UNSIGHTED
A few months ago a close friend of mine gifted UNSIGHTED to me and an online post from the developer herself reminded me that I had yet to play it. Said friend knew I favored games with a female protagonist as well as action-adventure Zelda-likes, so he gifted it to me with that knowledge in mind.
UNSIGHTED achieves both of these characteristics and so much more as the game is set in a dystopian post-cyberpunk world. In most media, it's the robots that achieve sentience and have taken over the world while the humans fight for survival. Franchises like the Terminator series thrive on this premise. UNSIGHTED flips it in reverse.
For years, automations have lived in peace and have gained sentience from anima, a form of energy that is necessary for automations to live. It's also an energy source that humans could use for their own advances. Eventually, the humans discover the source of the anima and begin to attack while excavating the anima energy. Foreseeing that humans would eventually do human things and pilage, there are five keys protected by five automation that have the energy to destroy the crater tower. Unfortunately, these automations have long since turned UNSIGHTED.
The player controls Alma, the heroine tasked with saving her people as well as defeating the evils which was the cause of nature's disruption. I always adored pixel-art games that utilize a '2.5D' plane as several graphical tricks are used to portray depth perception and other artistic marvels. Sea Of Stars is a recent example of this and UNSIGHTED hits its mark in setting a mood. The gritty urban decay amidst a dark and stormy night contrasts with the calm serene peacefulness of a secluded forest village. Sound effects and ambiance are spot on with the music, with intensities matching the action of combat. It's an ebb and flow that I feel is underappreciated and doesn't get praised enough.
I'm a fan of the combat system so far. One of the things I find difficult to capture in Soulslike games is the sweet spot between turning combat into a dance and making combat into a punishing aesop of "messing around and finding out." So far I used the sword and the battle-axe and both weapons felt different yet rewarding to use for their unique reasons. Parrying is forgiving enough, with some weapons having a more generous timing window than others. A perfect parry will knock an enemy off balance, allowing the player to land a critical strike. Shortly after, players will find a blaster rifle that they can manually reload for a chance to instantly refill their cartridge. Striking objects up close and from afar are used for solving puzzles, which is where UNSIGHTED becomes a "Metroidvania."
There are five artifacts that the player must obtain, which are all connected as a part of a far greater map. The bosses can be defeated in any order but defeating certain bosses in the recommended order will make other bosses easier. Keep this in mind because this isn't the only "Mega" reference that I'll be making per my initial reactions to this title. The player also realizes just how potentially strong Alma is from the beginning with a taste of the Chips system.
Rather than focus on stats and builds, UNSIGHTED allows players to augment stats and beneficial buffs to Alma. The more chip slots she has unlocked, the more augments she can equip. Players will have to find augments throughout the map or as rewards. Death will cause players to lose a portion of their currency but as with most Soulslike games, the player can go to their last known place of death and obtain their lost "souls."
Sometimes the gameplay can get intense, so the player can switch the game to "Explorer" mode at any given time during the pause menu. Essentially UNSIGHTED's "casual mode," the player can set parameters to customize the game's experience to the player's liking. So what caused me to change the game to "easy mode?" It wasn't anything to do with the gameplay, but more so the psychological aspect. This is a game about death. Not as in "a boss kills you and you lose half of your souls," but death as a part of a story. Without the source of anima, every automation is on a specific time limit until they expire, like any electronic running on battery without a charger. This includes Alma.
The player is on a time limit from the moment the prologue ends and it's woven into the story masterfully well. These are sentient beings who have daily lives like anyone else and they're doomed knowing that their "end is near." For some players, the concept of death in such a manner that's permanent may hit close to home. Unfortunately, in my current situation, I am one of those players who has recently dealt with loss.
I of course encourage everyone to practice the best ways to cope as mental health is no joke, and it's something that the developers agree with in this regard. Explorer mode isn't a mode for "those who found the game too difficult" from a technical perspective. It may be too difficult from a psychological perspective.
I want to thank the developers for giving an option for everyone to enjoy what I already know is an engaging story, based on the little time I played with the game already. I'll be honored to come through with a full review of my thoughts with the knowledge that I am playing this game not in the way that it's "intended," but for my reasons. With that said, for those who are up for the challenge of playing the game with its intended time limits, it gives off Majora's Mask mixed with Mega Man X5 vibes. Feel free to enjoy UNSIGHTED the way you intend it! There's a lot to enjoy about the journey so far.
UNSIGHTED is available on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam