Curses 'N Chaos Reviews

Loved it. Can't beat it. This game is everything you could want from an arcade tribute game, combining fun gameplay with beautiful sound and graphics with surprisingly in-depth gameplay. However, this game's learning curve isn't a curve. It's a single point way up the graph because unless you learn everything instantly you wont get very far. I would recommend using a controller as the keyboard and mouse controls are unintuitive and not changeable. However using a controller doesn't detract from the game. Now get playing, and kill those god-damn witches on wave 7 of Bellwood for me!

I'll be blunt. I expected better. The art style in the cutscenes is gold. The character designs on paper are gold. The concept is gold. The gameplay and overall game feel and flow? It's a piece of charred, rusted copper. This is one of the stiffest, most unintuitive, and most frustrating brawlers I have ever played. Movement is either super speed or speed force. Don't get me wrong I like fast movement, but your range of movement is far too limited for it. You are confined to one screen and must fend off wave after wave of enemies. On the surface, that's fine. However, hitting enemies isn't nearly as responsive, tight, or fun as it should be. You have an uppercut with zero range and that's your best standard move. The rest are a punch and dive kick(which is useless). Enemies with more than one hitpoint stop you in place when you hit them, but due to limited range of movement the other enemies are encroaching(or diving) towards you. Play this for the waves and you'll see what I mean. I wanted to like this game, but I can't recommend it. I found out about it from a game called Indivisible. The female brawler is going to be in that game and I figured I would support that developer by buying this game. I don't regret doing so, but I'm sure not happy about this purchase. One more thing: I had to opt into a beta because the developer added Windows 10 support which basically made it so you couldn't even start the game anymore. Any attempt to switch back over to normal version causes the same crash. This game needed a lot more support and patches than it ended up getting.

I had a lot of fun with this one, but i can see why it got mixed reviews. BRIEF GAMEPLAY SUMMARY: It's a very simplistic arcade game, that can be quite engaging. The various enemy types have predictable attack patterns, but become difficult as the screen fills. It's a single screen game, meaning you are forced to deal with mobs before they get out of control. The levels have 10 waves, and staying in the same wave for too long will spawn a reaper that insta-kills you (Spelunky style). You have a variety of items to use that will spawn randomly during the game, and the ability to store one (Tetris-style) for later. These items become rather important as they can be sold and combined through a series of shop menus. The game has multiplayer but I didn't play it that way, and most probably won't. As levels unlock (there are about a dozen) enemies increase in difficulty and number, and each level ends with a boss fight. Visuals and general presentation are very good, with a few exceptions. WHAT WENT WRONG: -content is stretched painfully thin, to its detriment: -There are two playable characters, but they are both 100% identical except for the sprites. -As mentioned, around a dozen levels, but each is a flat stage with no platforms. Only the backgrounds and enemies change, which mostly just means a new unique boss, because.... -...most of the enemies in the game are re-skins. That's right, there are probably around 6 distinct enemy types, and each of those has multiple (sometimes as many as 4) re-skinned variants. -The moveset is flawed. You have a handful of attacks, but you will be doing the same one (jump and kick) for 99% of your playthrough. How this was overlooked, I really have no idea. The other moves are simply too slow or weak to be useful. -The ability to combine items is not messaged especially well, and might be the reason players don't engage with the shop -items are one-time use, no matter how high in the chain or expensive they are. -the final item in the grimoire, the one you spend the majority of your playtime grinding and saving up for, unlocks something deeply disappointing: a second phase of the final boss, and a 'new' level populated entirely by enemies the player has already encountered. Achieving this means you have intentionally avoided using a very large number of items, perhaps not using many of them even a single time. The item system is fundamentally flawed to its core. -The hardest boss in the game is found at around the halfway point. It's dramatically harder than the final boss and this begs an explanation. WHAT REALLY WORKS: -the pixel art in this game is truly gorgeous and the backgrounds and animations are a feast for the eyes (I'm also a pixel artist so I'm a bit biased) -generally, i found the game to be challenging without being too hard. I had to work to learn boss patterns and effectively use items, and mastering the games mechanics (simple though they are) was a ton of fun. -despite the flawed moveset and repetitive enemies, the game does gel nicely, especially once you understand the different uses of all the items. -the music is great -offers a fare amount of replay value, for the price tag -I bought it on sale for 5$, but I think it's worth ten for players seeking a challenge VERDICT: 7.5/10 I love some aspects of this game. It's good, but could've been truly great. Buy it on sale, and don't expect anything more than a simple arcade challenge experience.

