Following the tradition of platform games that inevitably follow the path popularized by the sagas of castlevania Y metroidso this is an exponent of titles known as metroidvaniaand adding in that way a Soulslike component, which implies a level of difficulty greater than the norm, for a few weeks it has been available moonscarsan indie video game developed by Black Mermaid studio and released by Humble Games.
With a dark pixel art visual design that immediately captures the attention, in an environment of post-apocalyptic ruins plagued by dangerous creatures and enemies, this video game invites us to follow the path of a white-haired warrior named Gray Irma, created from clay and that he is on a desperate search to find his creator.
What begins from your first steps is a journey in which you have to evade and block enemies at the right moment, either to avoid damage or achieve a counterattack, while we make use of various weapons and we are expanding a skill tree that opens the range of possibilities of our arsenal.
At the same time, the game adds a magic component in which we can not only perform special attacks, but also recover energy, which becomes quite relevant since we will usually be taking damage. In this sense, the attacks that we deal against the enemies imply a regeneration of the magic bar, so usually one is also giving priority to the use of recovery instead of the attack possibilities that they give us.
On the other hand, if we are not able to advance in the mission, and we run out of energy bar, we will have to go back to our last save area to try to successfully repeat our failed steps. And if we return to the exact point of our death, we will be able to recover the elements that we lost in our previous fall.
The problem in moonstars It is that along the way we will also be playing against time, since there is a moon bar that starts a real chaos when it turns red. Furthermore, the Moon’s thirst for blood has an effect on our enemies.
From there, the crusade of our battles, which increase in difficulty and the number of enemies as we get closer to the boss areas, adds that additional difficulty component, as the rivals become more frantic, evading and counterattacking in unison. Without measuring the times, without using the button to dodge and to block, it only opens the space for the inevitable defeat.
You also have to be careful with the environment, since there are platforms that vanish and there are also walls that are full of spikes that cause us damage, while flying enemies begin to emerge, others much more elaborate in their attacks and bosses that add variants to attack from each direction.
For example, the first big enemy not only uses blade attacks, which varies in style, but also has the ability to launch projectiles and attack from above to drain lots and lots of energy. In other words, you have to be absolutely focused to understand where they will attack you from.
Roughly, moonscars It is a rather striking challenge, which gains power both for its visual design and for a sound treatment that highlights the gloomy story itself, but it also sins for not proposing many new things in the face of the tidal wave of metroidvania and soulslike proposals that have emerged in recent years. last years.
Also, much of the conversation will inevitably tend to focus on the issue of its difficulty, since it can sometimes become a barrier for some players, but it is still an interesting challenge that is best given a chance. .
moonscars It is available on Microsoft Windows and Xbox through Game Pass, along with the Playstation and Nintendo Switch consoles. This review was through Steam.