Exile’s End on PlayStation 4

First impressions often means everything in regards to games. I’m going to quickly go over my first impression of Exile’s End, given that it was pretty awful. As soon as i started the experience, I felt like I had been playing what could have been one of the worst types of game design I’d find. Taking fall damage inside a retro-styled Metroidvania? It seemed ludicrous, and my first an hour utilizing this type of title wouldn’t go well. Eventually, though, I’m glad I stuck with it.

Exile’s End is among one of a few games that I’d have to say is truly “retro” included in the approach. While plenty of games use dated-looking graphics and chiptune-heavy sounds to attempt to capture a nostalgic feeling, this blog goes the extra mile. It appears, sounds, and “feels” being a SNES-era title, through and throughout. Blocky movements, near-impossible jumps, as well as the main points that made classic games both fun and frustrating are delivered to the front here.

The story of Exile’s End starts off with an introductory cutscene showing a ship packed with not-quite-soldiers while they prepare to find a distant planet. A mining operation on the surface may be cut off from communication, and the operation to save it can be underway. When the ship nears the planet, though, everything goes completely wrong, and very soon the would-be saviors are scrambling regarding their escape pods. Most never survive their journey for the forest below.

Once on the outside, the desperate situation of Exile’s End starts to take hold. You’re alone on an alien planet, your suit’s power is dangerously low, and you’ve got no weapons to communicate in of. The truth is, the first weapon is an easy rock you could throw with the enemies that dot the forest floor; thankfully, it doesn’t vanish with use, so that you can toss it frequently. Not far to the game, you’ll come to encounter the upgrades you’ll need to really succeed. The 1st of them removes fall damage.

From there, Exile’s End is really a winding exploratory mission through the alien world’s various regions. You’ll check out mine, certainly, but something more sinister lies in the centre on the ship-disabling field that’s turn off your ability end and cut the mine off from the side worlds. Numerous weapons, suit upgrades, along with needed gear completes the ability, and you’ll see that you are backtracking some whilst you find things that enable the means to access new areas.

Some of yourself may not can remember the heyday within the SNES and Sega Genesis, if you don’t, then Exile’s End may never seem like considerably more than my first impression did. Should you didn’t become older on games that can cause their difficulty with simple design and limited resources in lieu of complex mechanics, I’m confused how it would definitely sit. When you did get older with that, though, trust when i state that it captures that old-school “charm” somehow I don’t often see from modern titles.

If you’re on the retro thing or have a good, not-too-lengthy Metroidvania, Exile’s End might be just the ticket. I set up about 8 hours on my small run, with allowances for getting lost a time or two in the game’s pretty open and directionless approach. Despite my flat first impressions with the game, I’m very happy to have noticed it right through to the finish. You may snap it up now for $9.99 over the PlayStaton Store, or in the 30% discount on Steam through November 1st.

Score: 3.5/5 – Fair