Developer: dOOb games srl
Publisher: dOOb games srl
Platform: PC
Tested On: PC
Medievalien – Review
Medievalien is a nostalgic take on dungeon crawler gameplay. With the game being a fast-paced roguelike, it takes plenty of mechanics from older titles and blends it together pretty well. While it lacks polish in certain areas, Medievalien is an enjoyable title with plenty of hours of replayability to boot.
Story
The story takes place somewhere in the distant past; the medieval times to be exact. A lone ranger in the forest notices weird flying objects in the sky. We soon learn that aliens have somehow traveled to the past, apparently looking for something. Eventually, the player meets a powerful wizard, telling them that they need to travel through different portals to defeat the aliens messing with the timeline.
Overall the story is actually enjoyable. Offering a unique twist on the medieval formula, akin to the popular graphic novel “Cowboys And Aliens”, the story doesn’t take itself too seriously. While it’s actually something players could get seriously invested in over time, it’s much more enjoyable to adopt a light-hearted approach to the story.
Graphics
The graphic design in Medievalien is somewhere in the middle between OK and sub-par. At its core, the few stages players travel to are gorgeous to look at, with the majority of each area capturing the authenticity of the medieval setting. For example, the Castle (being the main hub area), and the Forest form a perfect contrast of each other. While the castle is predominantly white and vibrant, the forest takes place during the sunset, with the rock and trees subtly blending into the background while madness ensues on-screen with the onslaught of enemies.
The issue, however, is with the main characters. While the alien invaders already have the advantage of being not of this world, the majority of the playable roster seems surprisingly stale in comparison. Instead of each character at least looking slightly different from each other based on class, it just seems like none of them have a sense of flair or individuality, which normally is a primary characteristic of the rogue-like genre.
Sound
The music in this game is downright fantastic and one of the most defining traits of Medievalien. From the intro screen, players are welcomed to a perfect futuristic EDM tune and a noticeable mix of flute and gregorian chants. During combat, the music ranges from subtle to downright hyperbolic at times, and it’s always a plus when it seamlessly blends with the amount of chaos that ensues on screen most of the time. The game does everything right with its sound design and does a fantastic job of using its music to support its gameplay. In comparison, the title, when it comes to the immersion of combat through its sound design, can be thrown in with the likes of the popular franchise DOOM.
Gameplay
Medievalien is a fast-paced hack-and-slash isometric rogue-like title. As with all games in the rogue-like genre, the common gimmick is that once a player dies, they start back at square one, with most levels being procedurally generated. This basically means that every run a player will do, unless putting in the ‘seed’ for a specific run, will be completely unique and different, adding countless hours of replayability. The option to use both mouse and keyboard, as well as controller, is made available, with the latter being the go-to option.
Players well-versed in the rogue-like genre will be able to grasp the concept pretty quickly. All players will start out with the starter ranger class. Each class will have a primary weapon, item, and special ability slot, with all being pretty easy to use and accessible from the start. Once a player dies, they will be resurrected and brought back to the hub where the option to purchase permanent upgrades is made available. And that’s pretty much the full formula where rinse, wash, and repeat reign supreme. Being a rogue-like title, the game does a fairly good job of teaching the basics from the start without being too overbearing.
The gameplay also follows the same loop. Players start with one huge map, with the option to pick different branching paths offering different rewards and enemies. The combat is fast-paced, allowing for plenty of depth when it comes to making specific builds. Enemies are frantic and unforgiving, easily being able to destroy players just by sheer numbers alone. Sadly, there is only a small assortment of weapons to choose from.
Ranging from standard bows and crossbows to plasma rifles and repeaters, each weapon truly feels unique. Sadly, the overall weapon list is fairly small. Jarring as it is, while combat is fairly fluid, the animations when doing attacks and moving are very stiff, making it highly reminiscent of past titles such as Gauntlet and The Binding Of Isaac. This makes for a good number of issues.
When fighting multiple enemies, since the movement is fairly stiff with limited options to dash around to gain breathing room, the game makes certain situations rougher than needed. Even more so with the enemies players will encounter. The attacks the enemies use cover a good amount of space on the screen and it’s nearly impossible to not be hit. This can certainly be annoying for the boss areas and enemies players will see at the end of the gauntlet.
Conclusion
Medievalien is an enjoyable title. The story doesn’t take itself too seriously, which in turn adds to the title’s charm. The graphics are hit-and-miss, having beautiful stages and enemies, while sadly the playable characters leave much to be desired. Sound and gameplay are fantastic, with only small issues to the game core mechanics such as movement that can be fixed fairly easily. While the game lacks polish in certain areas, it’s still a fun experience that’s worth the time.
Medievalien - Review,
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