For once, I'm skipping the foreplay and going in dry — [b]beneath the simple and colourful pixel graphics resides a damn fun and challenging Metroidvania.[/b]
[h3][b][i]100% geh[/i][/b][/h3]
The plot is straightforward and without any [i]what the writer wanted to say[/i] mumbo jumbo — you're resurected and now go find ya sexy boy toy, Marvin. Also, stop the evil king or something, I dunno. So, while it didn't keep me glued to my seat, it provided an occasional break from axing all of this world's weird inhabitants. Having said that, I do want to praise the jokes. Some were corny but never felt forced. Even managed to make me chuckle. The best bits came from the constant back-and-forth between Drak, our handsome and husky homosexual orc, and Necroniac, the necromancer who resurrected him. However, Necroniac didn't work for me. His chakras were giving me a Steve vibe. So, I dubbed him Steve moving forward. Sadly, it seems nobody informed Steve that [i]the geh[/i] makes one immune to subjugation. So, Drak hit him with a [i]nah[/i], waddling off on his own to find his hunk, Marvin. And, to be fair to Steve, he took this disobedience like a champ. Even continued helping Drak on his adventure. Steve is cool. Be like Steve.
And besides Steve and Drak, this strange [i]Orc [b]X[/b] Human [b]X[/b] Weird beasties[/i] world is also settled by other NPCs with whom you can chat. These meetings did usually end with me chuckling. Was it the corny humour employed during these conversations? Perhaps. Who's to say.
But I'd like to take a moment to mention that I only played with one hand — [b]a controller.[/b] Thus, I can't speak about how good playing on the keyboard is. Another thing — [b]you can't use the D-Pad for movement[/b]. Perhaps Steam's controller layout configurator can help those who prefer the D-Pad over the thumbstick.
Anyway, let's jump to the gameplay now.
Look, I'm no average Metroidvania enjoyer, as I've dipped my toe in the genre only a few times. Still, [i]Orcen Axe[/i] was fun. It competently implemented many staples of the genre — [b]powerups, utility-gated exploration, hidden treasure[/b] and [b]a double jump[/b]. And all the fancy moves rely on Drak swinging his magically infused axe. So, besides being used for vanquishing baddies, it's also used for double jumping, a Beyblade-esque dash mechanic, axe-stomping, solving platforming sections and opening the way forward by using the newly acquired axe abilities. Basically, it's a swiss army axe.
But, as you probably already noticed, I didn't mention one big staple of the genre — [b]a single large, interconnected map[/b]. That's because it's MIA. Instead, we are given multiple separate levels. I didn't mind this approach, as each gave off a unique vibe. And this wasn't just a simple backdrop change. It was the level layout, enemy spawns, and platforming segments. And it's clear how much care went into making them feel distinct from one another — each level oozes passion.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2890612459
But, the game does have a rocky start, as both platforming and combat offered zero challenge whatsoever. Sadly, this only remained true for the combat portion of the game. Could this be a side effect of me honing my skillz in the darkest abyss of Lordran and effortlessly evading monkey poop in the Sunken Valley? Tough to say. However, despite my immensely superior combat skillz allowing me to thrash my foes with ease, I still enjoyed the kurfuffle with all these abominations. But the mobs weren't the only ones privy to this one-sided beating, with the bosses laying down submissively as soon as I appeared. Still had fun slapping them tho, and that's what's important, having fun. I do want to praise the boss' design. They all had unique attack patterns and gameplay gimmicks you must subdue to prevail. My favourites were probably the last boss and the giant rotten pizza fight. The final boss because of the gameplay mechanic you must utilize to slay it, the pizza boss because it's a gigantic pizza.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2889685404
And while the game's bestiary isn't vast nor that diverse, the developer deserves props for the successful band-aiding by activating the fusion card. So, besides the "normal" enemies, after a while, you'll start coming up against grotesque fusions of body and platforming hazards, something even Frankenstein himself would be proud of. They'll occasionally bare the monocle of mini-bosses. And the effort put into making these fights feel unique deserves praise as well. Some battles employ multiple gruesome creations, others introduce weird platforming, and then there are those that mix the two. So that's nice.
Axing weird stuff aside, let's talk platforming. As I said, it starts off pretty easy. But don't let this lull you into a false sense of security, as acquiring new abilities dials up the level complexity, with more and more obstacles thrown at Drak's little bulky orcish legs. The early game is slower, with not as many (if any) moving obstacles and simple jumps being enough to overcome them. But, the challenge for me was avoiding silly mistakes due to rushing. However, my fiery slavtino blood wouldn't permit me to stand still for more than 0.01 seconds. So, ya boy died often.
The latter levels employed more intricate platforming obstacles, constantly moving, with additional enemies/environmental hazards thrown at me to avoid. However, things changed — constant movement was now crucial. Well, well, well, how the turntables... Once my kryptonite, the fiery bodily fluid coursing within me became my boon. I was still spanked (a lot) with even fully upgrading Drak's health not enough to get me out of a few jams. And with these late-levels in love with playing the floor is lava/abyss, correctly timing jumps/Beyblade-esque dashes while constantly on the move was paramount for success.
And I've probably died more on a single platforming segment during the last level than all the boss fights combined. Am I being a bit hyperbolic here, slightly overselling the platforming challenge? Perhaps. Still, it was a tougher nut to crack than any combat encounter in the game. But the difficulty never felt unfair, nor did the frequent deaths feel tedious with how fluid and snappy the gameplay is.
But, as I love 100%-ing games, I awaited the start of backtracking with bated breath. And, due to how fluid the platforming is, I had a blast as I thoroughly explored every nook and cranny for the game's many hidden secrets. [b]The majority were rubies tho,[/b] and while used for buying upgrades, there is more than you'll ever need. I bought every possible upgrade and still had 73 rubies left after 100%-ing the game, with nothing to spend them on. So, don't fixate too much on catching them all. Besides rubies, a few badges can be found scattered in the wild. These act as various modifiers — [b]spikes deal less damage, enemies deal less damage, etc.[/b] Most aren't that useful, but some, like the badge for lessening spike damage, sure are. Lord knows that one saved my bacon on more than one occasion.
So, while some may think going for 100% is pointless due to the meaningless rubies you're asked to collect, let me offer a counterargument — [b]this cool pic below![/b]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2890031815
And there you have it — [i]Orcen Axe[/i]. A fun Metroidvania that, while not challenging me with its combat, left a giant red memento on my tuchus courtesy of its platforming sections. And when Drak's axe-swinging arm's veiny biceps needed rest, the game interjected with some corny jokes, providing ya boy with a few good chuckles.
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