izigame.me

Skull Island: Rise of Kong is a gaming masterpiece that delivers an unforgettable journey into the tragic and captivating story of Kong, the iconic character from the King Kong franchise. This game takes players on an emotional rollercoaster, recounting Kong's heartbreaking upbringing, the loss of his parents to the island's formidable creatures, and his relentless struggle for survival and eventual ascent to become the undisputed King of Skull Island.
- Gameplay: The combat in Skull Island: Rise of Kong is a pleasant surprise. The game offers a diverse range of combat mechanics, featuring a plethora of combos and strategies to tackle various foes and different encounters you will come across during your journey. Each enemy, presents a unique challenge, as they differ vastly from the next, demanding players to adapt and strategize differently. There isn't a huge variety such as Elden Ring for example, but unlike FromSoftware's latest entry, this game opts for quality over quantity. From ranged attacks with boulders, to crowd control tactics using shoulder check, and of coruse, getting up-close and personal aggressive combat, the game caters to a wide array of playstyles. As you progress, the unlocking of different skills adds further depth to the gameplay, making it on par with some of the best in the genre, such as Elden Ring and the Zelda Breath of the Wild series. The boss fights are sure to leave an unforgettable experience to gamers, each featuring masterfully crafted introductions and well designed systems to challenge players encouraging them to leave their comfort zone and experiment with different approaches. Something most games are afraid to do nowadays.
- The World: Skull Island: Rise of Kong transports players to a visually stunning world that is breathtaking from the moment you set foot on it. From lush forests and jungles with pristine rivers, to muddy swamps with an atmospheric fog and lighting, and the high peaks featuring incredible vistas paired with a robust draw distance makes this game a phenomenal thing to look at. The sound too, is nothing short of amazing, listening to the distant roars as you approach a new area, to the bursting with life sounds of nature, and the satisfying crunch when executing your foes, this had to be one of the most immersive experiences I've had exploring a game. It features and inter-connected semi open world design, with each area featuring a different biome. The inclusion of in-depth platforming mechanics, which is surprisingly satisfying, makes traversal fun and engaging. The world is cleverly designed without intrusive markers, the roar feature's guidance, based on the flight of distant birds, is an ingenious navigation solution. There are lots of hidden places with collectibles and secrets to be found, rewarding players that are curious and like to explore.
- Graphics: The game's decision to embrace its own original artistic style rather than strive for photorealism proves that you don't need to make something phorealistic to make it absolutely stunning to look at. This game's graphics are phenomenal, each cutscene, each area you enter is something out of a painting. The fact that I was constantly spamming the F12 key on my keyboard taking screen shots worthy of wallpapers tells all you need how beautiful this game is. It's a testament to IguanaBee's dedication to make games different to what everyone else is doing out there. This game pushes the boundaries of what games should look like.
- Storytelling and Writing: The storytelling in Skull Island: Rise of Kong is nothing short of exceptional. From the very beginning, the game had me utterly engrossed, immersing me deeply in Kong's compelling quest for vengeance, and ultimately, his path to redemption. The narrative is emotionally charged, and the writing is stellar, accompanied by the voice of an old lady that sounds like the lady from Dark Souls. The story effectively conveys the depth of Kong's character and his tumultuous journey, where we witness first hand his hardships, his struggle to survive and navigate in a brutal and savage world, while dealing with loneliness and changes to his psychological. It's a testament to the storytelling prowess of IguanaBee and what they can achieve.
- The Flaws: While Skull Island: Rise of Kong excels in many areas, it is not without its imperfections. The presence of numerous bugs, including moments where I found myself soft-locked, with the only way to move again being to reload a previous save file, enemies getting stuck behind obstacles such as rocks and trees, and then I would get stuck too, behind rocks and trees. And game-breaking issues like enemies spawning underground making me unable to defeat them and progress through the story, detracted me from the overall experience. There was also an issue with falling under the map, which has happened four times on my playthrough, and getting myself out of bounds more often than I would like, making me unable to return to the playable area, again, the only way to return is loading a save file. There was also the duplication of the narrator's voice during cutscenes, which made things a little confusing, although the option to increase subtitle quality helps alleviate this issue. Despite all these bugs, I dare say, if Bethesda games get good ratings being buggy as they are, then this game gets a pass. Another flaw I would like to point out is also the game's restriction to a single manual save slot that limits player freedom. Bummer.
- Overall: Skull Island: Rise of Kong is undoubtedly a game that stands on the brink of becoming an instant classic. It pushes the boundaries of what games can achieve, offering a remarkable gaming environment and a deeply engaging story. The game's gripping and well-executed gameplay caters to players of all skill levels, making it an addicting experience. Despite its flaws, the overall experience is memorable and deserving of a score of 9/10. Players can rejoice in the opportunity to immerse themselves in such a fantastic game!