I have to say, I love the overall aesthetic of Curses 'n Chaos to death, but others are right on the money about this game needing some revisions. It's a game I revisit often because I want to get through it, but it really feels like a game that's built with 2 Player Co-Op in mind. It really feels like a mix of things spike up the difficulty of this game immediately, like the very small and brief hitboxes, waves of enemies from both sides at virtually the same rate in both single player and co-op, or the funky item storage system that isn't typically all that helpful when in some cases it's crucial. It gets even worse as things progress and enemies take multiple hits while you really don't grow much in power, leading to a lot of enemies steadily clogging up the screen until you pretty much have no way to deal with all of them in time. I love Tribute Games a lot, and they really knock things out of the park when it comes to quality, but I would really like to see this title revisited with a small Quality of Life patch to rebalance some things, because as I see it, this is a game pretty much built for two very experienced players or any solo player who's looking for a difficult and frustrating time. The single-player experience pretty much runs off the same design as what two players should be expected to deal with, and it really should be addressed. I would really like to change my review here, but it's been almost 10 years since this game has gotten any love. I understand it was likely an early project for Tribute Games, but the proper tweaks could turn this game from an 'okay' game people put down quickly to a 'good' or even 'great' game that people actually want to play through and finish. It doesn't need to be a hand-holdy game that a toddler could finish, so probably not all of these revisions are needed at the same time, but it should at least feel a bit less one-sided to play through a single-player campaign against the AI. The game really ought to have an optional 2P mode, instead of things being the other way around. Should these revisions ever be made, I will gladly change this to a glowingly positive review. :)

I really want to like this game, but I put it down for very long lengths of time and when I pick it back up to try and play again I'm reminded of why I don't like the game. Would I reccomend this game? I wouldn't. Not for full price, anyway. First I think I should delve into things I do like about the game. The music, the visuals and the overall aesthetic are really nice-- it's what attracted me to the game in the first place. The music is brilliant with memorable tracks. That being said, I haven't gotten past the first stage so I've potentially only heard three or four of the total number of tracks. The thing I don't like is the actual gameplay itself. I don't mind the fact that it's a brawler with enemies swarming near constantly. I'm used to it as I've played games like Castlevania where enemies continue to respawn. But What I don't like is the movement lock when your player character attacks an enemy with a lot of health. It's fine if you only have to press the attack button once, but on enemies that take two or three punches it's irritatingly unfair to be locked in place without the ability to push them back with your attacks. Either the attacks should be better weighted, or you should be granted the ability to move while attacking. The largest problem for the mechanics of this game is that punching and kicking is essentially all you do which make the mechanics more glaringly frustrating and grueling. EDIT: It's also worth mentioning that the item pick ups add another layer of frustration. You must choose between attacking with your body, attacking with a very perishible item that may only eliminate one enemy from the screen, or healing if multiple items and enemies pop on you. It does have multiplayer but I prefer playing alone and since this game does have a singleplayer option, I don't feel as though buying a miserable, unplayable time by myself makes any sense. Try it if the premise interests you, but I wouldn't be surprised if you returned it.

