Developer: Inverge Studios, Klabater S.A.
Publisher: Inverge Studios, Klabater S.A., Factoria Cultural Gestio, S.L.
Platform: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
Tested on: PC
Effie (Switch) – Review
Effie actually came out on Switch quite some time ago, but for some reason, the game slipped through the cracks and we never got around to reviewing it. That changes now, however, as we’re finally taking a look at the Switch port of the PC game that originally debuted in 2019. Is Effie a title worth picking up if you haven’t yet already or should we not have bothered digging it up?
Story
Unlike what you’d expect, the titular Effie is not the game’s protagonist. Instead, the game revolves around Galand, an elderly knight. The opening cutscene sees Galand invite Effie to listen to a story as they both sit around the fireplace. This setup provides the framework for the game’s narrative, which presents the player with Galand’s exploits. In his younger years, Galand was cursed by the evil witch Melira, who stole his youth and turned him into an old man. Galand subsequently embarks on an epic quest to track down the wicked witch and undo the curse. The story occasionally switches back to Effie and older Galand, showing the girl’s response to the tale that is being told to her, to bookmark key parts of the story, which also helps to flesh out the lore and Galand’s motivations.
Graphics
We weren’t particularly impressed with Effie’s visuals. For lack of a better description, the game’s graphics look like they were ripped straight from a cheap mobile game. The character designs themselves aren’t too bad, but the animations are janky and the environments lack texture. It’s a bit of a shame because the illustrations used to promote the game look a lot better than what’s actually in-game. It’s apparent that the concept art didn’t translate all that well into 3D models. There were technical issues as well, such as frame drops and pop-ins, though it was unclear whether these were the result of poor optimization of the Switch port or if these are also present in the other versions of the game. Adding insult to injury is that the game simply looks fuzzy or blurry all the time, especially in handheld mode.
Sound
We quite enjoyed Effie’s OST, which was composed by ANBR – Adrián Berenguer. The tracks immediately create the right atmosphere, making the game feel more epic and cinematic than it actually is. Even if you have no interest in picking up the game, we still suggest checking out the soundtrack. It’s available on YouTube and provides the perfect background music for your next Dungeons & Dragons session. The game’s sound effects are good as well, aiding in making the world feel alive despite it looking empty.
The voice actors’ performances, on the other hand, are a bit of a mixed bag. We quite liked Galand’s voice, which really helped with making the character relatable and sympathetic but Melira’s voice actress’ delivery lacked emotion and felt phoned in. It’s a shame; because based on her appearance, the character would’ve benefited from an over-the-top performance. Effie’s voice is slightly better, because the actress is able to conjure up a modicum of interest, but her responses to Galand still feel like they are missing actual emotions. Of note is also that the voice performances don’t always match the subtitles on-screen.
Gameplay
At Effie’s core lies a solid but unremarkable 3D platforming experience that is somewhat hampered by technical issues -more on those later. Although the game is built around platforming, there are several puzzles to solve along the way as well. Running and jumping around as Galand feels great, with tight and responsive controls. The dungeons that the game is built around are well-designed, filled not only with hordes of enemies but also plenty of hidden rune stones, which are used to level up Galand, increasing both his health and his stamina.
Of course, the game doesn’t just comprise dungeons and you can explore the world around Galand as well. Traveling the vast open fields is done by surfing on Galand’s shield. The mechanic is great in theory, but ended up being rather disappointing in practice, because the world itself simply didn’t seem worth exploring. Not only did it feel very empty, but with no map to keep track of your whereabouts, it was easy to get lost as well. There are a few hidden relics dotted around the world, but with no navigational tools at your disposal, tracking these down seems like something that’s only worth it for completionists.
There is a tremendous sense of growth, as Galand becomes noticeably stronger as you make your way through the game. The early stages of the game are incredibly punishing as Galand is a weakling, but as you unlock new abilities, eventually you’ll breeze through even the toughest of enemies. The progression from zero to hero felt like a nice twist on the gameplay loop, though as we progressed, we started to feel like maybe Galand was getting a bit too strong, removing a significant part of the challenge. Your mileage may vary on this, of course, but we would’ve perhaps preferred a less outspoken difference between the two ends of Galand’s power spectrum.
Of course, the aforementioned issues are relatively minor compared to the game’s biggest pitfall: the frame rate issues. While they never become so bad that Effie becomes completely unplayable, seeing the frame rate tank whenever enemies appear on screen becomes frustrating as it’s often necessary to time your hits precisely. We’ve experienced several deaths which we felt were unfair due to this issue. There is no penalty for dying, except that you’ll have to sit through the loading screen again, but the game’s awfully long load times make this punishment enough. Add to this that the framerate issues also impact precision platforming, albeit to a lesser extent, and you’ve got a game that simply isn’t up to par with what it should be. Hopefully, these issues are less prevalent in the PC, Xbox One, or PS4 versions, but as it stands, the Switch version is more frustrating than fun to play.
Conclusion
All in all, we had some serious issues with Effie. In fairness, these issues seem to be the result of poor optimization of the Switch port, and there is a decent chance that your experience on PC, Xbox One, or PS4 doesn’t suffer from the same frame rate drops that make the Switch version insufferable. We can see Effie’s potential whenever the Switch port succeeds in keeping up with the limitations of the hardware, but for this port at least, the negatives outweigh the positives. If you want to give Effie a try, by all means do so, but stay clear from this port.
No Comments