ENYO Arcade Reviews

I was pleasantly surprised playing this game. ENYO Arcade got mixed reviews, and the first two stages were quite slow and not challenging, so I didn't expect too much from playing the game. But the real challenge begins in the third stage. At first I thought the varieties of weapon serve no purpose - once you're good with one weapon you have no reason to switch to others. I was proven wrong however, as from the third stage onward the level design poses interesting variation to make sure you quickly adapt to surprising situation you may face. Same goes with the enemies. At first they felt too easy but on later stages you can see how the limited varieties of enemies could pose challenges in a good level design. Bigger doesn't always mean stronger, some enemies blend too well in the background that I often get caught by surprise, and in a one-hit-means-death games like this faster enemies prove to be more dangerous. Would I recommend this game? It's either a yes or no. Based on the experience said above, I would certainly recommend ENYO Arcade. The main problem would be: the game feels too short. Right after the ENYO Arcade started to shine - and stage three onward are [i]truly[/i] challenging - you'd realize you're close to the end of the game. Not long after you felt you know how to pull some tricks, the credits begin to roll. Some games remedy this by using procedurally generated levels to add a replay value, but all levels in ENYO Arcade are handcrafted so there's really no reason to replay the game except for scoring better. The music could also use some more work: it has a decent cyberpunk feel, but just like the game, the duration could've been longer. Despite of that, I'd still recommend the game as $5 is cheap enough for a 2-3 hours of fun. Hopefully the one-man team dev lay out more polished games in the future.

There's a few rough edges (which the developer is continuing to fix in updates) but the gameplay feels just right. Recommended for fans of DOS platformers such as Hocus Pocus, Duke Nukem, or Commander Keen.

Each item touted so highly in the other reviews enticed me to pick up this game. But after only ~20 minutes I'm not satisfied. The pixel art isn't particularly stunning. I can't see why it is touted so highly in the reviews. What are the purple fuzzy things? What is the deal with the mech and why doesn't it fit in? Everything is small an overly distorted. You zoom to "fix" it. Fix it? The controls feel off to me. The gravity seems heavy. The wall jumping isn't natural. Or maybe it is the default button layout. Where is the "parkour"? I can't exactly put my finger on it but there are many other platformers I'd recommend before this one.

Not a fan - the art style is too pixelated, there are heaps of meaningless destructable that explode in pixels making it seem very messy. Cannot recommend - tries to be Metroid (morph ball) but lacks the power upgrade and exploration. Should have known from the trailer this would have been bad. [Edit]: This game is not for me, but I will recommend any game where the developer puts in the effort to reply with a constructive comment. That's dedication and respect for the customer. Best of luck to you James :)

Enyo Arcade really surprised me. It is unique but doesn't try to go over the top with gimmicks. It has difficult parts, but you get to start in the same room when you die. Lot's of weapon choices and plenty of different enemies with their own movements and style. The controls feel great and there is a bit of exploration and secret areas to get to with rocket-jumps and other techniques that take skill to perfect. All of this comes with excellent pixel art and music/sfx. The $5 dollar pricetag is more than fair. I have played $10+ games of similar style that impressed me way less.

Cool platformer placed in cyberpunk dystopian world. Nice music, challenging gameplay, dark graphics and low price. The cons are in details. Some obstacles/enemies are too small that you can't see sometimes what kills you and what is just world's object.

The pixel art is pretty, however the enemies don't have enough contrast or hue differentiation to tell they are deadly. This is true with green dripping slime also. It looks like it's part of the background, not a dangerous thing that will kill you. The game seems ok, but controls are a bit odd. Controls make or break a game like this and it's a tad off. It feels either too floaty or something. They are close but not quite on. Dev/artist really needs to up the contrast on dangerous items, maybe make the slime shimmer or something. It's very pretty, but doesn't read well for split second decisions. I do love the art though, just not as an easy to read "death comes easy" type platformer. I would say this game may work for some, it's not bad, but it's not for me. I don't mind dying a lot, but when I never saw the danger because it blended into the background due to lack of contrast or hue differentiation, that's not good.

