Worldless

Worldless is so far the most unique metroidvania I’ve played (and it was my 17th one), and I am glad I played it, but at the same time I can see it not working for some people. It worked for me, but there were aspects that I didn’t enjoy as much as I would’ve hoped. On to the full review. 1. Presentation The game is very visually distinct, and you will not mistake it for any other MV in a million years. Avoiding both the traditional pixel artstyle, and the more modern thick outline handdrawn style, Worldless’s visual identity is build around simple geometric shapes and structures, particle effects, and heavy color-coding. Each region has its own dominant color and distinct feel, so it’s easy to differentiate between them. However, the areas inside each region can feel samey, with little to distinguish between them, and that combined with a lack of a traditional map can make traversal confusing. The design of characters and enemies fares better. They are presented as an abstract collection of geometric shapes, which at first makes you wonder what the hell are you even looking at. But once you start meeting more advanced entities, you’ll notice how their true shape appears briefly during movement or attack. The player character works the same way. If you liked the angel designs in Evangelion, you should feel right at home. 2. Exploration Exploration in Worldless is on the weaker side I’m afraid. First, the map, or rather lack of thereof. Your main navigation tool is a ‘mental’ map of the regions (called ‘branches’) the game takes place in, all connected to the central hub. These branches are represented by a collection of nodes connected by lines, very reminiscent of star constellations. Each node is an entity you will interact with during your journey, while also serving as a point of orientation. The map will also show you some goodies to collect if certain criteria are met. What the map will not show you, however, is any topography, distance, or any traversal challenge. The road between two nodes is always shown as a straight line. Oftentimes you will look at the map and see that you need to go west to reach the next node. In reality, you will have to go a bit west, then north, then slightly east, then finally west again. I understand that it’s supposed to be a simplified approximation, but it made the navigation more annoying, and ultimately made me rely on a fan-made map that shows all the nooks and crannies of the world. I will however compliment the movement itself. It’s very smooth, you get a fast run ability pretty early in the game, making backtracking easier, and there’s some hidden movement interactions à la Super Metroid. At a certain point you will aquire a second set of movement options, and traversing certain areas will require smooth switching between the two sets. However, none of these movement abilities play any role during combat. 3. Combat If you heard of Worldless before, chances are you heard about its combat system. It’s turn-based with a time limit for turns. You have a set amount of time (which you can increase with upgrades) to perform your attacks, once your time runs out your opponent will perform a set of attacks you have to block/evade. Rinse and repeat. Seems simple enough at first, but as you gain more upgrades, unlock more combos, and meet enemies that require certain conditions to be met before you can even damage them, the game becomes more of a puzzle fighter. It’s compounded by the fact that there are two ways you can deal with most enemies – you can A) just defeat them (with an option for a re-fight), which lets you pass through and reach the next point on the map, but grants you nothing, or B) absorb them, which actually kills them permamently, grants you an upgrade point, marks the node on your map as ‘cleared’, and -in the case of stronger enemies- an achievement. So naturally, you want to absorb as many enemies as you can, and the twist here is that some enemies can only be absorbed and will not let you pass until you do so, while others are so easy to kill before absorbtion, that you will have to figure out the correct choice of attacks to absorb them before they die. I found it really fun, even if certain enemies gave me a headache trying to figure out the correct way to deal with them. The flip side of this combat system, is that all enemies are preplaced, static, always in the same spot. All of them can be described as either a puzzle fight, a mini-boss, or just a boss. There is no trash mobs that just scuttle around, which means the world can feel strangely empty and unoccupied (which kinda makes sense for the setting). Combined with the lack of any serious platforming challenges (except one that is really hard but optional), this can make traversal rather uneventful. Personally, I didn’t mind it as much (the lack of platforming I mean), but if you’re the kind of MV player who likes to feel challenged all the time, even during basic traversal, this game might not provide that level of dopamine. Do I recommend this game? Yes, absolutely, even just to try something unique within the genre. At the same time, Worldless is not a crowd pleaser. It can seem too weird and unusual for a casual metroidvania fan. It’s not a hard game (bar certain optional, hidden stuff), it’s also not a long game. But if you are looking for a metroidvania experience different from the current trend of ball-crushing difficulty à la Silksong or Nine Sols, I think you should give this one a shot.

