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.

Worldless is a wonderful and charming little game, and it's something I cannot help but recommend enough. I was recommended this game through a funny Youtuber I enjoy promoting it, and he only shared the first crack of the game to give me a taste of what to enjoy, leaving the rest of the game a surprise, so I'm going to do the same and try to hide as many story specific details as I can while promoting it for those who are curious! 1) The Combat Combat is turn based mixed with reaction based elements. During your turn, you use combos to attack the enemy you face, the game encouraging different uses of specific combos to get more of the preferred type of damage you want. It's similar on the defending phase, but kept much simpler for the player to keep up with enemy attacks and combos to keep your health as high as possible. With the inclusion of a skill tree, you can customize your play style as much as you want and find what works for you! And since death is not something that can happen during combat this game, there are no runbacks that make this game obnoxious in needing to platform to return to a hard combat encounter. This also makes it easier to step away if one fight gets particularly frustrating, as you can set the game down and restart right where you left it! 2) Platforming Platforming and exploring the world is where Worldless really shines. Though I do critique the lack of a detailed map, the community can have you covered there if you need to look for one. In regards to the movement of the game, it's smooth and wonderfully done. The platforming challenges when you acquire new abilities also organically teach you how to use these abilities to their fullest, making jumping around this colorful world such a treat 3) The Art Style Speaking of the world, it's wonderfully done in Worldless. Tweening animation combined with more traditional 2D animation, it's incredible to watch the characters become more solidified when a particular combo hits just as hard as you wanted, both friend and foe. The environments are no stranger to this wonderful art style, kept simple and unique in a way that makes it easy for players to keep track of every area while leaving minimal chance of players confusing them for each other. The world is left for you to get lost in the way the developers intended, not because area A looks near identical to area B This doesn't even all touch on the beautiful music and incredible story buried under the surface for you to find and engage with, but I would be doing any interested parties a disservice if I were to spoil it all here. All I can say is that, while this game is small, it is so easy to get lost and have a fun time. Enjoy yourself, take it slow, and give every corner of this beautiful game the love it deserves. No need to rush. Just slow down and enjoy the beautiful world that was painted for us here

第六十四款通关的类银，回合制，侧重点是对招式或者说对战斗系统的理解和应对时间的把握，很遗憾是这方面的苦手，因此被至极劝退。 值得一提的是，本作的战斗系统非常优秀，和过往玩的回合制类银《怪物圣所》以及带了地图探索的回合制《朝露：境界旅程》不同，进攻的时候考验的是策略，如何在既定时间打出最多的吸收值（没错，并不是伤害而是吸收值，后面甚至会有些怪物死的太快的情况）而在防守端的情况又加入了qte元素，对于有挑战心的玩家来说，有完美格挡的不破盾收益，对于苦手来说也有按住不放以盾耗代替扣血的保底措施。后期能力增多，各种进攻手段和防御反击都出来了，但老实说，大部分功能我甚至都没能搓招搓出来，而且模块吸收伤害什么的词很多我甚至没完全搞懂，也许这就是败于至极的原因吧⊙﹏⊙ 本作的探索和战斗完全分开，当然这也是回合制类银的原因，但不同于怪物圣所精灵能力也能用于探索，本作探索和战斗的能力完全没有交集，不得不提的是，本作甚至还算带了点知识锁，以为需要攀墙术结果居然是…！而且里面部分收集物还有轻微解谜要素。地图设计还行，不是线性，且环境不一样新鲜感还是有的，前期有引导不太会迷路，后期石碑解谜有收集品提示，但没有详细地图对查漏补缺不是太友好。常规地图有轻微跳跳乐，至极前有一小段带点难度的。 适合喜欢搓招或者类似《九日》一样擅长弹反的玩家，跳跳乐苦手亦可尝试，喜欢探索的玩家可能略失望。喜欢奥日一般优美的背景也可以玩玩看，本作美术和音乐都很不错，有种艺术性，大boss和结局都很美，话又说回来了，游戏封面和内容里的火柴人真的不是照骗吗？

What a cool game! I got this in a Humble Bundle that I chose to buy primarily due to the visuals on this game. It's a fun platformer that rewards exploration around its non-linear maps. The look and the sound design are incredible, adding to the mysterious atmosphere. Despite the story being told mostly abstractly (almost no dialogue) it's clear and compelling. The game is short, which I consider a plus. My main criticism is that I wish that the game had just a tad more explanation of mechanics. I had to search the internet to get past a couple of tough spots because I had an ability that I didn't actually know that I had, since it had never been explained. A related criticism is that, since the game doesn't offer much guidance, it's possible to "accidentally" finish the game (i.e. get to the credits) with plenty of stuff left to find and figure out. The game strongly recommends using a controller, but I played it just fine with keyboard. There are maybe a couple of combat combos that are tricky on a keyboard, but that's about it. Overall, this game is seriously fun and compelling, and you should play it.

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!

