(REVIEW) Lunark is a Solid Pixel-Powered Flashback to 90s Cinematic Platforming

by Gamatroid 🕹️ 

A pixel-art sci-fi adventure set in the midst of a rebellion against a totalitarian regime, LUNARK is a modern take on the 2D cinematic platformer genre of the '90s. Run, jump, hang, climb, roll, and shoot your way through gorgeous and mysterious locations!

 GAME FACTS

• TITLE: Lunark
• RELEASE DATE: 4/5/2023
• MSRP: $19.99
• DEVELOPER: Canari Games
• PUBLISHER: Wayforward
• PLATFORMS: Xbox, PlayStation, Switch and PC
• PLAYED ON: PlayStation 5

As Leo, a courier with unique abilities and a mysterious past, you'll run, jump, hang, climb, roll, and shoot through gorgeously animated pixel-art environments ranging from a dystopian megalopolis to eerie caves to an alien forest. 

You must overcome traps, solve puzzles, earn upgrades, and battle enemy droids, and when you're not fighting for survival, you'll meet a cast of colorful characters who will put Leo's allegiances to the test. 

Uncover the dark origin of humanity's new home and the truth about yourself in this epic sci-fi adventure!

RETRO ROOTS

Lunark is very clearly inspired by the 90s classic Flashback, which in turn was inspired by Out of this World.

Flashback opening cinematic

Much like in Lunark, in Flashback you control your character in a 2D environment with very deliberate well animated moves, in the style of Prince of Persia, with rotoscoped-looking realistic animations. 

Flashback used rotoscoped animation

Flashback also continued the animated cinematics like in Out of This World. 

Flashback used animated cinematics much like Out of this World

Out of This World cinematic

In Flashback you have a semi-complicated control scheme to run, jump, climb and fight your way to freedom. While Lunark is very obviously inspired by Flashback, it makes a bunch of improvements that make it much more playable.

Lunark cinematics are similar in style to Flashback

REVIEW

Gameplay and controls are one area where this game will likely be hit or miss for gamers. 

On the one hand, if you were a fan of Flashback back in the day and had little to no issue with its controls, you will find Lunark is a much improved but similar experience. Personally I always liked the idea of Flashback's control scheme, but found it difficult to execute in practice. Lunark, on the other hand, employs similar controls but executes them in a much easier to understand way (at least for me). 

On the other hand, if you've never played Flashback, or you didn't like the way it controlled, Lunark may have a bit of a learning curve for you, which you may or may not click with.

In terms of replayability, Lunark does offer certain items to find, and if you wanted to get 100% of all secrets and power-ups you might need another playthrough, otherwise its about a 4.5-5 hour game, with limited reason for replay.

Lunark's graphics may also be a little hit or miss for gamers. 

On the one hand, the pixel art is colorful and well animated, and the cinematics are great. 

On the other hand, the pixel art is a bit chunkier than I typically like. 

I wish the graphic detail was closer to a game like Flashback, than what Lunark actually is, but you get used to the graphics quickly, and the smooth animations and well drawn environments more than make up for it.

The story is the stereotypical kind of typical dystopian future with a totalitarian government, robots and AIs, but overall I liked it and it kept me interested.

Thankfully the writing is well done and the text is just detailed enough to help support the narrative, but not overly detailed to the point where you'll want to skip ahead. 

I honestly found the writing length to be perfect and I wish more modern games with text-based dialog would do something similar.

The music and sound design is one area where Lunark really shines. I absolutely love the music in Lunark and it not only perfectly calls back to the style of Flashback (in a very good way) but it really stands on its own to support the action and be very enjoyable. While I don't think I'll be looking to purchase the OST, it is perfect in the game itself.

Lunark performs flawlessly on PS5, which you would expect from this type of game. The framerate was steady the entire time, and the game never crashed or had any issues. While some of the save points may seem a bit far between, this is not a technical issue, although it can be a bit annoying at times.

From an innovative standpoint, Lunark heavily relies on its inspiration, but executes it in an absolutely flawless way. If you've played the recently released Flashback 2, clearly that's not an easy task. 

While it may seem simple enough to emulate a classic experience, the truth is that Lunark took its inspiration but improved the control scheme to the point where its actually playable (I still can't really control Flashback well to this day.) Kudos to the devs.

At an MSRP of $19.99 and a length of about 4.5-5 hours, for me Lunark sits right at the edge of delivering sufficient value for its price. 

