memories of Link?
traversing early designs
throughout RPG's
Additional Comments:
I feel as if I'm turning my nose against Evoland by only contributing words to its "beta," if you will, LudumDare contest winning entry as opposed to the full game. But unlike physical products, I'm far more apprehensive to spend money on an unknown in the digital realm. However, Evoland has piqued my interest for some time, even with the gamut of mediocre to bad reviews floating around out there. The idea of evolving a game from a simple Game Boy-esque overhead action-adventure game to a 3D RPG sounds incredible and the trailer completely sold the idea. Still, as a paid download, I refused to move ahead and had to confide in some YouTube footage and disheartened rants to either satisfy and/or hopefully deter me from wanting to play the game. I know, I sound like a cheap asshole, but really I'm a stubborn materialist that refuses to pay for product that exists solely in the digital domain. As a result, I could potentially be missing out on some great fun...or maybe not. Fortunate for me, Shiro Games has Evoland Classic available for play on their website so I can at least take an interactive stroll through the game's genesis.
Classic's gameplay brings the player up through to a PC interpretation of a 16-bit RPG - sort of reminds me of topdown elements found in RPG Maker VX. But I believe Classic has more than enough to clearly exemplify the full game's potential. Maybe I didn't get to experience any real RPG goodness or see some rotund non-playable dullards in all their glory, but Evoloand Classic plays exactly as described - a surreal evolution of video games, from restrictive left/right movement all the way up through some senseless grinding. Ok, the grinding's completely involuntary and serves no real purpose beyond a developer's heartless joke, but the experience is at least present I suppose. Hmm...is that a good thing or a bad thing?
If there's anything discouraging I absolutely must declare, it's that a couple of the chests are a tad absurd to locate. I've never been a fan of the whole "illusionary" wall gimmick. I didn't like it in Legend of Zelda's second quest, and I shook my head in haughty derision over it here. I suppose I shouldn't completely write off the gimmick, but when you have to walk into every single wall hoping for a fake, I find it ridiculous. Otherwise, that's all I've got.
Unlike most of my critiques, I surprisingly have little to say about this game. It's short and sweet, sure, but I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the concept and found the Eno-esque background music delightfully relaxing. And despite my criticisms toward digital purchases, this "teaser" more or less convinced me it may be worth purchasing after all. We'll see though. We'll see....
Rating: 4 pr0n banners out of 5
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