It is always a joy to see another of the many classics from back in the Flash days of gaming be brought back and improved upon, given that I have a certain fondness myself for various titles over on Kongregate when it was still a beacon of activity for many young gamers and other video game enthusiasts. However, as you'll find later on in this review, I am left with some mixed feelings on how to approach whether to recommend this game as it currently stands, regardless of the nostalgia I have for it.
Before I begin to make my case about this indie from a long-gone era of the early Internet and what makes it worthwhile purchasing as well as any points of contention that goes against it, I should preface what this game is all about. Created in 2008 by solo game developer Gregory Weir, The Majesty of Colors sees you taking control of a cosmic horror creature of all things however, in a spectacular twist on the whole genre, this game presents the premise of how this supernatural entity would engage and interact with other regular human beings in a much more colourful and wholesome direction that certainly helped make it stand out from the crowd of Flash games even back then!
On the note of how you interact with the world as a whole, this is done by pointing the mouse and holding the left-mouse button to bring forth the tentacle and direct it towards any objects or creatures of interest by means of having the tentacle latch onto whatever that may be. Since the game gradually introduces you to the world by first beginning with a rather calm and serene scene before having you slowly engage with the humans as how you go about this is up to you and will decide what path the tentacle creature is taken as The Majesty of Colors features five different endings that the player can attain throughout the time spent with this game.
Although perhaps not something that everyone will value, I must say that this indie manages to capture quite the special kind of 'atmosphere' when playing it, by which I mean it is one of those indies that is focused less on challenge or strategy but instead one where you can immerse and lose yourself in the world that the developers have created. Though usually reserved for certain triple-A titles that have the best of graphics and a top-class budget to boot, some indies manage this quite effectively in their own little ways and I find that The Majesty of Colors, however short it lasts, certainly does leave a rather fond impression on the player as far as how it tells its story in that charming retro pixel style that many have come to love, even in the many years since with indies having further evolved with beautiful artstyles and stunning visual effects despite still retaining the pixelized graphics in that wise lesson of "less is more" as far as leaving small gaps for the player's imagination to fill in!
Now all of this sounds good as far as bringing back one of Flash's most creative indie titles goes, however when I point this out as being a 'short and sweet' experience for many to quickly dip their feet into without fear of needing to sink a considerable amount of time to fully appreciate the game, I say this beyond the usual extent of what some would find to be 'acceptable' as far as titles that aren't just provided for free here.
To clarify, I already knew going into this that it wasn't the type of game that you would spend long with, however never have I [b]EVER[/b] had the issue of already being finished with a game before having collected all of the card drops available for a Steam title that offers those cards for badge crafting! Now it would seem though that The Majesty of Colors has proven to be the exception to the rule as I had completed the game in just 35 minutes (another 5 or so if you count reading the notes section by the developers as part of the remaster additions) and had to wait another half an hour before getting the last of the cards whilst I began writing up this review.
This is primarily said to hammer in the point that the Flash game era had its limitations, though seeing that they were free for anyone to play alongside some of them genuinely being great for the time I was largely able to ignore any notable flaws at the time. However, given that the remaster of The Majesty of Colors is charging not just the minimum required of £0.89 by Steam but a noticeable step-up to £1.69, I have to question how much value one will get if they hold no nostalgia for either the Flash era of gaming or simply aren't fans of the more 'experimental' types of creative games as seen here.
Though I will defend the pricing to a degree by going over the improvements made with this remaster, seeing as this was entirely built up from scratch based on the foundations of the original Flash game. The noticeable changes I've seen are the physics being more fluid and dynamic compared to the original's more rigid version, adding new special effects and improved audio over the Flash game alongside a more intuitive user interface that makes the gameplay experience more seamless on top of developer commentary via the notes I spoke of earlier that I greatly appreciate getting that additional insight from them.
So whether or not to buy The Majesty of Colors Remastered? Truth be told, I'm rather conflicted on this as the actual game itself (despite how short it is) was a nice revisit to go back to and experience once more after all these years. Yet paying this much in relation to how much content you're actually getting out of it makes it a tough choice on a full recommendation since another Flash game I played back on Kongregate, Sprout, arguably does this better even being a straight port as opposed to being an improved remaster, as one can download this for free here on Steam if they are keen to try it out for themselves. (I'd say to check the reviews, seeing as I've yet to play this port myself as of making this review, although being offered for free is something I can give some leeway towards)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/758530/Sprout/
My personal advice though, as far as this game is concerned, is to wait until the Steam Sale comes around for a good discount to buy The Majesty Of Colors at as, although it's a fairly decent game at heart, the amount of content lacking for even an intended short game makes it something you'll want to make the most of when the price for it is right.
TLDR Version:
• Presents a colourful world with a fascinating juxtaposition of controlling a Lovecraftian-inspired tentacle creature to interact with the inhabitants (+)
• The new remaster of The Majesty of Colors features improved physics and audio alongside new visual effects to enhance the experience alongside new developer commentary (+)
• Provides the player with five different endings to encourage replayability and offers experimentation with how to achieve various outcomes that determines the cosmic creature's fate (+)
• Although offering a unique gameplay experience that is short and sweet, The Majesty of Colors is particularly short-lived and can easily be beaten under an hour at even a casual pace (-)
• The price point of £1.69 is a particular issue given the above criticism as standards have risen since its initial release back in 2008 and the lack of content makes it a hard deal to accept for some (-)
• Simplistic gameplay that offers plenty in aid of immersing the player, however will not appeal towards anyone looking for more depth to their game mechanics (-)