I was lucky to get it on sale at a significant discount ($3.99 versus its full $19.99 price), and that certainly helped make the experience more valuable for me. It's length doesn't concern me, and frankly keeps it from overstaying its welcome. 

If you liked Flashback and you're itching for a modern update in a similar style, and you aren't concerned with replay value, you should go ahead and pick this up at full price. If you prefer games where you can play through them multiple times, or you never played Lunark's inspiration, you may want to wait for a sale like I did. 

VERDICT

Lunark is a really well made tribute to the cinematic platforming games of the 90s, like Flashback. For me the game is right at the low end of an 8 out of 10, and if I didn't love it the way I do, it would probably slip to a 7. While its graphics are a little blockier than I typically like my pixel-art, it still looks fantastic, and plays even better than the games that inspired it. If you liked games like Flashback back in the day you definitely need to give Lunark a try. If you never played the games that inspired it, it's still worth giving it a go, although you may find the controls to be a bit odd and you may want to wait for a sale before jumping in.

CRITIC CHECK-IN

• 8/10 - Gamatroid
• 8/10 - Nintendo Life 
• 8/10 - Hardcore Gamer
• 8.5/10 - God is a Geek
• 6/10 - Metro GameCentral
• 6/10 - VGChartz 

 

You can watch my beginning gameplay on PS5 in the YouTube video below:

You can read about how our reviews work here. 

If you like my work and would like to help support my efforts you can buy me a coffee:

(REVIEW) Abathor is a Great Pixel Powered Action Game Inspired by 16-Bit Arcade Legends

by Gamatroid 🕹️ 

"Know, oh prince, that in the years when Atlantis ruled the oceans, sins and arrogance unleashed fierce demons. When everything seemed lost, four heroes arrived to close the Gates of Abathor."

 GAME FACTS

• TITLE: Abathor
• RELEASE DATE: 7/25/2024
• MSRP: $14.99
• DEVELOPER: Pow Pixel Games
• PUBLISHER: Jandusoft
• PLATFORMS: Xbox, PlayStation, Switch and PC
• PLAYED ON: PlayStation 5

The Atlantean civilization has angered the gods. They have sent hordes of monsters to punish Atlantis by destroying the continent. Players must cooperate and compete to save Atlantis, going through a series of challenges of increasing difficulty. 

In their progress, our heroes will fight against ferocious demons and primordial gods, against the living and against the dead, against flying beasts and crawling horrors, they will dodge dangers and traps and descend into chilling abysses. But they will also compete against each other for the loot and the spoils, plundering treasures and offering them to the gods to receive their favor.

Abathor is a 2D platformer with action roguelite influences and up to 4 players in local mode. Fight against an army of monsters through more than 50 stages of increasing difficulty and incredible final bosses. Traverse the entire continent of Atlantis and delve into lore based on Plato’s writings and Athanasius’ map. Re-live the arcade experience of the 80s and 90s.

RETRO ROOTS

Abathor's developer cites Rastan and Golden Axe as sources of inspiration, and it's easy to see why. Rastan is the most immediate visual call back, as the main barbarian character, Crantor, is a dead ringer for the main protagonist of Rastan, and even the gameplay reminds me more of Rastan than anything else, although there are certainly differences that take it beyond its influences.

Rastan - Arcade Archives

The influence from Golden Axe is likely seen in the multiplayer aspect of the game, since there don't really seem to be many references to the game. However, there is one sequence where you ride on an eagle's back which would be a call back to one of the levels from Golden Axe (although the eagle in Golden Axe was WAY bigger).

Golden Axe supported two player multiplayer

See? Golden Axe's eagle was HUGE

REVIEW

Gameplay & Mechanics

Abathor is very well designed, although it's clear it is a small budget indie game. This isn't a knock on the game at all, but there are various areas where you can tell it could have been polished and refined just a bit more if the team had more time and a slightly higher budget. Slight awkwardness aside, Abathor has fun action based gameplay and just slight platforming, similar to that in a Castlevania game (although probably not as punishing). 

The four playable characters add a lot to the game's replayability, as each has very distinct strengths and weaknesses that impact gameplay significantly. For example, Crantor (the male barbarian) has a huge sword swing that does 3.5x damage, Sias (the female warrior) is the only character that can block incoming attacks (and I really love that feature, so I use her a lot), Kritias (the ninja) has an upward sword dragon punch-like attack that's awesome and powerful, and Azaes (the white haired warrior) has an ability where he kills enemies with a short range magic attack and then absorbs their soul which powers up his sword attack. 

