Laika: Aged Through Blood Reviews

Ok so imagine those classic Flash games where you balance a vehicle in a rough terrain, now furrify it, add a story and a gun where i dont know if the game is actually hard or im just an idiot, maybe both The gameplay was really cool and interesting, frustrating at times cuz dying from slips or trying to reload was really common. The bike is a really cool mechanic, and the gunplay feels fantastic, especially as you get more weapons, but truth is, unlike other Metroidvanias, you get few game changing upgrades, but the game is kinda short, so i can tolerate it. The bosses were really cool, but for me, a bit of a mixed bag, the last 2 being very lackluster, but I don't hate them. The characters were fascinating and charming even though 3/4 insulted the hell out of my guts for literally no reason. The music was beautiful, but it gets repetitive when your only options are a self made playlist with fixed tracks all the time or background noise. The story was really good, but, the worldbuilding? Absolutelly amazing, i loved learning as much of this world as i could. And finally, the art was amazing, not only in the gameplay itself, but the cutscenes were so so cool. Overall, Laika is a fantastic game with some flaws that i personally don't think ruin the game in the slightest. It's a short, beautiful, and original game that I'm glad I played and if you are interested you should give it a try or at least the Demo. I look fordward more work from this devs

gameplay is rewarding and feels good to improve in, and the story is amazing only two games have ever made me cry and this is one of them

This review is a WIP but I just wanted to get some key ideas down as I slowly arrive to the last parts of the game. For once, I'd like to start with the negative. Some gameplay elements -like the parry being linked to the directional change key or the reload mechanic being sometimes either clunky or frustrating in specific scenarios- dampen the overall experience and are a big source of frustration. Fetch quests, especially with how the tp mechanic functions, can be tedious (but I do appreciate that you get almost nothing for most of them, as it ties in well with the story), and bosses -while often fairly interesting can be both frustrating to fight because of their intrinsic design or because of the way the phases are structures (unlike a standard souls-like, each phases are mostly entirely identical, and require you to just redo the same thing every time you die). However, no matter how frustrating some of it is, the game is an absolute must-play. The narrative is phenomenal, and the world building -through music, dialogues, side-quests or cut-scenes- is -while immensly sad and gloomy- truly wonderous. Being shoved in this world of desolation and death -not too much unlike ours, especially in the current worsening political and social climate- and having to cope with tragedies after tragedies is balanced with the soft moments of love and empathy shared with others throughout your journey. This game is so beautiful, and its atmosphere is unlike anything I've seen before. So sit through the bad, cause the good makes it all worth it! Edits as I play more and remember stuff: The radio messages often make fights a nightmare when they occur as you're mid combo. While it helps the narrative, it can make the gameplay insanely frustrating (especially when it's messages repeated dozens of time). The shotgun mechanic as a platforming tool is one I'm not a fan of, especially when coupled with the reload mechanic.

This game is good however it's combat isn't for everyone. I'd recommend you try the demo before playing it to see if you will enjoy it. There is also some incredibly frustrating mechanics such as the wheelie on a rope and at time the game runs horribly at random the game will run at 4fps and take up 20gb of memory (This thankfully doesn't happen a lot). Now for the goods of the game. The artstyle is incredibly good I would say it's one of the better artstyles ive seen. the characters are also really good I personally enjoyed the backstory of Laika. and the cutscenes are amazing there well animated. I recommend giving it a play.

This game is fukin' incredible. Art, music, and a fresh take on Metroidvania like games. It is, however, balls to the walls difficult and you will probably struggle at first. But after the hurdle, it is a hugely rewarding game to play through.

[h1]Phenomenal, but frustrating at times.[/h1] You control Laika, a coyote warrior, who takes her enemies down with guns on the back of a motorbike. This game is a blend of Happy Wheels and metroidvania (motorvania???). If anything, it took me a second try of this game for it to finally click. The controls feel strange at first, but eventually you get used to maneuvering Laika's bike and taking a shot at enemies from it. A lot of the times, it feels like a puzzle where you try to figure out what are your best options to traverse an area and take out the enemies there. The checkpoints are numerous in the world which makes it a lot more forgiving, however the same cannot be said during boss sequences. There are no checkpoints during bosses, so make one mistake and you're back to starting right from the beginning of it. Of the [spoiler]six[/spoiler] bosses in the game, [spoiler]three[/spoiler] of them definitely needed you to 'git gud'. Some of these sequences could be five minutes long, so imagine making a mistake towards the tail end of it and having to restart. Apart from that, this is my main complaint of the game. The other is that towards the late game (in the last third), it felt rushed, as though the devs wanted to do more but gave an abridged version of events instead. I still enjoyed my time with Laika: Aged Through Blood. I finished the side quests and main story in 18 hours (there's more to do like fully upgrading your weapons but there's nothing left that will motivate me into grinding for it). I was definitely hooked, and while I wished that the late game had been more fleshed out story wise, I'm still satisfied with the game. The world building and the lore was really interesting, and that was probably what kept me playing until the end. Love the art direction, love Laika's character, and I especially loved the OST.

