Maseylia : Echoes of the Past

I think I've been playing enough to write a sort of "subject to change" review - I intend to finish the game and update this review if needed. I rarely write reviews, at least not in depth reviews, but I have a lot of thoughts and feedback for this game. Let me start of by saying I like this game and that's why I am recommending it, but sometimes I'm more critical about things I like vs things I don't like. Once something gives me enough reasons to dislike it, I drop it instead of pressing on to just pick it apart. So since I am more critical of things I do like, anyone reading this might be confused why I am recommending by the time they finish reading. Let me start with my biggest disappointment- the underutilization of verticality. Before I even knew this game was inspired by pseudoregalia I was instantly comparing them - I guess This makes sense as there are very few 3d metroidvania platformers... like ones that are true metroidvanias that use ability gating to gradually open up the world. Pseudoregalia, unfortunately for all future 3d metroidvanias with a focus on platforming, set the bar very high. I personally think it has the best movement of any 3d platformer to date - but I don't care too much about comparing the platforming. I wanna compare the use of 3d space. Pseudoregalia had a lot of layering in vertical in 3d space, where this game has... little to none. Let me explain what I mean: In this game so far there was no time where I caught myself looking down and being like "oh there's a route down there/there's more platforms or items down there" or looked up and thought "what's up there/how do I get up there" - that's what I mean by no layering. It just feels like the game is kinda flat even though there are times you go up and times you down, ultimately it is along the same path and of course they diverge and converge but they could do so much more with the verticality. In pseudoregalia most open areas had a sense of layered non-linear ways to navigate spaced out vertically. Gives you a reason to stop and look around AND up and down. In this game I feel like I'm just looking forward/backward/left/right because looking up and down most of the time is a waste of time. I hope I explained this well enough... but I am trying to review this game based on what it is vs what it could be. When I have a lot of thoughts on a game that has few reviews, I tend to look at the negatives brought up by the people who don't recommend it - then point -> counter point/ see if I agree or disagree So here's what I've gathered from others about the negatives of this game, and how I feel about it: -platforming is clunky/janky controls: it could definitely be smoother but I wouldn't say it's clunky. Pretty decent for a 3d platformer. If people want examples of clunky 3d platformers I could make a list for them to play so they can appreciate the movement in this game more -combat is clunky/an afterthought: yaaa... combat is kinda just meh and really clunky. They could have put more focus into platforming challenges and taken out combat completely.... it doesn't really add anything to the game. I spend most of my time just ignoring enemies as they aren't fun or rewarding to fight. They aren't worth the little money you get from them when you can just bash a glowing rock that gives you 10× the money. Also, the boss fights are super lame. Instead of boss fights they should have just had extra hard platforming sections to get to the main collectible (keys) (( while I'm on the subject of things that add nothing to the game - the game saves your progress every time you get an item which is good... except when that item is at a dead end and the only way to continue is platform back the way you came which usually isn't a problem, more of just an annoyance. Making you do the same platform challenge in reverse adds nothing to the game - maybe they could have used the time that they spent on combat on new platform challenges that loop you back to the map.... or add a teleport pad just for dead ends )) -bugs: there are some I encountered, but nothing major or game breaking or anything that's just more than a nuisance. Examples are enemies Clipping through walls and they can shoot you still but you can't shoot them, I've clipped through the ground a few times, sometimes a mana "ball" in the ui will be full despite looking empty, when you pause when there are sound fx playing they repeat which can confuse you/make you think the game isn't actually paused -feels like a student project: ya... kinda... or like early access. The reason for this will be obvious based on other things brought up throughout this review -unpolished world: mild agree. There are parts here and there that feel a bit unfinished, linear platform challenges they force you to go both ways but some feel like they were mainly designed to go one way, there are orbs that have different uses and each one is just a slightly different size and color and specifically 2 of them are hard to discern when you're platforming quickly, there are a couple grapple orbs ive come across that placed in odd spots where you basically have to clip through some edges of platforms to use them. These are the main things that come to mind - it's not a super polished game but for the most part its polished enough - it seems this is the first project from a very small team so you can't expect high level polishing -someone who only played 1.3 hours stated you just get one upgrade, use it a couple times, and then a new one... basically saying you don't use previous upgrades and that they don't have you use them in new ways: I will say this is almost completely untrue. There is a slide upgrade that I only used like 3 times and haven't used it since in over 3 hours of playtime (and the air dash seems to completely replace the slide since you use the same button and end up just dashing on the ground instead of sliding - havent checked if this blocks of the few areas that need the slide), but every other upgrade has continually been utilized and combined with new upgrades to create interesting new platforming challenges. I guess this person just didn't play long enough to experience this. Animations lack polish: I guess... but I think they are fine enough. Not really a problem for me Sound effects are bland: agree, the sound effects just sound link a bunch of different crunchy noises for the most part, and the ones that aren't kinda just sound... "stock" UI is unattractive: its not unattractive, but it's not attractive either - wouldn't say it's an issue at all Ok now that all the negative stuff is out there... let me try and explain why I still like and recommend it. Although a few times I got annoyed with it, overall I've just been having fun. The art style is nice and it's been enjoyable enough to where I keep coming back to it instead of going to other games I was recently in the middle of. Beneath it's rough edges is a solid, good game that keeps the gameplay refreshing as you progress. Despite its lack of use of layering and verticality it's still a good metroidvania designed world. It's 100% worth checking out you like 3d platformers and/or metroidvanias - if you're doubting based on the negatives... maybe wait for a deeper sale or some patches to fix it up a bit. Also the developer has been super responsive, they even helped me find an upgrade I stupidly missed (you can see this in discussions *spoiler warning*) the map has "bonus/upgrade missed" icons which I didn't realize - ty dev for putting these in there I hope the dev doesnt perceive me as being harsh, I just wanted to put all my thoughts on the table. A decent amount of it can be fixed/improved in patches, but hopefully the dev takes the rest as feedback they can apply to a future game cause I would love to see more from them. This is a pretty good game but I think they have the potential to make a *great* one See comments

