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| Getting stuck in ladders like it's 1986. |
Primal Light can be a good 16-bit retro fix for some players, but it works best as a reminder that aesthetics alone can only scratch the surface of what's frequently overlooked as a deeper nostalgia itch.
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| Worldbuilding is the name of the game. |
The addition of “Intenso” (a temporary superpower) in the updated iteration of the game, brings in a welcome extra layer of balance to its flow besides expanding the player’s agency on how to tackle the game’s challenges (specially when coupled with the not-only-cosmetic skins already there from the start).
Imperfect as it is, Guacamelee conjures a too-good-to-pass-up world dead/alive for a metroidvania buff who’s in for something beyond pure mechanics shenanigans.
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| Designs are genuinely interesting. |
As said before, it has strengths. When it flows, it feels remarkably good–maybe to a “good 2D Sonic level” degree, even; the characters/enemies designs are great, and the hint system (which pitches a formerly defeated boss against the next best level) intertwines plot, level design and appeal smoothly; battle/weapons mechanics are interesting enough without being hard to grasp.
In the end, an honest approach may grant Mighty No. 9 isn’t the dumpster on fire one might think for its infamous reputation. But it’s surely undercooked–despite the amount of time and money spent (mostly by faithful backers) on it.
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| Blatant. |
As for ~ v i b e s ~ Pikuniku’s smartass attitude fits Devolver’s catalogue well and may act as a selling point in the current dystopian late capitalist world, but if it’s the case humans (and videogames) survive such games might as well be seen as the 90’s mascots of our time: inadvertently silly and puerile.
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| The infamously tempting ladder. |
Talking about cosmetics, there’s no cohesion to be seen among the collectible cards’ art pieces: they’re all over the place both aesthetically and quality-wise. A sad (but perhaps unavoidable) departure from how solid a “historic” curation approach–like the one previously available in Marvel Puzzle Quest, for instance–would have been with such a decades old IP-focused project; regardless, results tend to be good enough to keep it afloat, given the fact that the current audience’s nostalgia only trace back to, roughly, MCU’s beginnings or so. Credit where credit's due though, the game does pretty well in other presentation areas–especially VFX and sound design/music.
Issues aside, MARVEL SNAP is very well positioned to grow bigger by the day and become a F2P juggernaut–and an ever healthier one while at it. That’s only possible because the development team made the clever decision to plant its structural foundations far beyond some shallowly obvious Baby Groot fan service would.
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| Art direction overall ups the game a couple notches. |
So, fittingly enough, the fact that it’s on the short side plays in favour of the game since it never reaches the point of overstaying its welcome. The clean, polished art style makes it for awakening the completionist in the player and raises the “one more play” factor--even if it’s just for unlocking yet another new character (with a particular playstyle and neat flavour description of their own) before calling it a day. The controls and scene flows are just as slick as the art and doesn’t hurt the experience a bit either.
The Nightmare Cooperative may not be the best “value” proposition for such a potential buyer--even if the Steam Trading Cards can mitigate that a good bit--but it’s a solid product, the result of an interesting enough premise that’s well-executed enough to be worth being checked out.
Just like with most rogue-lites out there it has its share of balancing issues, making descents raggier than desired: the 2-hit-death base stats coupled with meager invincibility frames rendering good runs prone to be smashed into pieces under some fickle RNG-god’s (dog’s?) paws, for instance; or getting a favorable “supply x demand” seed (meaning a) finding shops with b) good items while c) having enough money to afford ‘em) being rarer than digging random gold down the way; or procedural level design being cruelly nasty at times; and so on.
None of those are game breaking though; but one structural design decision hurts the experience on a… deeper level. Unfortunately mapping all main actions (jumping, digging, dashing) to the same button makes the controls feel clumsy instead of elegant as intended, and may pile a couple extra frustrating deaths to the ever-growing counter.
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| Digging all night along. |
Despite all that, a player will most likely jump back right away without batting an eye--a testament to the game’s compelling and accessible “one more try” factor.