In addition to having multiple characters, the game supports four player simultaneous multiplayer. I didn't get a chance to try that out, but it sounds really cool.

Visuals & Art Direction 

Abathor's visual design is well designed and detailed pixel art that seems just a bit more pixelated than the best games from the 16-bit era. Character and enemy animations are detailed, and stages have a lot of environmental detail and animation, like the rolling waves in the background in the first stage. Bosses are generally large and well animated too. Overall a really good looking game, and it also has a CRT filter effect that adds to the nostalgia. I actually prefer to play with the CRT filter most of the time.

Story & Narrative

The story in Abathor is interesting detailed enough to keep the action going, but it doesn't overstay its welcome. It feels very similar to other classic fantasy action games, but it's also more detailed than most games of the 8 and 16 bit era. Overall the story is well done and improves the experience.  

Audio & Music

Abathor's music and sound fx are good, sounding much like the 16-bit games that provide inspiration. I found a few of the opening and early game tracks reminded me quite a bit of Golden Axe, although nothing feels like a straight rip-off, more just inspired by it. My only complaint is the music isn't louder in comparison to the sound fx. I would really prefer for the music to shine.

Technical Performance

As you might expect, the game generally performs flawlessly on modern hardware, especially on the PS5 where I played it. I would assume it also performs well on Switch, but I didn't get a chance to try that version to be certain.

Innovation & Originality

Abathor is highly inspired by games of the 16-bit era, but it brings enough of its own ideas to stand on its own. Having four unique characters to control, each with their own distinct strengths and weaknesses, is really good by itself, but having the ability to play simultaneous muliplayer really sets it apart from its inspiration. Rastan was only one player, and Golden Axe was only two player maximum. Having the ability to play all four at once is really interesting. The different difficulty levels are also a good twist on the classic formula, feeling closer to something like Ninja Gaiden Black than Golden Axe. 

Value vs Price

For $14.99, Abathor is priced just right. It is very replayable, even though it isn't a metroidvania, and the multiple characters really add to its replayability. Even though you can switch characters each time you have to start a run over once you run out of continue tokens, I tended to stick with the same character throughout each playthrough. I've put about 15 hours in so far, and I could see playing through it a few more times to explore the Epic Mode difficulty (and to get the true ending) and experiment playing with the different characters. While you could wait for a sale, I think it's more than worth the experience at full price.  

VERDICT

Abathor is a good, well-made modern pixel-powered action game, heavily inspired by the great classic arcade games of the 16-bit era like Rastan and Golden Axe. It has great graphics and music, tight controls, and lots of replay value. Even at full price it's a great experience, and I would wholly recommend it to any action game fans.

CRITIC CONSENSUS

• 8/10 - Gamatroid
• 7/10 - Nintendo Life 
• 9/10 - PlayStation Universe
• 7.5/10 - The Games Machine
• 8/10 - Gamers Heroes
• 7.5/10 - GameGrin 

 

You can watch my beginning gameplay on PS5 in the YouTube video below:

You can read about how our reviews work here. 

If you like my work and would like to help support my efforts you can buy me a coffee:

Xbox's Helix Hurdle - How Microsoft's Plans for Helix Make Success Unlikely

by Gamatroid 🕹️ 

AI interpretation for illustrative purposes (I thought it was kind of funny)

So... Microsoft recently unveiled more about its next generation console, code name: Project Helix. 

From what they've said so far, we know Helix will be a PC/Console hybrid, playing native Xbox games plus games made for Windows PCs, seemingly allowing access to storefronts like Steam, Epic and GOG. 

Microsoft also committed to keeping its backwards compatibility in-place, providing access to more than four generations of Xbox games. (Backwards compatibility is one of my favorite features of the current Xbox.)

Helix will also be the most powerful console on the market when it launches, including "an order of magnitude increase in ray tracing performance and capability, beyond what's currently possible with the Xbox Series X and S" and additional hardware features that will deliver a "massive uplift in performance and enabling massive real-time simulation and large complex worlds using runtime-generated geometry and large-scale interactive worlds". (Having best in class hardware is great, but Xbox Series X can already claim that in the current generation, even though game fidelity and performance appears equivalent to PS5 for most gamers.)

Hogwarts Legacy comparison video from Open Surprise on YouTube

So far, so good on the actual hardware plans, but I've been thinking a lot lately about what Microsoft needs to do in order for Helix to be a "success", and I don't think the current Helix plans are going to do that.

