Odallus: The Dark Call

One of the worst video games I've ever played

.....

You know if you'll like this kind of game or not. If it looks like you'll like it, you will. It's a good retro SNES/Genesis style platformer action game, had a lot of fun.

Напоминает гибрид между классическими каслваниями и более поздними метройдваниями. Уровни разделены между собой и имеют свой уникальный стиль и фишечки. В каждый придется вернуться, так как обладание определенными реликвиями и предметами позволяет пройти дальше или найти секреты. Большинство из них желательно найти, в конце пригодятся. Да и в конце уже перемещаешься как ветер или есть телепорты, так что это не занимает много времени. Боссы в игре не такие замороченные как в каслах, некоторые просто навсего затыкиваются. В целом, игра нравится своей компактностью, количество уровней и улучшений не такое большое, но как раз к моменту сбора всего хочется пойти вломить главному гаду. Вот там ожидает сюрприз. Управление в игре четкое, вопросов нет. Графика хоть и минималистичная, цветов немного, но местами выдает красоту, хоть на обои. Музыка могла быть по-разнообразнее.

Enjoyable action platformer in a classic style. Really brings to mind Faxanadu for me. Had a lot of fun, definitely worth it if you want some old school vibes!

JoyMasher's second game is quite more "welcoming" to the player than [b]Oniken[/b]: never easy, the challenge can feel stiff at first, but after finding the first health upgrades and armor, it proves quite more approachable. While the "Metroidvania" label can be applied, it's closer to games like [b]Castlevania III[/b], [b]Dracula X[/b] or [b]Demon's Crest[/b]: not an interconnected world but a succession of stages which can be however revisited, especially after obtaining better gear and abilities, and are quite expansive with multiple exits to find that unlock alternate paths into the overworld map. The graphics may appear to come genuinely from a NES in some screenshots but the first notable "cheat" is that while the action takes place in a 4:3 window, the rest of the screen is filled with two status bars. There's also a lot of multiparallax, plus cutscenes and some bosses, especially the last one, more at home on a Mega Drive. It's more of a "NES as I remembered it" than "NES as it really was". All of that doesn't change that [b]Odallus[/b] looks fantastic. It sports amazing spritework ranging from the protagonist also changing aspect depending on the armor found, through even regular enemies made with care and large and gruesome bosses, up to cutscenes that are beautiful while not straying from the style already adopted in [b]Oniken[/b]. It's dark fantasy mixed with anime elements, the influence of Berserk is clear (one of the main villains rips off the Skull Knight's design). All topped by a perfect use of the limited palette, with appropriately muted colors and high contrasts that further enhance the atmosphere; in the areas where parallax is most prominent, it gets very evocative. It's one of the best-looking "neo-retro" games I've seen to date. All that artistry is fortunately not wasted, as the difficulty is balanced so well, and the pace of the progression just right, making the search for upgrades and secrets extremely satisfying. It won't last a tremendous number of hours but not a single minute of play is going to feel wasted. Not sure if I can call it s "masterpiece" but a damn great game this is, even more for its price.

1/10 Do not work

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If you're into OG Castlevania, you'll like this one. Some of the achievements are ROUGH (skill issue here). Definitely worth playing if you like this kind of game. No regrets here.

I'm not very good at these types of games, but I certainly used to like them back in the early 90s. This one takes inspiration from the NES-era Castlevania titles, and the 16-bit Ghosts 'n Goblins/Demon's Crest/Metroidvania type of adventures and mechanics. It's not as easy as some reviewers have noted, but slightly on the difficult side, albeit not super unforgiving as the old classics. I liked almost everything about this one.