In ReSetna wagen wir uns in eine postapokalyptische Roboterwelt. Nach dem Untergang der Menschheit regieren Maschinen die Erde, werden aber von einem mysteriösen Signal gehackt. Als Spezial-Roboter Setna machen wir uns auf in ein Metroidvania-Action-Adventure, um das Signal zu stoppen.| Teilzeithelden
Metroid of Persiania: The Lost Crown. When I picked up the latest and still very recent Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown as a pleasant distraction for Wargroove’s longer and longer slogfests, I did not expect the game—in my head portrayed as yet another boring metroidvania clone—to be that big and that good. In stark contrast, the drama evolved around the game with reported layoffs after “softer than expected” sales reports makes me question what kind of expectations (and practices)...| jefklakscodex.com
Two years after the latest Game Boy installment, Back from the Sewers, Konami gave the TMNT franchise yet another try—third time’s a charm, as they say. For Radical Rescue, in my opinion, the statement holds true. The first game, Fall of the Foot Clan, didn’t have any meat to the bone, that was corrected with the second installment, although the visual representation of the Turtles themselves could be called questionable. This time around, the beat ’em up genre evolved into a real Met...| Game Boy on Jefklak's Codex
Castlevania Dominus Collection: The Holy Trinity Is Finally Complete. I suppose it was only a matter of time before the Nintendo DS Castlevania games would be joined in an excellent M2 Collection published by Limited Run Games. Now the holy trinity of Castlevania collections is finally complete: first Anniversary Collection, then Advance Collection, and now finally the Dominus one. It certainly feels great to have them all on the shelf in their red boxes! Via Jefklak's Codex| jefklakscodex.com
Once upon a time, about 23 years ago, Konami released three delightful Metroidvania-style Igavania/beyond-Classicvania Castlevanias—what’s in a name?—on the Game Boy Advance. All three GBA games are well-praised and everyone knows the first two release were just a test for Konami to then release one of the best games ever made: Aria of Sorrow, obviously. The first game, Circle of the Moon, a 2001 launch title, was criticized for its lack of colour and contrast on the non-backlit origina...| Retro Gaming on Jefklak's Codex
Castlevania Portrait of Ruin Review. Castlevania games tend to pop up each year on Nintendo’s Handheld platform. The last entries: Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow, followed the story of Soma, who mysteriously inherited Dracula’s dark abilities. Forget about all that, and the soul harvesting system. Portrait of Ruin is the spiritual successor of Castlevania Bloodlines on the SEGA MegaDrive/Genesis. Jonathan Morris is the son of Bloodlines’ whip-equipped hero. PoR takes place during or ...| jefklakscodex.com
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Switch Review. One year later, Ritual of the Night is still unplayable on the Nintendo Switch. Numerous patches later, the game still stutters and crashes, with its most popular screen being the loading one. We’re off to a great start here… Via Jefklak's Codex| jefklakscodex.com
Wario Land: a Retrospective. It’s been over 20 years since I last touched any of the Wario Land games. I vaguely remember them being one of the most exciting platformers I’ve ever played as a kid. However, thanks to my manic tidying itches, I sold most if not all Gameboy games I’ve ever owned. Thanks to a recent resurgence in retro game interest, I came across a Wario game for the Gameboy. The shopkeeper sold them all 4 and raised his brow when I wanted to pay. “You must be a big Wari...| jefklakscodex.com
Hollow Knight: Metroidvania marries Demon Souls. I hope they get divorced. That’s my review, condensed into a single sentence. As much as I loved my deep dive into the world of Hallownest, as the end came near, I tried stopping playing three times. And I’m not alone. Here are a few fun Reddit threads: Via Jefklak's Codex| jefklakscodex.com
Yoku's Island Express: a Pinball Metroidvania. If you’ve ever wanted to play as a dung beetle postman on a small tropical island, bouncing your dung ball up and down while traveling from mailbox to mailbox, here’s your chance. That sounds great, and the alluring premise of the term metroidvania slapped on it sounds even more promising. Via Jefklak's Codex| jefklakscodex.com
Axiom Verge 2: Plenty of Nanites To Spice Things Up. Thomas Happ’s 2015 Axiom Verge thoroughly impressed me: it is a superb and faithful Metroid game that is not Metroid itself; coded, designed, and composed by a single guy. The ending suggested Tom wasn’t done with “The Breach”, his narrative sci-fi take on the multiverse. While Axiom Verge 2 doesn’t feature the same protagonist—or world(s), for that matter—it does contain traces of Trace, the PatternMind scientist that starred...| jefklakscodex.com
Metroid Dread: The Sequel Fusion Deserves?. Nineteen years later, Metroid Fusion for the Game Boy Advance finally got a much-deserved sequel! I’m ignoring Other M and Samus Returns right now as the story of Metroid Dread picks up where Fusion left off, and it’s been a very, very long time since we’ve seen Samus in action on a 2(.5?)D space, shooting and bombing her way through the planet ZDR. Spanish game development studio MercurySteam—also responsible for 2017’s Samus Returns and ...| jefklakscodex.com
Axiom Verge: A One-Man Love Letter To NES Metroid. In March 2010, after witnessing the success of early indie video games like 2008’s Braid, Tom Happ started building a virtual world as a side project. Five years later, that sci-fi hacker-inspired world was released into the wild and met with the deserved critical acclaim. It was ported to various platforms, including in 2017 on the Switch where I played it on—and even received a Limited Run physical release that I’m proud to own. Via J...| jefklakscodex.com