And before I get into the reasons why I think this, it's important to separate the pending success of Helix from Microsoft Gaming. 

Why? 

Well, Microsoft could have tons of success just being the world's largest video game developer / publisher. They have amazing franchises and currently they can sell their games across PlayStation, Nintendo, and PC to great success. One could argue they honestly don't even need hardware at this point (or you could argue they really do to ensure long term success - but that's a story for another day).

But for the purposes of this article, let's just focus on the success of Helix itself.

Project Helix mockup from Pureinfotech.com

In order for Helix to be a success, Microsoft will need to sell a lot of them. Obvious right? But there's the thing...

What does "success" look like?

It's very clear Microsoft has not been satisfied with the sales of Xbox consoles in either the previous generation or the current generation. 

Here's a chart I developed using data from VGChartz.com to illustrate the Xbox console sale situation:

From a worldwide console sale perspective, Xbox has been behind from the very beginning. Even the lauded Xbox 360 generation was only "successful" in North America. From a global perspective, PlayStation 3 sold more units than Xbox 360, but just barely. 

But I fully believe that when Microsoft looks at "success" it's primarily focused on the North American console market, so let's zoom in on that.

Here is the same chart showing just North American Console sales:

Just looking at North America certainly puts Xbox sales in a better light than its global performance, with Xbox 360 beating both PS3 AND the Nintendo Wii (honestly that was a shock for me.) 

This was the "golden era" for Xbox, and likely what their team is benchmarking against when they are thinking about success.

Let's dive into that a bit more:

• Xbox 360 sold 55.9% more consoles than PS3. 

• Currently the Xbox Series X/S sits at 39.3% BELOW PS5. 

• Currently, PS5 is still 16.4% below lifetime PS4 sales. 

Even if Microsoft was content with selling an equal number of consoles as PS5, it would have to sell 12.5M more Helix than it did Series X/S, and that could be a very hard sell. Why?

The Xbox Series had an affordable entry point (with the S, which launched at $299 versus the PS5 and Series X both at $499) and when it launched they still had exclusives (Halo, Gears, Forza). Helix doesn't look like it will have either of those advantages, although it will launch with Gamepass, which the Series consoles didn't have at first (although it doesn't seem to be much of a console seller, especially not at its recent price point).

And remember, this current console generation launched during COVID when EVERYONE WAS STUCK AT HOME and gaming was at its highest point in years. There were people playing games and starting Twitch channels that wouldn't have done so under normal conditions, and Microsoft STILL couldn't sell a significant number of consoles.

Furthermore, for the Series S, there was a period of time when you couldn't even find a PS5 and the only available console was the Series S (which is how I got mine).

Helix won't have any of these advantages.

Master Chief realizing they're screwed

Also, Helix is rumored to be expensive ($1,000+) and, at this time, doesn't have any committed exclusives AT ALL. Now it likely won't have any direct competition, since Sony is looking to launch PS6 no earlier than 2029, but Sony also has the PS5 Pro, which will cost significantly less than the Helix, and it has PlayStation's exclusives in its library PLUS all of Microsoft's multi-platform games (which at this time looks to be all of them).

I'm not saying that Helix won't sell any consoles, but can it sell enough to be "successful"?

Xbox Series X claimed it was the most powerful console on the market (which it technically was), but the majority of gamers didn't care. Even when the PS5 was unavailable, or only available through scalpers, many gamers still held out for a PS5 over an Xbox Series X or S. And remember, this is when Xbox still had exclusive games on its platform.

Now they are going to launch a very expensive console that has games you could also just buy on PC or PlayStation, and they are going to sell more units than the "failed" Xbox Series X/S?

Unlikely.

RIP Helix

And what about the games? 

IF Microsoft is committed to making Helix a success, the BEST way it could do that would be to pull back its flagship franchises and only make them available on Helix. However, given their recent direction, and the fact that would result in massive revenue losses, it is VERY unlikely.

Even if they don't have any exclusives, couldn't Microsoft at least force its own studios to ensure that Helix is the best place to play its games? Meaning, they could ensure the games look and play the best on Helix? 

Sure... at least in the beginning.

Halo Campaign Evolved looking sweeet :)

If Microsoft ensures their own development teams have access to Helix dev kits as early as possible, it could push them to take full advantage of Helix's hardware in order for the games to look and play best on Helix at launch. 

But if they don't sell a significant number of Helix consoles right away, how long will they allocate extra development time and resources to optimize for Helix over other platforms? 

