You would forgive me for thinking that the world itself has traveled back in time to 1989 with releases of films like Robocop, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and now the host of games designed with 8bit graphics. Forget Tress FX or dynamic lighting, there’s a colourful block on the screen that’s moving! Holy s**t! Thankfully, we haven’t returned to that horrible decade — instead, many indie developers are taking the concept on board. Indie game developers are reliving one of the greatest eras of gaming, and adding new and dynamic twists to gameplay and mechanics. Odallus: The Dark Call is the latest offering from Indie Developer, Joymasher, and their efforts result in a game that’s akin to Castlevania meets Golden Axe. Can we relive the era of 8bit once again through Odallus: The Dark Call?
As you might expect with a game from an era where narrative was not a big deal, Odallus keeps it short and sweet. It’s a standard affair of good vs evil with a hero saving the world from the dark forces at work. In other words:
Badass Holy Warrior + Mega Evil Dudes + Lots of 80s violence = Story
That’s it, really. This is indeed a brilliant homage to the style of writing from that era. Game designers didn’t have the creative flare for writing that we know now. Unless you’re Rocksteady, and you slightly ruin the Batman lore. Odallus keeps it to the point and adds in some cool concepts, involving demonology, faith, and even at merchant that discusses the outrageous economy in the game and the price of housing.
But what is most striking about Odallus is its beautiful 8bit style graphics that hold a high amount of detail in the design of the game world and its characters. Bosses and NPCs look particularly awesome, and the use of pixilation and colouring bring an intense and rich atmosphere that’s dripping with an 80s vibe. This is made even better by an energetic and rather a catchy soundtrack that beautifully captures the sense of the era too.
The mechanics are easy to learn, and many aspects of the game rely on how quickly you learn and develop your tactics to fight enemies. Much of the game engages players with platformer style gameplay, traversing to various points in the leve via jumping, swimming, destroying false walls, and walking, lots of walking. I did, however, find the controls for jumping and maneuvering while airborne to be a little clunky. There’s some great exploration to experience, as the levels are massive with multiple paths to take, and hidden rewards to find.
Jumping and moving in either direction does take some mastering, and even for hardcore players, it can be an irritating chore. This is not helped when you encounter some of the more difficult levels, which become somewhat tedious when failure means starting that section over again. I can forgive this in some respect, as your character can grab ledges and pull himself up and the game is kind enough not to take away one of your lives when you make a mistake in these troublesome situations. But to warn you now, the fact of the matter is, many of these levels require a lot of focus with perfectly timed jumps and quick reflexes — yet overall, they are creative and fun once you get past the difficulty.
Speaking of difficulty; Odallus is surprisingly easy compared to actual adventure games from the 80’s. Personally, this is a relief to me, as games like Castlevania and Ghouls and Goblins were so difficult and punishing that often enough, you’d break the damn controller. Things are fair in Odallus, but also have a trial and error format of play. Learning the moves of NPCs and bosses do come in handy, and progression must be earned with knowledge and quick wits. However, there are elements which do raise the stakes as you progress. Buying items from the merchant will increase prices, so the more you need health or lives to continue, the higher the prices will go. Players will start any level with a full set of lives and full health, but if you want more, players will need to be cautious on what they buy, and how much.
The play time is increased with the multiple paths throughout the game world I mentioned before. All levels have multiple routes to take, each hiding various items, secrets, and breaks any repetition when revisiting a level. New abilities are gained throughout the game, which is a great encouragement for players to return to previous levels and find hidden items they might have missed or couldn’t reach before. The world map also holds several hidden levels and alternative paths that will also give players new weapons and abilities.
Odallus: The Dark Call is a wondrous and joyous game to play for those who love 8bit or classic adventure games. If you aren’t a fan of 8bit classics, I’d advise you go and play My Little Pony Adventure Island. Anyone else who wants to be an awesome hero in an epic adventure, I highly recommend this great game. Another thing worth mentioning is that there will be an update including a hardcore difficulty mode, for those who want to truly relive the 80s and throw their controllers at the screen.