The concept of a fairly open 3D metroidvania really excited me. However, this game feels so empty and dead in a way that lore and movement cannot account for. The Pros: - Aesthetically pretty pleasing - Map from the beginning - Truly non-linear in a way that makes it very easy to get lost exploring - Interesting movement upgrades that I'm sure would become something cool by the end of the game The Cons: - Combat, though kinda rare, is very clunky - Incredibly unusual controls - the confirm button on dialogues with options is not the same button that closes dialogue boxes - Kinda buggy for something to be past release - when I picked up my first collectible, the dialogue box stayed on the window and was unable to be closed until I clicked out of the game and back in. I was never given an indication what the button to close dialogue boxes was, and only discovered it through trial and error - The openness of the world is so much so that there are nooks and crannies that are easy to nearly get stuck in, which just kinda feels bad because you either have to die or make really precise jumps to escape those places.

I played the ♥♥♥♥ out of the demo, found every nook and cranny, absolutely loved it. Then I got the full release, and really the demo was better. Every biome is pretty much the same, I mean they've got some cool mechanics but not enough save points. Really the rage quit for me was the double jump arena. Once I got that ability I was 100% stuck. I couldn't finish the area, I played that one section for over 2 hours and never got out. I would have loved to move on or go back to another area but sadly you can only fast travel to very specific way points from very specific way points, and there aren't any in that area. The map refuses to let you go backwards from there so, while this game was fun, it is dead to me now because of poorly designed levels. Sorry guys better luck next time. Unless you implement map travel from anywhere so you can get yourself unstuck from areas, this is a no go for me.

<本編クリア後の感想> 探索寄りの3Dプラットフォームアクション 色々不満点はあったが難易度高めのプラットフォームアクション好きにおすすめ ボス戦や雑魚戦はおまけ程度、探索についても隠し通路的なものはほとんどなかったはず 良い点 ・ステージ攻略部分はテンポよく楽しめる ・幻想的なステージとBGM 悪い点 ・マップ解放やテレポート解放、所持金上限増加にお金が必要 　所持金制限があるので都度都度稼ぐ必要がある ・酸素メーターが画面中央にあり透過していないので邪魔 ・弓を使うときのレティクルの色が薄く背景と同化する場合があり照準が合わせにくい ・マップにアイコンが置けない ・終盤の一部テキストが翻訳されていない ・一部のギミックが説明不足 >一部のギミックが説明不足 [spoiler] 滝っぽい何かに入ると重力の方向が変化して先に進めるようになります [/spoiler]

A very competent 3D Metroidvania that does everything right. Ability-gated progression, non-linear exploration of an interconnected map, versatile abilities, focus on platforming. It's all there and I think it is nicely implemented. It is a game closer to the Metroid-like design in the Metroidvania spectrum, compared to Castlevania-like or Souls-like, and I find that refreshing. I personally like the art direction, but I can understand if others are not fan of it. A lot of art directions can be a bit polarising as soon as they go far from realism, but I don't think this one would prevent players from enjoying the game. Overall, a pleasant addition to the 3D Metroidvania library. We should have more games like this one. Looking forward to seeing more from the developers.

Awesome metroidvania, each area was a blast to explore and some good dificult platforming, we need more 3d metroidvanias out there.

Good movement, nice design, you can tell its a passion project which is always a plus. Worth a try for a fun solo adventure

Feels like hollow knight and sable had a baby. Amazing exploration, the puzzle platforming is satisfyingly tricky- it takes a while for the game to really open up and get you using your abilities together in clever ways but when it does it's very clever. Lovely visuals, at points I did have to turn some graphic settings down in some areas (playing on steam deck and got a tiny bit of lag- no bother, lowering settings fixed it) but this game looks amazing with any settings to be honest. Lovely audio design also. Overall a real treat to play over my weekend! I'm excited to play more!

Controller does not work. The R2 button is bound to the start menu and mellee at the same time and everything can be rebound except for mellee conveniently. Mellee button remapping is an option except its not bound to anything. Its probably a bug but until this is fixed this is unplayable on controller. This is a mouse and keyboard only game.

After several hours of playing, I find the game really enjoyable. It's not perfect, but exploring the world is a lot of fun. The platforming sections are enjoyable, the music fits the game's atmosphere well, and the art direction is an absolute delight. The combat and boss fights are fairly simple. They are not the most interesting aspect of the game, but they serve their purpose and add variety to the experience. I encountered a few bugs and some UI issues. Nothing major, but I hope future patches will improve the overall polish. Overall, I'm having a great time in this beautiful world, and that's what matters most.