Side Scape Reviews

I really enjoyed this game. It has a very unique concept that I think was well implemented. It has a lot of engaging dialogue and story elements, and the combat is fun to play.

This game is fantastic. It's a quirky combination of 2D Exploration Platformers and Top Down Zelda like games. The best part of the game are the puzzles that incorporate changing from 2D to Top Down at an instant. Short and sweet, this was a great time.

Metroidvania Zelda-like mashup, sounds strange as hell but it is a little gem. Cool concept, nothing truly unique about the playstyles other than the mashup so it should be easy enough for most people to pick up and play. The game has been very fun so far! I saw that the dev also put out a prequel game which is a Metroid-like/vania. I'll finish this one and then jump on over!

"Side Scape" is a great little indie-title with a unique mechanic (switch instanly between 2D platformer and Top-Down Zelda-like) that is implemented very well (after you get used to the perspective switch). Storywise you play two heroes from different dimensions merged together in their quest to undo this: it really taps into meta-narrative, but keeps it's light tone and is solid throughout. Pixelart and spritework are a bit on the amateurish side, sound is okayish and combat with the knight can be a little wonky in early game, but the unique premise and the charming, if rough package should get more recognition! A definite recommendation for everyone who looks for a new Zelda-like of old!

One of the most creative takes on the metroidvania/zelda-like genres I have ever experienced. While the game is rather short, it accomplishes a lot within the few hours of playtime. The movement feels sharp and responsive, the exploration is fun, and the main gimmick - switching between side-scrolling and isometric control schemes - makes both combat and puzzles more interesting. While the graphics are pretty simplistic, they do their job well. The music in the background is also well made, even if there isn't much variety. The one thing I disliked was the lack of a map and the vagueness of hints. While the world isn't particularly big, it is big enough to occasionally get lost when moving from one side of the map to the other. While the game does have a hint system telling you where to go next, some hints aren't helpful - an example that comes to mind being "find a cave" with no further context. As such, sometimes you can run around for a long time searching for where the game wants you to go. The lack of a map also caused me problems during the endgame. As a completionists, I tried to collect every item in the game. However, since there are no indications where an item might be located, I spent almost half of the 4 hours that my playthrough took running around aimlessly, hoping I would find the missing items. Other than those issues, which ultimately end up being simply annoyances, the game is very enjoyable. I heavily reccomend picking it up even outside of sales if you are a fan of the two blended genres.

This isn't my usual genre but the concept was so intriguing from the get-go that I simply **had** to give it a whirl. The execution is great. The game has some tough bosses, but I unstuck myself by changing up my tactics. Solid music. The length is just right too, no dragging out a concept here. Absolutely worth it.

This game is such a treat! It is 100% as if Samus and Link had a baby, and the game approaches it with an amazing sense of humor. The game mechanics are unique and inventive, as you explore rooms switching between side-scrolling platforming and top-down navigation (within the same room!) It has REALLY good dungeon design, unique character abilities, interesting meta narratives, and funny yet endearing dialogue. Exploration is excellent, and the boss fights are varied and thrilling. I don’t have many critiques, but the last boss is a little bit of a nightmare. I also really would’ve liked a dedicated map page with better detail - the current one is too small to decipher, and detracts from the experience. I whole-heartedly recommend this for either 2D Zelda or Metroid fans. It deserves way more recognition!

Don't get fooled by the very old-school graphics and soundtrack: Side Scape is a really clever game, that not only mixes top-down combat and exploration a la NES Legend of Zelda with platforming action, but it also has several interesting puzzles based on both switching the protagonists at the appropriate moments and using weapons and items according to the environment clues. It also has some meta humour, with the 2 protagonists being aware of being in a game and some banter about the different genres they inhabit. My only problem is that the top-down combat is not that great, and some bosses in the beginning of the adventure (when you have just a few weapons and life bars) may be too tough, especially when you're not used to the character switching. For the rest I generally enjoyed it. Also, it is the prequel for the dev's other title [i]Xanthiom Zero[/i], which is still good but much less original, being a heavily Metroid-inspired exploration game.

Great game with a lot of hours of playtime! There are plenty of bosses to make it challenging, and the game concept is very unique. Worth the money!

I bought this game as soon as I watched the trailer. It is not exactly beautiful -- but to me it's [i]attractive[/i] in the same chunky, no-nonsense way Apogee's [i]Crystal Caves[/i] still is: plain, pragmatic sprites clearly delineated from the sparsely detailed backgrounds, just enough detail in the symbols to know what they mean. I didn't get it purely for its plainness though, but more for its core idea: the clever melding of shoot 'em up platforming and top-down, four-directional fantasy adventure, explained in the narrative by the dimensional merging of characters from two different games. The level design is smart and careful; on every screen is a dual gamescape, with Sir Knight's floor being Grisham's background, and Sir Knight's obstacles serving as Grisham's platforms. No challenge is really brutal if you've ever beaten an NES game, with each segment being short enough to keep the sense of adventure rollicking along. Translated into literary terms, I would call [i]Side Scape[/i] a punchy little novella that plums its fun and novel concept thoroughly. Space Commando Grisham is the battle beast of the duo, and can open up on the monsters of fantasy land with a laser gun that shoots as fast as you can hammer the button. By contrast, Sir Knight is a little weak and has short reach, but possesses the puzzle-solving power and Zelda-inspired items to get through the dungeons and unlock all the collectable upgrades on the world map. [i]Side Scape[/i] makes me wistful for the very early days of the indie game revolution, for the days of Desura (rest in peace), when Indie Gala was more worth looking at . . . and there was this one site that had a different game every other day for a dollar -- don't remember what it was called. Sure, I like pretty graphics and good art design like everyone else, but there was something special about that time, when something that [i]looked[/i] like it was made by one guy (who obviously didn't go to art school) in the corner of his bedroom after work could get some serious play. (I'm really surprised this genre-melding concept isn't more common in games. The only other one I can think of is the utterly fantastic [i]Concursion[/i] -- which also has in common with [i]Side Scape[/i] a somewhat MS Paint and "crunkulated" art style.)