[h2]极简主义美术与化繁为简的设计相辅相成。[/h2] ①战斗设计： 其基本框架就是回合制，但我玩着却有act和类魂般的强交互感。最开始只有普攻/物理格挡、魔法/法术格挡这两组简单的交互，随着地图探索战斗可以解锁十多种新的连招和额外的四把武器和两种魔法。 每回合根据敌人属性会提供某种属性的特攻buff槽，击破之后就可以使得敌人的架势条增长效率翻倍方便最后处决（吸收），这也是绝大多数战斗的最终目的（因为只是击败的话没有任何收益）。 本作难度高主要原因是鼓励甚至强求精防，否则受击会降敌人的架势，拉长战线进一步降低容错，所以要么受伤多了自己趋势从头来，要么叠半天架势结果给怪直接送走了。 不过战斗过程中你可以感受到格挡的体感反馈相当出色，配合一招一式你来我往的交互体验让我觉得很“魂”，而在我的回合时，各类搓招带来的效果又有非常舒服的act体验，还需要结合各类搓招的特殊效果与敌人的特攻收益，在限定时间内规划出最优的出招策略……[b]将强交互、高速战斗、即时对策性近乎完美地融合成了一个相当出色的回合制玩法，着实让我玩爽了。[/b] ②地图设计： 既然标签里有类银，那就不得不评这一块了。但地图应该算是本作一个极大的扣分点，虽然六个区域做了明显的区分（[spoiler]分别用蓝绿红黄灰紫为主色调[/spoiler]），但基本就是六个单独的关卡箱庭，外加一个通过传送门连接这些区域的大厅，可以说除了地图探索得能力之外没有任何类银的样子。[b]而且地图中的平台跳跃要素很少，探索限制主要依靠知识锁、能力锁、单向门和限时路线规划门，整体结构比较简单，缺乏让人眼前一亮的巧思，探索感很拉。[/b] 由于战斗模式的特殊性，探图的能力和战斗的能力完全拆分开了，并且还做了极大程度的简化（[spoiler]小黑的鞭子居然和小白的弓箭算同一个能力，而能力加点却各自独立；小黑的二段跳和小白的奔跑对应，风系和冰系对应[/spoiler]），因此也能看出其玩法和体量做了妥协。（除了[spoiler]深绿门的跳跳乐和至极[/spoiler]，我只花了10h就全收集了，单纯通关只花了7h） ③美术.音乐： 人物美术相当极简，但表现力却丝毫不差，连招还是相当丝滑顺畅，有点像小时候喜欢画火柴人的孩子长大做了个酷酷的游戏。地图虽然各具风格，但背景实在太空旷。整体画风和gris类似，偏向水彩手绘风格，虽然养眼，但看久了很容易感到单调。 配乐的氛围感和叙事感很强（毕竟背景也是关于宇宙嘛），而且居然也是gris的配音团队Berlinist的作品，很是享受。 ④个人不满的地方： 前中后期到通关我个人都相当满意，难度对我来说也很适中，但必须批评绿色宝石隐藏门里的跳跳乐。 首先从角色设计来说，本作把完整的类银能力拆分成两套，分别赋予黑白两种形态（[spoiler]白：左右冲刺、向上冲刺、爬墙冲刺；黑：二段跳、抓钩[/spoiler]），所以在跳跳乐的过程中不仅需要思考下一步怎么跳，还要提前规划好切换形态的时机。 就以上而言都可以理解，但！是！ 为什么在二段跳或者冲刺等等动作持续时间内（虽然很短），无法切换形态？你战斗都做预输入了跳跳乐咋不做？ 为什么切换形态有一秒冷却？有时候误触了之后就直接白给滚回原点。 其次就流程设计来说，你在前期安排的探索过程中都是解密为主.简单平台跳跃为辅，而精准平台跳跃的要素基本为零。 你是怎么想到突然给玩家在后期放一个苦痛之路的？没有前戏上硬菜，不是所有人都喜欢欧美打法吧😡。 总评：8.2/10，独具特色的回合制类银，虽然类银探索属性不足但其优秀的美术和战斗设计弥补了这一点。 plus： 一些打法建议：[spoiler] 多练精防先不说，然后就可以尝试打一下组合构筑。 ①大部分情况： 我主要玩的都是弓箭吸收流，开局白公式化a四刀一个蓄力重击a满，可以攒一个豆，下回合切黑a满然后蓄力a攒一个豆释放帝国消亡（吸收速率在破盾会有250%的加成，不破盾也有100%的保底），之后小白继续瞬移a两下再蓄力差不多就攒第二个豆了，直接开两次弓箭大招快速攒吸收条，并且几乎没伤害。 如果吸收差不多了，就用弓箭轻连击刮就行了，别用弓箭蓄力，弓箭蓄力主要是打伤害的，吸收效率没连击高。 关于精防：绝大多数攻击最好都用白，因为黑普防只有减伤，魔防有冷却，遇到大范围混合攻击再用带虚化的黑魔防比较稳定 ②水中情况： 红色区域水里有个限定回合数秒杀的怪是很恶心的，光是黑吸收条非常难打满。此时也要优先升黑的鞭击大招，和弓箭效率近似，但目测还是没弓箭快，最后也还是得鼓励多练精防。[/spoiler]

Good story, good fighting mechanics. Also makes me seem actually competent about fighting. Overall great game.

An excellent puzzle platformer to be sure, but the real star of the show is the combat system. I have never seen anything like this before, and I strongly doubt I ever will. Words can't really accurately describe the system, and I have the upmost respect for whoever conceived of it. The best I can say is it is so immensely satisfying to finally absorb an enemy and get that skill point. Worldless is a deeply enjoyable experience. If only it were longer... 8.8 / 10

Fun game. I wasn't sure I'd like the combination of turn based combat and plaforming, but the combat is sort of a fun puzzle/test of reaction time. The fact you can redo any battle instantly at no penalty makes hard bosses a nice challenge, not a chore. The platforming is really fun, and the game doesn't really hold your hand. It let's you explore freely, and discover things on your own. At some points I wished there was some return to hub action, but the world is small enough hubs aren't too far apart. One thing is at the end you can unlock an optional challenge, which is really hard. It's a platforming challenge, followed by a boss. The platforming challenge is really hard, but I did get close to the end once. I didn't end up beating it, since I decided to look it up, and after you beat the platforming challenge your reward is a super hard boss people are saying took them 4-6 hours to beat. I still recommend the game though, and an optional hard challenge like that at the end might entice people.