Looks matter, but it really is what's on the inside that counts.
Let's bookend this review with the important bit: PLAY THE DEMO before making the purchase. There can be no doubt that this game will speak to and be enjoyed by many people, but you will be best served by sampling the pudding first for whatever proof you need.
A few years ago, I came across a little gem called “Bladed Fury.” It was a fun, highly-stylized side scrolling action game that had some light RPG elements in the form of weapon upgrades (that is, if I'm remembering the correct features about the correct game. It's hell to get old. ;-) ). The game play was pretty tight, the audio was solid and the story was suitably over the top. What got me most, other than the game play, was how wonderfully distinct the game looked: it was colorful, bombastic and boasted a style entirely its own. It was short and that's probably for the best. Always leave 'em wanting more, etc.
I remember it fondly enough that I'll periodically peruse Steam for other indie games that offer a similar sort of feel. When I discovered “Eastern Exorcist (EE),” it seemed I might finally be able to scratch that particular itch.
On the surface, this couldn't be more true. EE has solid voice acting, a decent (if repetitive) soundtrack. Game play is pretty tight with plenty of meaningful options: pushing buttons is fun and there's a definite 'rhythm' to the game in prioritizing targets correctly. The exorcism skills feel distinct (though not always useful) and the talents make a noticeable difference in how the base abilities get used. All these options cater to different play styles on the first run and encourage even more runs when you roll credits. It also has the look. That simply gorgeous look. Hand-painted, muted colors, offering a one-of-a-kind visual mash-up you could only get from animating an image that, while digitally rendered, was clearly inspired by classical Chinese techniques. The game plays like it's dream done in water color that responds to your commands. It's wonderful, simple beauty at its finest.
Unfortunately, some unusual design decisions marred this outing for me. In defense of Wildfire Game (the developer), the issues I'll point to below are unmistakably present in the demo, with the possible exception of the challenge tutorials being extra wonky; I don't remember playing any challenges when I sampled the game, so that one might be every bit as obvious to someone making a more exhaustive or comprehensive dive during the demo.
Tutorials are intrusive. Tutorial information is presented front and center on the screen where it can block some of the action; it also may not be on screen long enough for a reader to absorb all the information it's presenting. I read relatively quickly and I still scrambled to get the lowdown on some of those windows before they closed. They are also largely unskippable, which was particularly aggravating during the challenges which require the player to defeat waves of enemies using a specific application of a specific exorcism skill. While all of the text within the window detail what the challenges expect of you, they were seldom helpful in providing an understanding of how you were supposed to execute said applications. There was a video available but that really just showed the end result rather than the steps necessary to reach that goal. For transparency, I did not expect hand-holding in the tutorial. I did expect clear instruction on how to achieve what was expected of me. Even if the method is spelled out to me as though I'm a six year old, I'm still on the hook for learning the timing, range, potency, etc.
Much of the combat in the early game (challenges included) involves fighting green monsters on a green background. If that's not bad enough, those monsters will sometimes lay down on their bellies and shuffle behind bushes and rocks and such. Not great. This happens again at the end of the first chapter; the boss is wearing red and shoots red darts... and is positioned in front of a building that's on fire. The boss is also super squirrely and not about a life where her feet touch the ground. Is it manageable? Sure. After all, she'll fly and flit about so often that she'll eventually have a background that's distinct enough so I could more easily see the projectiles. But is it fun? No. I can appreciate that I am likely in the minority as far as difficulty in tracking colors of similar palettes across each other, but it still proved more chore than fun to me.
Perhaps the single biggest source of difficulty for me was that there seems to be no enemy collision detection. This isn't a problem for many regular mobs, as they often require only a few hits to weaken before being dispel-able. It's usually not more than a single combo string, so placement is less demanding. For bosses, though, it feels janky if not straight up bad. It normally takes multiple combos to break the armor/stagger bar and a boss will often continue moving while you're laying that combo on them. Attacks still register hits or misses depending on facing and that's tough to determine when the models keep trying to get inside each other like a couple kids on prom night.
I'm also unsold on the idea that it's okay to make boss fights extra spongy by giving them shields which recharge very quickly. The armor/shield/stagger/posture mechanic is an interesting wrinkle with which to contend and can make a game with already deep combat even more rewarding. Sekiro made phenomenal use of such a mechanic, in large part because it didn't treat said mechanic as just another healthbar. In that game, you break an enemies posture and then you can deal a death blow. That's not the case here, as EE requires the armor bar to be depleted before you can deal damage. Full stop. Here, you break posture, have a limited window in which to deal damage, then posture/armor resets and you're back to square one. I appreciate the urgency installed by having to break the defenses several times in order to defeat the boss, doubly so given that the bad guy will recover armor and health if left undamaged or disengaged for long enough. For whatever reason though, this implementation of the mechanic didn't sit well with me.
I understand and largely agree with the need for a stamina bar, but for the love of fucking Christ, can we be done with i-frames? Just because they work well in other action games doesn't mean an action game needs i-frame dodging/immunity as ante to join the table so the rest of the game can be judged on its own merits.
Now you're saying, but if all this is knowable in the demo, why did you still buy it? That's a reasonable question. In no small part because I thought I would get used it. It was tough for me to tell how much of what I was feeling in the demo was 'this is a new game, gotta get used to it' and how much was 'this isn't working for me,' so I erred on the side of digging deeper. After all, the indie scene is where it's at for new stuff: new mechanics, new ideas, new looks. I don't regret my purchase, only that I can't (at time of writing, at least) bring myself to soldier on through to see the rest of what's on offer.
Who can I recommend purchase EE? I don't know. I can RECOMMEND THE DEMO to anyone who enjoyed “Bladed Fury,” as well as those who dig 2D/side-scrolling action games with unique visuals. Give it a whirl and see for yourself. It's worth the 30-60 minutes it'll take to find out. It also might convince other companies that demo's don't cost much and can make a world of difference in helping a game find it's audience.
edit: always. always. clarity throughout. /sigh
edit the second: changed the first word in the last sentence, because "It also might..." sounds a lot better than "It'll also might..." A winnar iz meee.
Read more...
