Saturn Quest: Shadow of Planetus

This game desperately needed multiple playtesters before release. There's a lot of charm here and I genuinely really liked the first hour and a half or so, but the randomized difficulty spike is unreasonable. The back half of the game (that keeps teasing "This is the final battle" even though it never is) is a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ of projectiles that have no telegraphing or tell, not to mention they're not patternized so it's not like you can trial and error learn how to tackle each section. I eventually gave up because it just became a total waste of my time. Wanted to enjoy this, and genuinely did for a little while, but just couldn't anymore. It's not fun brute forcing your way through random projectiles just hoping that maybe this is the time you get lucky and don't get hit.

Arkhouse makes very strange games that tend to be as unique as they are confusing, but they are also very rewarding if you manage to find the patience and push through them. This game has a 'boss rush' and 'bullet hell' aspect to it, however, it is a multigenre game that incorporates some occasional platforming, space shooting, and top-down exploration, not to mention the signature 'WTF Arkhouse narrative'. That being said, every time I play a game by Arkhouse it's a steep learning curve as the games never work exactly as one would expect. I have been somewhat harsh on the developer in the past, but not because I did not enjoy the games - if anything I wish they were a bit more accessible to the general public. Compared to previous titles like Mirage of Dragon, Saturn Quest is not too difficult to navigate as long as you not skipping the dialogue. Arkhouse games tend to have hidden passages so you need to read the dialogue for the hints or you going to be running around the map completely clueless. This developer is one of the very few that I can recognize just by looking at a single screenshot just because the art style is so unique; how can I describe it, he really likes putting faces on disgusting bodies. I wonder if he also makes the music because the sound is also very similar to the previous games (I would love the OST DLC for this). As always I enjoyed the visuals, the soundtrack, and the immersion, but that was never a problem for this developer. I also want to give the game credit for having a compelling story that kept me guessing even at the very end, there is nobody else out there that makes the narrative quite as well as the Arkhouse - both philosophical and cryptic at the same time, to a point where I have almost no idea what he is trying to say, but I can tell there is something very deep. Unfortunately, this developer always struggles with the technical side of the game development, although it's less noticeable in this one aside from just 2 poorly designed boss fights. [h1] Pros: [/h1] + surprisingly long, good boss variety + many gameplay elements, the game also changes genres + interesting narrative if you into weird **** + immersive world, good music, unique look [h1] Feedback: [/h1] [u] A few unfair Boss fights [/u] - I would say 90% of the game is not too hard but there are just 2 sections where it gets a little crazy. I don't mind the challenge but the difficulty was spiking because it was impossible to dodge things due to lack of visual warnings, you just had to get lucky and not get hit offscreen. Also, there was one platforming section toward the end where the controls were very awkward, the character would attack and jump at the same time making it difficult to complete the stage (the one where you build the stairs). [u] Save system & Lack of settings [/u] - I did not check this because I was scared to do so, I think to load the game you press left on the keyboard during the title screen and you press 'right' to overwrite the old game (I am sure that could never go wrong). For anyone wondering, to save the game there is a little hub area next to the temple and you just have to walk up to it. The game does not seem to have any other settings. [b] Overall Thoughts: 8/10 [/b] I thought it was a very unique experience as with any other Arkhouse game, very ambitious and unapologetic in some ways, both in gameplay and narrative. It's always hard to recommend a game by Arkhouse because most people play them for 10 minutes and give up, but at least this one is a more straight-forward as long as you reading the dialogue and following the directions. A weird game made for weirdos like myself I guess, I enjoyed it except for that last ***** boss fight that made me cry, cringe, and laugh at the same time. [code]For more Hidden-Gems: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/31294838-Hidden-Gem-Discovery/ [/code]

Charming idea (a weird, 8 bit take on shadow of the colossus) completely shattered by a single boss fight. It has an intro sequence you have to go through every time you die (and you will, a lot), the whole fight spawns asteroids at random that instakill you which makes success partially luck-based AND it eventually starts shooting instakill lasers at you that have no telegraphs. I don't care enough to go through a boss fight this awful, and unless you have a LOT of time to waste and no games to play i don't think you will either.

A great little game, good 8 bit music, and titan fights are fun, for the price I can totally recommend the game.

