The Skylia Prophecy Reviews

The game is not so bad, but it lacks some features in game design, and some aspects need fixing. I've also found minor bugs during a short gameplay. So let's start from the basic staf: movement is ok, very responsive, hitting enemy has clear feedback, but - atacking smaller enemies with shiled instead of crouching slash is not very intuitive, and can be iritating at times. Graphics is really nice, I love the style, levels are nicely drown, full of details, but not overdone. Terrain destruction has oldschool arcade vibe in it, and I love it too. But - there are no "volume settings" in options, permanent death - so becouse I've died twice before first checkpoint, I have to made tutorial twice. Some puzzles are a little overcomplicated - I mean, ok - I had to discover that I shoot through the wall, and that behind the wall above is explosive barrel. But I needed two shots to do it, and I've got mana only for One shot. So I had to go back to save point, and in my opinion it's a little pointless - better game design would be, if the barrel would be at the same level as player after quiting the dungeon. Another pointless mechanic is restoring only a part of health at save point. I mean - a can go to next scene and back a few times to get full health back - so why can't I just get full health with first interaction? I believe that this game could be a great retro style platformer, becouse the programming is done really well, and the art style is pure perfection, but for now, it lacks some better game design decision and some player oriented gameplay tests. P.S. Dear dev team - let me know if you are still working on the game, and plan to fix the isseus - I hope, that I could change my review to positive some day :)

This game is competent for a first outing, and I would be delighted to see it on itch.io. I got it for free with a bundle of metroidvania games. However, for *fifteen US dollars*, it's asking a lot. Pros: + Good atmosphere and aesthetics, I like what they're going for. Decent silhouetting and readable in motion. + There are multiple tools in your kit, like attack, offensive shielding, spells, and consumables. Cons: - Lacking modern level design, like maps, fast travel, or even just good shortcuts and routes between rooms. - Lacking modern QoL features, like remappable controls. You can work around some things with the right Steam settings, but the game isn't going out of its way to accommodate you. - Pacing is very rough, for more QoL reasons. There's no quick retry, with a lot of wasted time every time you lose. - Animation is just okay. It's not *ugly*, but there are very few frames, and it needs a little more art direction or stylization at the low resolution. - Interactable elements indicated solely by background elements and hard to see. Even something as simple as a door is easy to miss. - The combat is a bit thin, and there are few mobility techniques. It got pretty repetitive. Overall: If you get this for free, it's not the worst game you could play, but I would absolutely *not* pay for it.