The following is an abridged transcript of a video review I did on YouTube:
This is a game that I found when it was pretty fresh on Steam back in 2016. I got it, I started playing it, and I couldn't stop until I had punched my way through every single pirate and beat it. And then I've subsequently been unable to shut up about it because I love Khimera: Destroy All Monster Girls, a lot. It's pretty much the culmination of anything and everything I love in my retro-styled indie game platformer experience. Monster girls! Err-- I mean-- a really robust set of mechanics that expands as you complete each level, tons of secrets to uncover, and really creative boss and level designs! Yeah, that's what I meant. AHEM. Let's begin good and proper with the story.
Our story opens on Morgana, an island in the Mediterranean that also happens to be home to various monsters and the odd human, like the Professor. When the island is suddenly rushed by a band of pirates called the Sea Spiders, the human professor, after some coaxing from the local Dullahan – and as an aside, mad props for obscure Celtic monster choice there, game dev – opts to enlist his newest creation to help. Enter Chelshia, human-oni-harpy-golem hybrid ready to punch out the bad guys in this quirky, colorful world of platforming and humorous writing. To do so, we must traverse the world map and hunt down the badguys, MegaMan style, and steal their powers in order to grow stronger! A little more DNA splicing can't possibly hurt, right?! … Right?
And the game looks great. It's pixel art at its finest, using bright, vibrant hues and striking color combinations to make every character distinct. I admit, I'm a sucker for the recent boom in pixelated graphics, but here it works in the game's favor. And since each level has its own unique biome and theme tied to it – including ones that don't contain the boss fights required to beat the game – it shows that a lot of time and effort went into making the game look as good as it possibly can. The character portraits in particular show a lot of thought was put into every bit of it. The bosses are all visually distinct and their attack patterns can be recognized with some persistence. Chelshia herself has tons of personality, so major credit on the graphical front.
And the sound is divine. I love the music, clearly inspired by the likes of MegaMan and some Nintendo franchises and maybe a little dash of Jake Kaufman inspiration in there too. The up-tempo rock-techno fusion is not just reminiscent of bygone days of 8 and 16-bit gaming, but just genuinely pleasant to listen to. And the sound effects ring true too, with everything sounding... well, great. No other way to put it.
Games like this really shine, however, is in terms of their gameplay. And Khimera has that in spades. You start with some basic abilities – a dash-punch and a double jump for movement and attacking, a regular punch for regular damage, and you're thrust into the world of pirates and monster girls with the levels themselves acting as your tutorials. Which really is to the game's credit, as it assumes the tutorial level will teach you what you need to know as you go. The levels are carefully crafted and the overall pace tends to be brisk, making it a very satisfying game to play, regardless of overall skill level. That's because there are checkpoints mid-level and dying only loses you the intangible concept of “points” and a bragging rights reward at the end of stage anyway. If you get stuck, you're offered unlimited chances to get through the stage without an archaic and frustrating “lives” system bogging down the game's flow.
Much like in MegaMan, there are various, themed bossed you need to defeat in order to progress, but there's also more than that. There are hidden goodies, like a monster encyclopedia you can fill out by finding lost pages or accomplishing side-missions. You can also find dynamite plungers that open additional challenge missions for greater rewards and even find the elusive Gourmet Gals that reward you with free samples of their cuisine that extends your life bar! There are tons of collectables and hidden goodies awaiting the intrepid explorer and it encourages replayability not just with the unlockables but also because each level rewards you with a letter rank at its conclusion, subtly encouraging you to shoot for A Ranks in each one. Any completionist should find this game highly satisfying to play start to finish and beyond.
And, for ways this game could've been improved upon... uhh... I mean... I just wanted more Khimera? It's a bit of a cop-out but I really can't think of anything. I mean, when the game was new, it was possible to not do the Harpy boss fight and, thus, miss out on the double-jump, but that's... already been patched, so you start the game with it now... so that's not a legit complaint. Some people complained about the game getting easier over time, but then... the dev introduced challenge themes like time attack, boss rush, and berserker modes so, well, that's addressed to. I guess what I'm saying is I just really, really want Khimera 2.