Laika is a game that I adored, even though it was incredibly frustrating sometimes. The story and characters immediately drew me in, and the world is rich with lore. I didn't even complete everything and still had like 8 side quests to finish up when I beat the story. (one of the best stories I've played in about a year) The good: when you get good (it's not Dark Souls difficulty but it isn't Hello Kitty Island either) you can execute reloads and aiming and shooting flawlessly while soaring through the air on a motorcycle as a badass coyote girl. The characters are actually fun to interact with and I cared about them-- that's the only reason I did side quests. The story is dark and takes a strong stomach but it is wonderful. The bad: Every time you die, you lose half your money. You can buy viscera bags which will let you drop an additional half of money (like another soul pile in dark souls). I would suggest when you get a large sum of money, much like in dark souls, return to town and buy stuff. Some bosses are so frustrating because of how easily the movement mechanics can get you killed, and then you have to redo like 5 minutes just to get there. Not a huge deal. Felt good to suffer for Laika. The worst part: this is a HARDCORE metroidvania. You will be LOST. ALL THE TIME. I spent hours just riding around searching for a silly side quest. The music is nice though. This game can be meditative to turn this into a plus. I would use the time riding around and exploring much like I do on my bike in real life, thinking about stuff. 10/10, make a sequel and take my money!

Gameplay is fun and unique but gets repetitive fast and it's very easy to get stuck where to go. I spent what felt like half an hour heading toward a mission location to find it was blocked and had no fast way to get back and try something else, spent another half an hour going to an unmapped region to then realise I'd already been there. Not my jam.

Beautiful game, great music and intresting world. Not really a big fan of metroidvanias, but moto gameplay is fun and world and story really pulls you in, and it's even before insanely good OST

[h1]Absolute Banger*[/h1] *[i]with a few caveats[/i] Laika is an amazing game with a decently high skill floor but feels satisfying once you learn it. Reminds me of a modernized Sonic game with alot more backflips, bullets, and bird viscera. Ambiance and Environment is beautiful with the music complementing the world around it. The stories are heartfelt with some decently good story beats and environmental storytelling. Overall, while not perfect, is a great game to play. [b]Gameplay:[/b] Learning how to do tricks on the Motorcycle is good and feels rewarding once you get the hang of it. It does take a while to learn, I assure you, but once you get into the groove, it feels second nature. The slow introduction of new mechanics and movement options make it feel a little more refreshing as you progress and make you feel like an unstoppable killing machine committing vehicular manslaughter on loop However, [spoiler]unlocking certain abilities trivialize some aspects. The dash makes parrying and airtime management trivial at some areas. The LMG is atrociously busted especially at the ending. The Final Boss was too easy to beat even with a pistol and had no mechanics to play with and no additional phases or attacks to play around with.[/spoiler] Everything else though, spectacular. I had no downtime and every second of the game was enjoyable [b]Story and World:[/b] Writing is great. You get to engage in probably some of the most beautiful backgrounds and environments in an indie title. The world is pretty heartfelt and instead of doing quests for reward, it's good to do just for the experience sometimes. The main quest is fine, I guess, but everything around it makes the world feel a little more alive. I have to admit, there's alot of subtlety going on in the plot so it's recommended you take your time with the world and its atmosphere. As much as I'd love the story, [spoiler]the ending was tragically beautiful, but the lack of build up for the final battle left alot to be desired. I have already discussed the difficulty of the boss being weak but the build up to a finale was not there. The ending was quite sad and wonderfully executed, but I honestly believe it could have done more.[/spoiler] [h1]TLDR: 9/10 Extremely fun gameplay. I guarantee people who enjoy alot of stunts and challenge will find this game right at home. [/h1] (also I'd kill for a DLC or a sequel. Honestly, leaves me begging for more.)