Developer: DreamIRL
Publisher: Pixel Heart
Platform: PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Tested on: PC
Noreya: The Gold Project – Review
We made a promise, didn’t we? Thank Goodness You’re Here! may have squeezed itself into our gaming schedule unexpectedly, but after we saw the credits roll over Barnsworth, we promptly returned to Noreya: The Gold Project, a Metroidvania from indie developer DreamIRL that we’d been playing over the last week or so. After spending a decent time in Early Access, Noreya recently had its full launch, providing us with a perfect excuse to take an extended look at it. Is Noreya as good as gold or is it worth its weight in pyrite instead?
Story
Our story starts with Kali, a female warrior, and her fellow tribesmen being attacked by monstrous creatures of darkness. Unlike the other warriors, who become corrupted shadows of their former selves, Kali survives the attack, which draws the attention of two opposing deities, the god of Light and the god of Greed. Both of these want our heroine as a follower, and they decide to entice her by offering her powers. Kali, wanting both an explanation and revenge for the subjugation of her tribe, reluctantly accepts, and sets out on a journey to the city of Gold. At the center of this legendary location, she’ll find out the truth and will have to make a final decision as to which of the two warring deities she sides with. It’s an intriguing premise that is fleshed out as you progress through the story, and as you’d expect, there are several different endings here, depending on the choices you make.
Graphics
Perhaps THE standout feature of Noreya is the gorgeous pixel art, particularly when it comes to the game’s environments and backgrounds. There is plenty of visual variety across the different biomes, and more than once we had to pick up our jaw from the floor while admiring the vistas. The scenic visuals are detailed, yet this doesn’t affect the game’s overall performance because pixel art is still relatively simplistic, especially when it comes to character and enemy designs. Cutscenes are depicted through beautiful hand-drawn art, which helps to contextualize some of the relatively simple sprite work.
Sound
As if the beautiful visuals weren’t enough, Noreya knocks it out of the park when it comes to sound design as well. Artists Sarys and MisterMV deliver a soundtrack that perfectly captures the mysterious and ominous atmosphere that the game’s story exudes. A particularly nice touch is that the music changes depending on which of the two deities currently holds more power. Combined with sound effects that add some oomph, Noreya’s soundscape ends up above average, although we do feel like voice acting is sorely missing and would lift the game’s audio to the next level.
Gameplay
At first glance, Noreya might seem like just another Metroidvania. We’d be fine with the game if it were just that, because it is very competent when it comes to core Metroidvania gameplay. Where Noreya differs, however, is in how the two deities that are central to the story also affect the gameplay. You can pay tribute to either of these, and doing so affects two major elements. First of all, the game’s map opens up and closes specific areas depending on which deity holds more power, which is directly tied to the statues that you use as save points. Secondly, and much more importantly, the game’s skill tree is also tied to the deities. Early on, you can easily be opportunistic and mix-and-match, but eventually, the cost of acquiring new skills ramps up and you’re going to want to stick to a single deity for the late game. This does bode very well for the game’s replayability as you can tackle Noreya in different ways depending on your skill unlocks.
Our initial impressions of Noreya’s gameplay were, quite frankly, very good. It didn’t bring anything new to the table in terms of core mechanics, but the fast movement and snappy combat definitely were satisfying. The game eases you into its mechanics, although Metroidvania veterans should feel right at home from the get-go. The first hour of gameplay culminates in a thrilling chase sequence where the aim is to outrun a massive worm. Said encounter does ramp up the difficulty somewhat, but it’s still fairly manageable. And then a difficulty spike hits you like a truck. Suddenly, enemies become significantly tougher, for seemingly no discernible reason. Now, said difficulty spike is very noticeable, but fortunately, it’s only a temporary issue. Eventually, you’ll have built up the necessary skill set, both as a player and in-game, to deal with whatever Noreya throws your way. However, it’s still notable for taking the flow out of what is otherwise a very enjoyable game. We really would have preferred it had the game’s pacing been reworked, because right now, you hit a wall right when you’re getting into things.
There are a couple of other baffling decisions that left us scratching our heads, like the game’s fast travel option being part of the skill tree instead of being a default feature. The boss battles are also a bit of a disappointment, mostly in that they aren’t that memorable. At roughly 6-8 hours, it’s not the longest game, although the deity system does add a lot of replay value. That said, even keeping the replay value in mind, as well as the three separate difficulty levels, it would seem that the God of Greed was in charge of pricing the game, as the RRP of €24.99 is a smidge too steep. Now, at the time of writing, the game is being offered on Steam with a 20% discount, and €19.99 feels about right for what you’re getting here.
Conclusion
We have mixed feelings about Noreya: The Gold Project. On one hand, we absolutely love the audiovisual presentation, and the solid core gameplay is elevated by the deity system. On the other hand, the game’s awkward pacing and egregious difficulty spike hurts the overall appeal, as do some small game design choices. If Noreya had ironed out those kinks, it would have easily been one of the best Metroidvanias that we’d played in months, if not years. As it stands, this is a competent, but flawed game. If you decide to pick this one up, you’ll probably have a good time with it, but not a great or outstanding one.
No Comments