Odallus: The Dark Call

Good and fun retro game! Not too hard, has good checkpoints, and not so hidden secrets. Definitely check it out, and the other games from JoyMasher - Oniken and Blazing Chrome! :D

O Odallus: The Dark Call manda muito bem na vibe retrô sombria. O pixel art é caprichado, a trilha sonora cria uma atmosfera incrível e o combate é gostoso, lembrando os clássicos do gênero. O problema aparece na exploração: tem bastante backtracking pra coletar itens, o que é normal em metroidvania, mas a ausência de um mapa dentro das fases deixa tudo mais cansativo do que desafiador. E aqui vai o ponto pessoal: eu sou velho, e sinceramente não tenho mais tempo pra ficar caçando item sem uma ajudinha kkk. Um mapinha ou marcador simples já resolveria 90% da fricção — não tiraria o desafio, só deixaria a experiência mais esperta e menos “onde eu tô mesmo?” No fim, ainda vale o play, especialmente pra quem curte exploração raiz e combates retrô. Conclusão: Nota 7/10. Vale a pena se você gosta de jogos retrô com clima dark e gameplay sólido.

JoyMasher's second game is quite more "welcoming" to the player than [b]Oniken[/b]: never easy, the challenge can feel stiff at first, but after finding the first health upgrades and armor, it proves quite more approachable. While the "Metroidvania" label can be applied, it's closer to games like [b]Castlevania III[/b], [b]Dracula X[/b] or [b]Demon's Crest[/b]: not an interconnected world but a succession of stages which can be however revisited, especially after obtaining better gear and abilities, and are quite expansive with multiple exits to find that unlock alternate paths into the overworld map. The graphics may appear to come genuinely from a NES in some screenshots but the first notable "cheat" is that while the action takes place in a 4:3 window, the rest of the screen is filled with two status bars. There's also a lot of multiparallax, plus cutscenes and some bosses, especially the last one, more at home on a Mega Drive. It's more of a "NES as I remembered it" than "NES as it really was". All of that doesn't change that [b]Odallus[/b] looks fantastic. It sports amazing spritework ranging from the protagonist also changing aspect depending on the armor found, through even regular enemies made with care and large and gruesome bosses, up to cutscenes that are beautiful while not straying from the style already adopted in [b]Oniken[/b]. It's dark fantasy mixed with anime elements, the influence of Berserk is clear (one of the main villains rips off the Skull Knight's design). All topped by a perfect use of the limited palette, with appropriately muted colors and high contrasts that further enhance the atmosphere; in the areas where parallax is most prominent, it gets very evocative. It's one of the best-looking "neo-retro" games I've seen to date. All that artistry is fortunately not wasted, as the difficulty is balanced so well, and the pace of the progression just right, making the search for upgrades and secrets extremely satisfying. It won't last a tremendous number of hours but not a single minute of play is going to feel wasted. Not sure if I can call it s "masterpiece" but a damn great game this is, even more for its price.

1/10 Do not work

If you're into OG Castlevania, you'll like this one. Some of the achievements are ROUGH (skill issue here). Definitely worth playing if you like this kind of game. No regrets here.

Really fun game, reminsicent of Berzerk, Castlevania and edgy 90s megadrive games in general. Really well designed levels, with a surpising amount of satisfaction going back and redoing levels to unlock new areas as you gain more abilities.