Developer: LUEGOLU3GO Studios
Publisher: LUEGOLU3GO Studios
Platforms: PC
Tested On: PC
Nogalious – Review
It’s a golden time for indie game developers. Thanks to the ever-growing interest in these types of games and the popular phenomenon called Kickstarter, new titles are released on almost a daily basis. Combine this with the tendency of humans to think that it used to be better in the past, and a lot of 8-bit, 2D retro style games find their way to the players nowadays. LUEGOLU3GO Studios is one of the many developers who were able to bring their ideas to life. With Nogalious they released their first title of what is going to be a game trilogy!
Story
Nogalious is part one of the game trilogy by LUEGOLU3GO Studios. The second and third part are named Mirilla and Dragorieta. Nogalious takes place in the kingdom of Russadir. Our hero, also named Nogalious, lives here with his daughter Mariet. You can probably guess what happens next; Mariet gets abducted by the evil Darama to lure Nogalious to her castle. In order to rescue his daughter, he must overcome puzzles, dungeons and enemies who fight alongside of Darama.
It’s safe to say the story is pretty basic. A girl gets kidnapped and her father goes on a quest to find her and defeat his opponent. Now, the way the story is brought is just as basic. In a short twenty second video the story is explained in a rather boring way. Not to mention that it lasts longer than it should; it just goes so slow.
Graphics
As far as paying homage to the 8-bit era, Nogalious surely succeeds. Taking you back to the days of colorful, pixelated graphics, it will give you that old school feeling you’re looking for. Each area you go through has a nice new look. The enemies you fight have a simple and basic appearance but are enjoyable nonetheless.
However, a very annoying aspect of the game are the typing errors. The developers are Spanish but the game is available in English, including too many mistakes.
Sound
The music used in Nogalious is rather disappointing. When starting up the game for the first time, the sounds seem fun. They quickly go quiet though. When launching the actual game, you’ll hear some typical retro tunes from the 8-bit era. However, the variety of music is very limited and is repetitive throughout the game, making it a poor soundtrack.
Gameplay
Nogalious is a classic action adventure 2D platformer. You can opt to play a tutorial first. This is very short and it’s where you meet “The Wiseman”. He will be your guide throughout the game when help is needed. Besides the introduction of a few basic moves and your guide, the tutorial isn’t really that much of a help. Get ready for a game full or puzzles and secrets.
Before starting the actual game, you can change your controls under the option menu. It is nice having the choice to change your controls but it’s a shame there isn’t a gamepad mode. Besides this, there aren’t many other options besides the language and recording place (local or online).
On the screen, a few things are shown. First of all there is the game field you’re in, for example it can say “tutorial” or “entrance”. Next to this are your score and the amount of lives you have left. You have five lives and three “continues”. If you used these up, you’re done and get sent back to the very beginning. Three other interesting elements shown on your screen are wildfires, doors and dragon stones. Wildfires show you the amount of clues that are available and the ones that you already followed. The door shows the number of secret rooms available and the ones you already entered. Lastly, the dragon stones do the same but if you manage to collect all dragon stones in a world, you get a reward. Of course your weapons are also shown on your screen. These range from your typical sword and arrows to a boomerang. The power-objects you’ve found and activated are also shown.
You’ll get to explore five different worlds and face four bosses under Darama’s command; Zovach, Grotton, Harmor and Lordaf. The five worlds include the suburbs of town, an old cemetery and some stages of Darama’s castle. In order to pass to the next world, you’ll have to enter battle with a boss. Along the way you’ll come across gates and wells which you can enter if you want to discover new dungeons.
As was with the games in the past, no continuous screens were available, so you play on a static screen. In order to pass on to the next screen, you’ll have to retrieve a key in every screen. Obstacles and enemies will try to prevent you from doing this. Some of the obstacles can be used to your advantage if you figure out how. However, it is an immensely difficult game. With the one hit kill system being used, you have to watch your every move and your patience will be put to the test. Watch the birds that cut off the vines and even pay attention to the drops of water falling from the sky because they will kill you. Yes, water kills you instantly.
It is thus important to memorize each setting, each step you take and each pattern if you don’t want to start all over again and again.
Conclusion
All in all, Nogalious is a mediocre game. Its best feature is its graphics since they are beautifully done and really make you feel nostalgic. The gameplay is fun but can be considered slightly too difficult. This might not be a problem for everyone but it could definitely scare off some players. The typing errors and especially the poor soundtrack really weigh on the likeability of the game. It feels like Nogalious is good but could have been better. Hopefully the next games in the trilogy will be improved upon.
Nogalious - Review,
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