Developer: Duck Team, ChiliDog Interactive
Publisher: Duck Team, ChiliDog Interactive
Platform: PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One,
Tested on: PS4
Alexio – Review
What you see is not always what you get. Alexio looks like a cute and fun retro platforming game, but in reality, it is a truly brutal title that took close inspiration from impossible games like I Wanna Be the Guy and I Wanna Be the Boshy. Although its simplicity makes the game accessible for most players, you will have to learn all the enemy locations and patterns to survive in this budget-friendly hellscape.
Story
The story starts with Alex the Duck, who lives in a house near a place called Green Haven. He is celebrating his sixth birthday and when the party has ended, his father tells him a story about a family tradition. This tradition is about all the drakes in their family who would climb a steep mountain in Green Haven to complete a trial to obtain their family heirloom, a very own monobrow. Alex is excited to complete this trial as he wants the coolest monobrow ever. As this is a classic arcade title, there won’t be any mid-progress story updates, only at the beginning and end.
Graphics
Alexio is inspired by the arcade titles of the early 80s and this is nicely portrayed in the aspect ratio that the game is played. Your main gameplay happens in the center of the screen, while a nicely crafted backdrop fills in the rest of the screen. Not only does it fit most screens perfectly, but it makes the sprites come alive just like in those bright arcade cabinets of decades ago. If you want the full experience, then you can even opt-in for a CRT overlay that gives you the scan lines of these old monitors. All the sprites have basic animations with only a few steps, enhancing the retro charm even more.
Sound
Just like the graphics, the sound will take you back to days long gone. The retro background music puts you in the mood for exploration, while you can rely on the various sounds effects to dodge incoming attacks (if you get the time to react because the game is tough as hell). The pure simplicity of it all makes this game a perfect candidate to be ported to an arcade cabinet.
Gameplay
Alexio is a hardcore retro adventure platforming game that will test your skills, wits, and stress resistance. You get dropped into this game on the Hard difficulty, but after dying for the first time, you will be notified that you can always turn the difficulty down. Both modes play a bit differently, as easy mode gives you nine lives instead of three, there are fewer enemies but also fewer coins to collect to buy items with, and more checkpoints scattered on the playing field. Don’t think that putting the game on Easy will guarantee your success. The enemies stay relentless and will attack even when they are offscreen. Other enemies are perfectly camouflaged with the scenery, and you will only notice them when it is too late. This can cause some major frustration, especially when you die in the exact same place for the fifth time in a row. Learning the enemy placement and behavior is your best weapon to fight back.
Alex will traverse twelve levels spread over six different sceneries to accomplish his goal. To keep track of your progress, the game takes you back to the old password system, where you must write down the password at the start of every level to be able to start from here. One of the neat features of this password system is that the codes can be easily shared amongst the community or even guessed if you are really bored. Don’t worry about losing your notes with the password, levels that you have completed fair and square will have the password written down in your in-game notebook.
Controlling the game is really easy: you only need a button for jumping and one for shooting (when you have the right power-up). The controls are responsive and missing your jump is more due to human error than the game not responding to your input. Some power-ups you find will give you the ability to get hit once more, while others give you the ability to shoot projectiles to kill enemies or break obstacles. You will need to play carefully, as the game will constantly throw everything it has at you. No place is safe, and only after grabbing a checkpoint, you can take a breath. Just don’t forget to finish the level, or else your progress is lost.
Conclusion
Alexio is a nice little game that will guarantee to frustrate you during your initial runs. Some players might find it doable, while others will struggle to even get past the first level. As this game costs next to nothing, it is one title that you can just buy without having too much remorse over it later. As a whole, the developers did their best at creating a proper challenging retro experience.
No Comments