Edit : actually I am in romantic love with this game, it's so elevated by its music, art style and melancholy ambience that it makes me feel things, and every minute of pain was worth it, and Arkhouse please upload Lullaby of Space to Youtube with the rest of the soundtrack, it's such a touching tune This game both sparked my imagination and seriously tried my patience. It's true that there is a lot of RNG, and serious game design problems, and the music tends to be on the short-and-badly-looped side, but overall I still recommend the experience (and it's good music to be sure, I'm not slagging the music at all, it bangs) For less than three bucks, you get to see some seriously original and impressive art. And it's ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ WEIRD and I loved it. And although it was well worth it, the latter half of the game can get really irritating. Regardless, Captain Navigator IS very cute (if very stupid), and I wouldn't trade Arkhouse's weirdness for anything in the world. It's unique, it's precious, and we can endure some mixed bag gameplay for it. But please don't use RNG like this again, this isn't how randomness should be used, ever x)

Great music and atmosphere as always, clunky game play and game design as usual. Shadow of the Colossus theme was present in the first part, but the latter part became a mumbo jumbo of puzzles, mazes and shmups, which I don't understand why they took that route while advertising the game as a SotC clone. Compared to other Arkhouse's games, this game was a bit more easy to play, since you have an NPC telling you what to do or where to go next. Still a pain to figure out what to do at certain spots, especially the "final battle" that took me 1 hour to figure out that you can actually do something with the "K-Weapon" that's not explained anywhere. The ending was puzzling, but I'm sure it ties into the sequels, Blast Effect and R.U.N.E. 3000. Cleared in about 3 hours or so. I'd recommend this game to anyone who has time to waste for the atmosphere and experience.

Rather fun little game. Great sounds and art design. Works on steam deck no issues. My kids also enjoy it. Not bad for a game made by essentially one dude. Leans a bit too hard on the RNG in the late game. Arkhouse should get a play-tester. Aside from that very cool game. You can do far worse for far more money so check it out.

This game Is a horrifying Masterpiece that contains a Replay Vale of OVER 9000!!!!

Saturn Quest: Shadow of Planetus is basically a 8-bit clone of Shadow of Colossus boss rush with gameplay elements from Legend of Zelda, shmups & even one boss played like something out of Space Harrier. Difficulty wise only 2 sections of the game gave me trouble: the shmup "Turbo Tunnel" & the final boss's last phase which both was unfair on the RNG side & requires near perfection to beat. Besides that this game isn't as difficult or frustrating as some other people make it out to be and I found navigating the overworld between bosses isn't that bad due to its small size & scope once you found out from Roro's instructions on where to go. I personally enjoy playing this game so this is definitely a game worth checking out :)

[u]SATURN QUEST: SHADOW OF PLANETUS[/u] Type: Action, Adventure, Puzzle Difficulty: Medium (first few bosses), Extreme (huge difficulty spike) Rating: Interesting but frustrating. Lost potential. Their Price: $2.99 My Price: $1.00 How Much I Got It For: $2.49 [u]PROS[/u] + Gorgeous art. + Pretty nice music. + It's only $3, the cost of a snack or a McDonald's burger. So you won't lose much if you decide to buy the game and play it. [u]CONS[/u] - No achievements. - Exploration is honestly unnecessary. Even worse that the directions to the portals aren't clear, and you don't have a map. A trail should've been put down, or at least better hints on where to go. - Save point is outside of hub area, which is strange. - Attacking is strange in this game. Instead of pressing a button to shoot or slash, you have to move back and forth to cause damage. There are few moments where you do have to use a button to shoot. - One shot deaths. Due to the difficulty spikes, this can be a huge problem. - Enemy bullets do NOT have a time pattern. Meaning, bullets can be fired at any moment, which will throw you off-guard more than enough times. This causes the game to be more luck based than skill based, making it not so fun. - Ally bullets are painfully slow, forcing you to be patient. Boss fights drag out because of this. - [spoiler]The Cat Boss has the most noticeable difficulty spike, because the boss' movement path is WAY too close to your canon. You are given NO reaction time to dodge because of this.[/spoiler] - [spoiler]The mazes are way too time consuming. It took away the charm of the game for me, which is such a shame considering how pretty the environment was. The second maze was one of those "super wide open / void-like" spaces, where you have to walk for minutes just to find something. These are so painfully time-consuming and annoying, that was the final offender before I decided the game was done for me.[/spoiler] [u]NOTES[/u] In my opinion, Saturn Quest should have been a boss rush game with no exploration. I understand it's based off of Shadow of the Colossus, but still, the exploration is painful to deal with. There are many other issues I have with it (see CONS), which is such a shame because I really love the art and music. I consider Saturn Quest a puzzle due to the fact I had to poke around (quite literally) to figure out how to defeat most bosses, and where to find the next one. [spoiler]It also includes mazes after the Meteor Boss (though I could not complete the second maze).[/spoiler] Would I say to completely avoid this game? Not really. I think that if you're pretty good at being patient and knowing how to play games, you should check it out. Just be aware that you might get annoyed at the flaws. [spoiler]I would say play until you beat the Meteor Boss, and then you can put the game down. The maze part is terrible, it's like the exploration parts but tons worse.[/spoiler]