My guess is... not very long.

So where does that leave Helix? 

Original Xbox prototype from GDC 2000

I think the best case scenario seems to be it could become the high-end living room PC hybrid that Microsoft has always wanted, but have a limited number of sales. 

So long as Microsoft makes money off of each Helix sold, such that it helps support the profitability of their gaming division, it may not matter if it is able to go head-to-head with PlayStation or not. Whether Microsoft considers Helix a success, really depends on its own internal expectations and measures of what success means going forward.

But one thing is almost certain. 

PlayStation and Nintendo seem destined to continue ruling the living room console market for the foreseeable future.

(PREVIEW) Hands-on With the Upcoming Little Nemo and the Guardians of Slumberland

by Gamatroid 🕹️ 

Explore a dream world as the iconic Little Nemo, armed with toys, candy, and stuffed animals in this cute & colorful Metroidvania adventure. Experience NES-era platformer gameplay in a vast, non-linear world that has been hand-animated frame-by-frame, as you unlock new abilities to progress.

Forget what you know about "dark and gritty" Metroidvanias; this is a vivid, hand-animated journey that reimagines the golden age of NES-style platforming. You explore a vast, non-linear dream world as Little Nemo, trading traditional weapons for toys and pajamas to fend off the encroaching "Oblivion." It’s a gorgeous evolution of the 1905 comic strip’s imagination, designed with the tight, responsive feel of a classic Capcom title.

 GAME FACTS

• TITLE: Little Nemo and the Guardians of Slumberland
• EXPECTED RELEASE: March 31, 2026 (PC) / Later in 2026 (Switch)
• MSRP: TBD
• DEVELOPER: DIE SOFT
• PUBLISHER: DIE SOFT
• PLATFORMS: PC (Steam/itch.io), Nintendo Switch

VIBES

This is a sensory delight—every frame is hand-animated, giving it the fluid feel of a high-budget 90s cartoon. The music is an absolute standout, composed by Peter Berkman of Anamanaguchi, delivering that signature high-energy chiptune sound that makes you want to keep moving. Unlike many modern "hardcore" platformers, the world feels inviting and whimsical, though the precision required for some jumps quickly reminds you of its retro lineage.

Toy-Based Progression: Instead of getting a "double jump" or a "dash," you collect Nemo’s favorite toys and different pairs of PJs that grant abilities. It turns the standard Metroidvania power-creep into something far more charming.

Platforming over Combat: While there are bosses and enemies, the focus is heavily shifted toward movement and environmental puzzles. It feels more like a non-linear Super Mario or Kirby than a traditional melee-focused Castlevania clone.

The "Wake Up" Mechanic: Instead of "death", the developer has implemented a system where being too reckless "wakes you up". Should this happen, Nemo will find himself back in his bedroom, and you can simply head back to bed to continue the adventure. 

 

HERITAGE

While it takes its aesthetic and world from Winsor McCay’s 1905 Little Nemo in Slumberland comics... 

Original Little Nemo Comic (1905)

...the gameplay is a direct love letter to Capcom’s Little Nemo: The Dream Master on NES.

Screenshots from Little Nemo The Dream Master on NES

It captures that specific era where games were defined by "blue skies and iconic zones," but expands it with modern interconnected level design.

IMPRESSIONS

I had a chance to get hands-on with a demo of Little Nemo and the Guardians of Slumberland on Steam and I came away impressed. The graphics look good in still shots but look even better in motion. The controls are tight and the environments are colorful and interesting to play through. Some of the dialog is a bit drawn out but that's a common occurrence in modern gaming (whether retro-inspired or not). 

So far it's all looking good, and it's not nearly as difficult or punishing as the NES original, whether that's a good thing for fans of the original or not. It's important to keep in mind though that this is not a remake of the NES game. It is simply inspired by the same source material, and the choice for it to also be side scrolling is certainly a nod to the NES, but also to the original comic strip.

HYPE LEVEL: 4/5 

The demo proves that the foundation is solid and the presentation is world-class. However, because games like this are so dependent on the complete experience, and I've seen it happen where the demo is better than the full game, I’m keeping my hopes high but my wallet in my pocket until I see how the whole dream comes together.

You can watch my demo playthrough on PC in the YouTube video below:

For upcoming game previews, like this, I've started using a new "Hype Level" approach, which is intended to be a call back to game reviews of old (I'm sure you can guess the inspiration). 

Until next time!