in your adventure. And the cherry on top - the bosses. Every single one is unique and challenging. You gotta be locked in at every second because you don't know what the boss is gonna throw at you. It is great fun. You gotta beware that there are a few bugs in the game though. For example some hit boxes may not address a hit or you may be glitched in a boss room but the developer is working hard to fix everything and even improve it. Nothing is perfect after all. Just to reassure you: Recently i found a not so small bug with one of the bosses. Contacted the dev and 6 or so minutes later i got a confirmation that the bug is fixed and will be out with the next patch. Another thing is the price tag. Maybe a little bit steep if you ask me but it is worth the money. To sum up i definitely recommend the game! It is a challenging and fun experience with unique art style and world building. The developers did a great job and i cannot wait to see what's next for the game.

Game was a little bit janky upon release, but the dev has been actively listening to feedback and improving it. It's pretty fun to play and well made otherwise, at least so far. It definitely scratches the metroidvania itch.

Разочарован съм. Купих си я, защото е българска и има български език, а се оказа, че някои от текстовете не са преведени... и има смесени българко-английски текстове.

I was waiting for this game for more than an year and I bought it almost immediately after it came out. When I saw the reviews I decided to wait a bit for some bugs to be fixed because I did not want to be disappointed. Now that I have already beaten the game I can say that the game is pretty good and it is worth playing it. Pros: • Nice art and animations • Good music and effect sounds • Unique locations to explore • Bulgarian mythology (As a bulgarian myself that is definitely a plus) Cons: • Lacks a story. There is a story but it is pretty straightforward. The lamya attacks your village and you have to defeat it. There are some bugs and some suggestions I would like to share but I am not sure where so I will put them here. • There are some texts that are not translated in bulgarian when you choose it from the options: - In the options menu "EPIC" and "ULTRA" are in english. - When you start the game and your inventory is empty, the text is in english - "EMPTY". - The text of the healing abillity is in english. - The controls for gamepad are in english. - Names of the regions on the quick map are in english. - The dialog text with Vergil is in english. - The texts of all sigils are in english(only in the menu). • Part of the quick map remains undiscovered even thought I have been there. • In the menu the first and the last buttons at the top are not fully visible. • The bestiary is empty through the whole game. • The game can't be continued after beating the final boss. I have to collect more items for achievements and I can't leave the final region. • Beaten bosses can't be fought again. I would be nice if you could replay boss fights in the same campaign. • There is some problem with the achievements. I got them several minutes after I completed them. I somehow didn't get the achievement about beating the brothers.

Metroidvania + mustache + art = Explore Zagora in non-linear maps with traps and monsters. Save progress at checkpoints and fight challenging bosses. Power up with abilities and items. [h1][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/35180752-3-point-play/] Follow our curator for similar games [/url][/h1]

Много е добра, човек...

This game is a real gem! The developers masterfully weave Bulgarian (or rather, Balkan) folk tales into a captivating world. The attention to detail in the environment is incredible, with tons of hidden treasures and Easter eggs to discover. While the boss fights might be a bit tricky at first, once you get the hang of the mechanics, they become a breeze. The gameplay is superb, and the soundtrack perfectly complements the visuals and theme, creating a truly immersive and enjoyable experience. The storytelling is remarkable, making this game a must-play for anyone who appreciates a good story.