Я вообще редко пишу обзоры на игры, но я считаю, что Worldless этого заслуживает. Честно говоря, мне не понятно почему игра так не популярна в медиа пространстве. Кроме гайдов и прохождение без слов вы мало чего найдёте. Я нашёл только одного русскоязычного человека, который сыграл в данную игру, что печально. Что касается игры, нашёл я её случайно на, как раз таки, ютубе, там были все боссы этой игры. Я посмотрел, мне стало интересно, и вот я добавил её в список желаемого. Меня привлекло сочетание метроидвании и пошаговой боёвки. И как же игра сделана хорошо. Во первых, стиль у этой игры просто бомбический, он как будто простой, но такой душевный и минималистичный, короче просто приятный глазу. Цвета сочные, анимации плавные, сюжет, хоть и не выдающийся, однако интересует своей загадочностью: что же это за фигуры такие, которые дерутся против друг друга? Геймплей здесь, как я уже сказал, сочетает в себе метроидванию и пошаговую боёвку. Пока изучаешь мир, ты находишь способности, открываешь новые территории и радуешься. Но в какие-то моменты ты резко натыкаешься на врага и сражаешься с ним: сначала атакуешь, а после окончания времени для атаки тебе дают право защищаться. Можешь либо зажать блок и не париться, но тогда щиты будут постепенно ломаться, а можешь просто парировать атаки в нужный момент (в 80% случаев я так и делал). Ещё одна механика о которой хочется сказать - поглощение. Интересна она тем, что ты будешь вынужден не УБИТЬ врага, а именно поглотить, заполнив для этого специальную шкалу. И это непросто, ведь помимо заполнения шкалы у врага может отниматься здоровье, поэтому нужно стараться комбинировать атаки для прямого урона и для заполнения шкалы так, чтобы случайно не убить врага (не волнуйтесь, он не испариться, а просто будет ждать ещё одну вашу попытку) Игра мне безумно понравилась, однозначно рекомендую. Возможно минусы в этой игре и есть, но я их либо не заметил, либо мне на них всё равно) Арт дизайн крутой, комбо из атак красивые и сочные, боссы классные и интересные (один меня конечно поддушнил, но даже он круто сражался), музыка мотивирует. Покупайте, не пожалеете!

It is a beautiful game But just a word of caution from me, Don't play this game expecting any story behind it, While it does seem to have somewhat of a very vague story but it is very up to interpretation and different views. As for the combat it is very beautiful and well done you will definitely be repeating the bus many many times as it does require very precise timing for the parry but it is a unique way to make turn Best combat fun and enjoyable for me And that comes from someone who does not enjoy turn best combat much.

I just finished the game so I'm obviously gonna be bias but HOLY WHAT A GAME. I loved the exploration , the amazingly beautiful map , the combat , the enemies , the music , loved everything and the story ! Cryptic but easy to understand. Definetly a out of the world / 10. Game so good I just had to give it a review. I recommand to everyone who likes a platformer game with a turn base combat but it's not a regular turn base combat you actually get to do the fighting. So yea amazing game love it and love the devs for making such an amazing game.

I enjoyed it :) Still mad that god killed our buddy in the void

Muito interessante. Um bom metroidvania com o movimentação bem fluida e combate satisfatório. Misturaram algumas mecânicas e ficou um conceito bem legal, o combate é em turnos onde no seu turno você é livre para atacar fazendo vários combos diferentes por um determinado tempo, a defesa é no parry e a janela de tempo pra acertar é bem justa, eu sou péssima em executar parry e mesmo assim consegui zerar. A arte eu achei tão única, esse modelo abstrato é perfeito pra temática do jogo, porém não gostei muito do mapa do jogador ser nessa temática também, me deixou confusa em vários momentos, preferia um mapa mais comum. Um ponto interessante que tenho que citar é que não tem runback nem checkpoints, morreu pra algum inimigo ou caiu no abismo? Você nasce exatamente no mesmo local, sem penalidades. Os mapas são bem feitos e é muito bom andar por ele com todas as habilidades desbloqueadas, é um bom platformer. A história é bem... sei lá, eu não entendi nada, enfim, recomendo bastante.

This game is amazing but has NO guardrails for you to hold onto. Timing is key, remember that. . . . [b]I could not defy them, perhaps you might be able to?[/b] [i]Determination lies within all, but few can harness it.[/i] . . . [h3][b]Y o u m a y s u f f i c e , w e w i l l b e w a t c h i n g w i t h g r e a t i n t e r e s t .[/b][/h3]

This game is absolutely peak the combat almost made me bust due to how satisfying it is. Then the music, it is so scerene and when it isn’t it slaps. But seriously this game is heavily underrated and even though I don’t have 1000 hours on it I think it is my favorite (I have 100% on it).

im wordless

You like Effets? you like hard rewarding skill combat? Then HIGHLY recommend (turn-based)