Developer: Tomasz Waclawek
Publisher: Devolver Digitial
Rrp: £9.99 (Gog.com, Humblebundle and Steam)
Released: 30th June 2015
Available on: Gog.com, Humblebundle and Steam
Played Using: An Xbox One Control Pad
Approximate game length: 7 Hours
Vengeance comes with an extremely heavy price, a price that very few are capable to pay no matter how willing or able they think themselves to be. Those that are able to pay it should be feared and be fearful themselves because once the deed is done no amount of atonement can undo it.
Ronin is a 2D action platformer that has turn based combat. You play as ‘the Ronin’ who is on a mission to avenge their fathers death, that’s it. It’s pretty simple as far as premises go but it is a often used motivation for a reason.
Unlike with most games jumping isn’t controlled by the [A] button, instead this game uses the right analogue stick to control your jumping allowing you to adjust your arc and landing position. It should be mentioned though that the jumping arc isn’t always accurate, if you jump and a person is standing in the way then your jump will be shortened and that person will be stunned for a moment (this can be very useful in combat).
As was mentioned in the second paragraph this game has turn based combat, however interestingly the platforming part is played in real time. The turn based combat activates automatically once your character is spotted by an enemy. When in this mode each enemy will show a red line that indicates where they will be shooting, or striking in some cases, once you’ve made your move. This means you can try to maneuverer yourself into a position where none of the red lines pass through you. This may sound simple but there are several types of enemy that all attack differently. The basic grunt will simple shoot at the spot they were aiming but an enemy with a smg will fire on that spot for two turns, since your character dies from a single hit this can cause quite a lot of issues in a combat.
Each level has a main mission and three optional missions to complete. The optional missions are usually along the lines of ‘kill all the enemies’ and ‘don’t hurt civilians’. If you complete all the optional missions on a level you’re award a skill point, which you can spend in the skills menu to make yourself far more effective in combat.
If I do have one gripe about the game its that it can be a bit ‘samey’ at times. While its clear that the developer did try to make the levels varied in their layout the overall design and look of them repetitive.
Now despite my one problem I actually really liked this game and in particular I loved the art style, which I found oddly familiar. Having done a bit of research I found out why. The art for this game was created by Lukaz Piskorz, or Vanripper as he’s otherwise known, who created the game Helltaker.
If this appeals to you perhaps try;
Mark of the Ninja
Styx: Shards of Darkness
