Evoland

So I got a new game...  Evoland.



This one I've had my eye on for quite a while.  It was released back in 2013, and I finally made the purchase in 2016.  Another Steam sale, another game...

This one is an RPG with a twist: apparently it progresses through different ages of RPG appearances.  The preview video shows monochrome Game Boy-level gameplay, NES, SNES, and PlayStation era graphics.

As a long time fan of RPGs from all of those platforms, I figured this one would be fun to try.  One caveat: I was diagnosed with Bronchitis this morning, and the drugs are making me a bit loopy.  (I should start a side blog: "So I went to the ER...")

I'm going to try out the game now, and I'll be back with my first impressions.

Humble beginnings, Gameboy Style
 The trailer gives a good idea of what this game is like.  You start out with the bare minimal abilities, and as you open chests, you gain more functionality.  For example, you start out with only the ability to move to the right.  Opening a chest grants you the ability to move left.  More chests, more directions, scrolling the screen, then an upgrade to a minimal color palette.  


Chest after chest evolves the game engine further, looking and feeling like more modern RPGs as you go.  


 Eventually the 'evolving' bit slows down some, and the game actually focuses on gameplay.  Once this happens, the game feels (and now looks) like a PlayStation era RPG.  I haven't gotten any upgrades to move beyond that epoch yet, though.

Combat is pretty standard fare so far - once you move beyond the Zelda action-style combat and into more of a Final Fantasy genre.  There isn't much of a story yet; I imagine they'll add more layers of storyline once the evolving mechanic settles down a bit.

The graphics are fun and creative; they've done a great job evoking memories of each platform you play through.  Some might find each era moving by too quickly, though.

What I like: The evolving gimmick is a gimmick, but it works.  They've done a great job with it, and I want to see where it goes next.  The graphics are great, and the controls are solid.  It's a fun game.

What I don't like: The music and sound is straight out of the audio palette of 8 bit devices, so the audio is a bit jarring.  The music is catchy, but I just wanted to turn it down most of the time.  The 'thunk' sound of your sword also seems a bit out of place.

Overall, I'd recommend this game to anyone who was a fan of old-school RPG games.  If any of my screenshots look like games you used to love, then this game is right up your alley.

Thanks for reading.

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