Pseudoregalia

👍

9/10 A very fun metroidvania 3D platformer, with both the metroidvania and platforming aspects done wonderfully. As a platformer, it plays like a dream, your movements quick and fluid. You start off with fairly limited mobility, which can make the early game feel a bit dull on replays, but only makes it more satisfying once you've unlocked a few abilities and get to zip around the map again. Once I got a good grasp on the controls, I was surprised at just how many little sequence breaks there are scattered across the game. Even before getting all the abilities, you can pretty much get anywhere if you're crafty enough with what you have, which is honestly both a highlight for me, and a bit of a fault. At times, it feels as though the level design isn't made with the moveset's full potential in mind. Skipping sections you don't have a correct abilitiy for yet using just wall jumps is fun, but it can feel like the developer wasn't aware just how truly flexible Sybil's capable of being. Little challenge minigames were added to the map post-launch that do amp the difficulty up a bit, but I'd still love to see a harder sequel that goes all out and bases entire sections around being quick, clever, precise as possible with the movement. Metroidvania-wise, the game is very, very pure in this regard, giving the player essentially zero guidance other than a few vague hints. Abilities can be unlocked in several different orders, the late-game ones especially. The exploration feels fairly intuitive. I feel like I rarely got lost or confused after gaining a new ability. Pretty much as soon as I unlocked one, an opportunity to use it was always presented to me soon after, then I'd find plenty more just by walking around and playing the game. It's honestly just one of the freest metroidvanias I've played in general, it's very delightful how the game simply trusts the player to figure things out on their own. Lastly, one complaint I'd like to address is with the boss fights. There's only two, one at the beginning, and the final boss. They're honestly not even bad fights, it's just the small amount that irks me. The game has a mechanic where as you damage enemies, you're given magic to heal yourself with, and that mechanic could be used as an excuse to make out some really engaging, drawn out fights. I don't think you'd need to add too many, maybe four or five total would be a good number for a game of this length. Preferably ones themed around abilities you'd have just gained, so you're not just slashing and dodging 'til the boss is dead.

Pseudoregalia is a love letter to the era of the Play-station one and Nintendo64. Expect platforming puzzles and incredible combat with a Z target function very much like one you find in Ocarina of Time. Not a huge fan of Metriodvanias so I had some frustrations with exploration. If you miss the early 00s gaming scene however, this is the game for you. Also the Jackalope is bad af.

It's a very stylish game that I should really love, but personally I find the focus on movement tech more frustrating than gratifying.

Straight up it’s a hard game to recommend to people who are looking for something to peak their interest from the get go. It took me around 8 hours to complete this, I’d say about 6.5 of them took me to understand how movement properly works. It’s easy in many aspect and hard in a few. There’s very little in the way of story or combat. The graphics are charming, the music is amazing, but the movement is ok - never really got to the point I’d felt like I mastered it. You can tell a lot of love went into it though! Again, a really hard game to say I recommend to people. Gave it a thumbs up because i clearly enjoyed something about it as I completed it. I’m just not sure what that is

i like the sweater outfit

Pseudoregalia is a gem of a 3D platformer. While in many ways it feels familiar it brings many things to the table that make it feel unique. Pros: - Incredible artstyle and soundtrack - Areas are cohesive while being different enough to be interesting to explore - While veterans of the genre will find themselves at home psuedoregalia introduces unique platforming mechanics that allow you to learn and expand your horizons - Metroidvania elements reward exploration (which is itself enjoyable) and rewards are well placed and satisfying to collect. - Runs very well with few bugs (none game-breaking) Cons: - While the controls are mostly smooth, there were times where they felt a tad awkward (that being said by the end of the game I felt like I was able to work around the perceived awkwardness) - The game does essentially no hand holding, so it is easy to get lost - The story isn't that in your face (which is common to the genre, only marking as negative because I didn't feel like I gained any attachment to the characters) - You cannot see yourself on the map so I often found myself getting lost - No collectible tracker (that I am aware of) The cons are mostly nitpicks, Overall I would give Pseudoregalia an 8/10