Gameplay - Fast and fun Graphics - Lovely Learning Curve - Insane You ever play a game that makes you rage-replay? This is one of those. Aside from lovely artwork, you will want to play this game over and over just to get past that next soddin' wave. Hours of enjoyment later; I'm still on level 2 stumped by wave 7. Get it. Then mess those witches up.

Despite the name, this isn't a tribute to Ghosts'n'Goblins in anything but the pixel art style and insane difficulty. It's a brawler with every level being just one screen with waves upon waves of enemies. You move set is limited, but enough to create a fast and furious gameplay that needs you to make split-second decisions where a difference between a jump kick and an uppercut could be the difference between winning and losing. Expect to rage-quit a lot, then come back to retry, then find out that a series of "just one more times" took your whole day.

Curses 'N Chaos is an arena-style, beat-em-up game, in which you defend a specific point in each level from on-coming levels of enemies. This game harkens back to olden times, when high scores were important, and score multipliers were still a thing when you aren't hit. The retro, pixelated art style is one that I tend to love and look for in a game. And the backgrounds are beautifully detailed. The characters are fun and pleasing to look at, and the dance moves are a delight. That being said, I can't say that I would reccomend this game. I don't want to say that the game is "bad," persay. However, it is nail-bittingly difficult at times. This game is modeled after a playstyle that relies heavily on killing foes quickly, to keep them from swarming the screen. Fail to do this, and your battlefield will be too full of enemies flying about to keep track of. This wouldn't be a bad thing. On the contrary, it would be incredibly awesome, except for the dodgy hit-boxes. Unless you hit an enemy just right while using a flying kick, you will be knocked out of the air; and there is a slight delay after each blow. This means that every hit has to be just right, even on bosses; and even if an enemy is damage, it will slap the tar out of you if it enters your hitbox. This is in addition to enemies that fly just out of your reach, even while double-jumping, unless you are DIRECTLY under them. And these flying enemies show up as early as level one. These issues make the game punishingly hard. In addition, items are thrown all over the place, and are needed for later quests. However, along with your animal companion, each player can only hold one item at a time and only take that one item back with them from the mission. These items are mixed to whip up new items to meet requirements for story progression. What this means is A LOT OF GRINDING the same levels over and over for more items. All in all, here are my concluding thoughts: Pros: Beautiful, retro art style, with lush details Fun-looking characters and monsters Creative monster design Great concept for a game overall Cons: Difficulty sensing the hitboxes when delivering blows Needs percise accuracy when attacking to not be hit Item grinding Unforgivingly hard, even on level 1 I don't reccomend this game to anyone except those that truly appretiated the difficult challenge of original NES gamers. If you like game insanely hard games that challenge you to be perfect, this is your game. Otherwise, there are other games out there.