Emphasis on Arcade. I like to think I'm at least half decent at games like this, and the total death counter was over 500 :/ Had this been in a real arcade I'd be broke long before I finished the game (Which I did twice) I also have a new found hatred for red lasers, and those goddamn snails! Jokes aside, controls are highly responsive from the running to the jumping and shooting. Weapon variety is nice, so there's more than one play style. Plus the art style is nice to look at, lots of purple and green to look forward to if that's your thing. This one of those bang year head against the wall type of games. One hit and you're dead, learn where enemies are, what they do, whether it's worth killing them or just running past, and messing with hit boxes. Then get mad because one small thing went wrong and you're whole plan explodes into a flash of flying pixels. Only downside (for me anyway) is the game's on the short side, found a few secrets on my second playthrough and if you're the sort that want to extra bash your head against the wall. There are challenges for beating the game without dying, or killing any enemies.

Not very good! Most of the art is great but very repetitious. The controls are close but not quite tight enough. There are only 5 levels, each taking about 30 mins to fumble your way though the first time, 3 minutes if you are going for a speed replay. Poor level design and the odd choice to let you choose any weapon at any time takes away any sense of progression and makes the whole thing seems pointless. If they limited weapons to certain situations at least it could feel strategic, like an action puzzler. Good music but again pretty repetitious.

ENYO ARCADE, developed by James Mearman, is a side-scrolling plat former which borrows heavily from classic 90’s games under the same genre. Despite my distaste for these types of games, I won’t lie to you. This was a solid experience that a lot more people should witness. In all honesty, I wasn’t too invested in the story. Basically, the world’s a mess and you’re just trying to save the day. But then again, I highly doubt anyone purchased ENYO for an enthralling tale, so I’m not going to linger on it, anymore. What I have to commend the most is, hands down, the graphics. I’ve seen some good pixel art in my day, but damn, this was a sight for sore eyes. A dark overtone of black and purple mixed with the decay of a destroyed utopia. Colors mesh together and every pixel seamlessly coincide to create these beautiful backdrops and settings. It’s a shame you’ll be so busy trying to survive that you won’t notice the developer’s attention to detail. If you can, take a break and just admire the beauty. Trust me; it’ll calm your nerves. Speaking of nerves, mine had snapped many times with ENYO. In case you weren’t paying attention, you’d know that I’m not a big fan of these types of games. Reason: They piss me the fuck off. I only, if ever, rage while playing a title like this. Hell, you should’ve seen me play Shovel Knight, and that was a cake walk compared to this. Here’s a tip: If it moves, it can kill you. Don’t ever let your guard down while playing this game. Keen eyes and keener reactions are what you’ll need to survive, and I learned that the hard way. However, I just wish there was a larger abundance of enemy types. Not all the sprites are too interesting, and it got a tad repetitive killing the same flying meatball over and over and over again. There are a handful of different weapons you can choose from, and most are handy in different situations. However, I found the plasma weapon (You know, the one that shoots purple orbs of death) the most useful. In fact, I’m sure most players could beat the game without ever touching another weapon. But hey, maybe I’m the only one who feels this way. Just wish there was more incentive to mix up your method of killing. Level designs are good, nothing to write home about, but good. They provide the challenge and I never felt cheated by enemy placements or stupid plat forming. However, they’re laid out like a maze. If you missed your exit to the next stage, you just might have to go all the way back, killing all the same mobs you’ve already killed, just to find the way out. It would’ve been nice if the mobs you’ve defeated didn’t respawn as soon as you leave that section of the level. It resulted in tons of frustration, but again, probably just me, seeing as how I’m a total noob at this kinda stuff. To conclude, any fan of ENYO’s hardcore style and traditional gameplay will definitely love this title.