Dystobel Reviews

Let me start by saying that this isn’t usually my type of game, but I found it really entertaining. In most games of this genre that I’ve played, you can pick a strategy and stick with it from start to finish. However, Dystobel’s game design requires you to adapt and learn the right way to play in order to progress.

I really like the metroidvania genre and I really like to check indie games I found this game and the demo leave a really good impression now that I played the full game a have a lot to say. Graphics: Game looks really good and the visual are consistent through the game, later areas are really imaginative and cool. Characters are cool too, especially the bosses. The comic style cut-scenes are a great addition too. Gameplay: Feel influences from castlevania games on the game-play and enemies which is a great thing, the color spells mechanic is really nice and I haven't seen applied on this kind of games before. I like that also have platform style challenges not only combat. My personal favorite part are the bosses, there are quite a lot and really cool and well designed for an indie game. Game can get a little hard later on but I think is a great challenge that makes you really learn how to use the mechanics. Music: purchased the version with the soundtrack and think that there are really great songs, especially the boss themes. others are not that strong but goes along with the game zones. Closing thoughts: I recommend this game to everyone who enjoys the metroidvania and platform genre, it can get kind of hard at some points, but for a short condense experience is a great challenge. For a single person first commercial project this is really impressive.

Art and level design is pretty good, the power mechanics are interesting and the fast paced combat is really engaging. The only thing I can complain about is the train level, wayyy to RNG based instead of skill based.

The default controls aren't ideal. The attack button is what would normally be the jump button on an Xbox controller and there is no way to remap the controls. I narrowly recommend this game. It's very challenging in places and feels to me like it suffers from an identity crisis. It's as though the dev is flirting with different genres and ideas and keeps changing what the game is as you go through it, while never being very strong at the metroidvania aspect. Highlights for me were the late game colour-swapping platforming sections and the games difficult (though IMO harsh) boss encounters. It starts out as a basic, mediocre mini-metroidvania (2 ability upgrades that are just different weapons), then after the third boss it does a complete 180 and turns pretty much linear up until the end with the exception of a fork or two in the road. It's in this second half of the game where the dev starts experimenting with different puzzle and precision platforming ideas. There are some large rooms that require you to swap forms (like the colour change mechanic in [b]Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth[/b]) and platforming through them is quite challenging. While I prefer metroidvanias, I think these sections were much more interesting than the metroidvania part. The later boss fights are very punishing. Their HP is absolutely stacked and you die in a few hits. Some of them required many attempts to eventually catch a lucky break. Even after mastering their attack patterns, I was still stuck on them for a while as it is very easy to take a hit and these fights can go on for 5 minutes and require you to play mostly flawlessly. Dodging attacks via the colour change mechanic also comes into play in these fights too. The bosses were very well done for an unknown indie game, with good telegraphing of attacks, variety of attack patterns and provided sufficient challenge, I just wish they had a little less HP. I actually put the game down at one of these boss fights because I stopped caring to endure them in order to see what was next. Afterall, I came here to play a metroidvania and this aspect of the game was not all that well done. The game had plenty of opportunity to create shortcuts with its new abilities and never did, nor did it add fast travel or give many branching paths. I do recommend the game, but not to people that are just looking to play a decent, obscure, indie metroidvania. For that check out something that commits to the metroidvania formula harder, like [b]Column on the Sea[/b], [b]Plague of Yamorn[/b], [b]Mortal Manor[/b], [b]Far Star[/b] etc.