I have a very mixed, but cautiously positive opinion of Curses 'N Chaos. I've detailed the bulk of my thoughts in video format here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efUQ70co8w0 I've tentatively listed this review for 'recommended', but it should be noted that I have a fairly significant issue with the game. There's a lot about the game that's very fun to me, despite issues preventing me from really sinking time into it. Before I go into my issues with the game, let's talk about strengths: [list][*] Gorgeous art, beautifully animated. The level of detail present in the characters and backgrounds while still adhering to the pixelart aesthetic is quite remarkable. [*] Awesome Audio. Much like the graphics, both the soundtrack and sound effects nail the atmosphere perfectly. [*] Content-rich. For an arcade-style, score-attack, single-screen brawler, Curses 'N Chaos has a lot going on. 10 levels comprising a ton of enemy types and huge inventory of items to use. [*] Alchemy system is deeper than it seems at first glance, with a fair amount of strategy in selecting, mixing, and storing items to help you survive or boost your score.[/list] I feel the game really only has one core flaw, but it's a major one in my eyes. The controls leave a lot to be desired and lead to a fair amount of what I call 'button fatigue'. The characters (who control identically) have a standing punch, jump kick, run/run-punch, uppercut, and double jump as their standard moves. Part of this issue manifests itself in the relative uselessness of the standing punch simply by design of animation lock. When you punch from a stand-still, or uppercut, there's a significant amount of delay where you're locked into that animation and can't move. On the flipside, the jump-kick not only allows you to still move while you're doing it, but it does twice as much damage as the standing punch. This leads to a situation where you will almost exclusively jumpkick most enemies, meaning you're always pressing two buttons to attack. The uppercut works well against flying enemies that divebomb, but once you hit later stages this becomes a trap as it doesn't do enough damage to kill them in one blow, meaning you'll take a hit while you're stuck in the animation. The vast majority of flying enemies also reside at a height that can only be reached with a max height double jump. Some are intended to only be attackable when they dive down, but others remain at that height and take multiple hits. This means for every single attack against those enemies, you're looking at a minimum of 3 button presses. This might sound like nitpicking, but it becomes very tiring to play the game after an extended period of time. This leads to a situation where a some of the difficulty seems a fault of the controls, not necessarily a result of the design. I did also encounter a few cases where it seemed hitboxes were a bit off, but that's a little harder to substantiate and may partly be a result of control issues. To offer thoughts on a solution: Shortening the animation lock on the standing punch or allowing the animation to be canceled feels like it would go a long way. Additionally, increasing the base jump height or reworking the idea behind the double jump as a whole would greatly reduce 'button fatigue'. The game is very difficult by design, but having a smoother control scheme would make it infinitely more satisfying to play. To reiterate: Ultimately I enjoy a lot of what the game has to offer, but the control issues keep me from really pouring a lot of time into it or wanting to shoot for high scores. Building up a x9 multiplier only to get stuck in an animation, be mere pixels off a max height double jump to reach an enemy, or colliding with an odd-sized hitbox is just frustrating. EDIT: To provide a very specific example on the hitbox issue for the devs - look at the second boss fight, at 27:04 I end up taking a hit with a very sizable gap between myself and the boss. What's more curious is if you look closely at my attacks before then, I'm actually clipping the boss's sprite slightly on every hit before then. The inconsistency is what leads to that feeling of, 'why did I get hit there?'. I think the player hitbox is lenient most times, but just not consistently.

Okay, so. Completely rehauling this review because I've figured out a couple of stuff(After 5 hours). The item system has really gotten me interested. I probably overlooked it a bit at first. The healing stuff in particular. You need to be careful when you use them depending on what they are. Apples heal 1 HP, Meat 2, etc. Some items work best against some enemies and other works better against other enemies. Using your items wisely and storing important ones you know you'll need later at your Owl pet gives the game another depth you don't notice at first glance. The difficulty is still really high and we had to play a lot to learn the different enemy patterns. Somehow I still have trouble reaching the highest enemy with double jump, it might be my controller so I'll leave it at that for now. The online multiplayer works almost flawlessly with no lag at all so far and I strongly recommend to have a friend to play with. You can be a lot smarter with items, and even switch items using the owl to let the player that needs it more get it. It seems to be a lot more built for co-op than single player. Which I'm totally fine with and it gets really hard on your own. Graphics are really cute, the two bosses I've met so far have really sweet animations and the character design overall is great, the ghosts are my favourites so far. The only thing I miss really, is a health bar for the boss. So you can be even more smart with your items. I can't see any obvious problems with adding it. PROS: Nice, cute graphics/animations with a lot of personality Music works well with the environments and the sound design stay very true to retro games like Castlevania. holding 'Down' to dance is a fun detail as well. Surprisingly deep and interesting item system Flawless local/online multiplayer CONS: Difficulty is a tad too steep, doable but very frustrating at points The lack of boss health bar ----------------------------------------------------- Most people I've talked to have had a pretty rough first 2+ hours, and it really do take a bit of time to figure everything out. Which might not be reflected in how the game is shown in media. But it's definitely worth a shot for anyone who likes a challenge and is fine with raging for a bit before you get the hang of it.