The Messenger

Release: 2018
Developer: Sabotage
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Genre: Action, side-scroller, Metroidvania
Gameplay Stats: 15 hours, 34/40 achievements, all power seals

Holy cow, I am going to gush this entire review. If you don't want to waste your time, just assume I love this game and go try it yourself. Probably the best side-scroller I've played since Hollow Knight. If you're in this for the long haul, let's go!

Visuals: This game has two versions of every level, an 8-bit version and a 16-bit version. Each one is lovingly crafted pixel art. Everything looks good and conveys very clearly what it's about. Enemies are clearly enemies and their design telegraphs how they attack. Bosses lack a little clarity, but they only take a short amount of time to suss out your goal/their hitbox. I never was hit by anything that I didn't see coming/couldn't have anticipated.

Audio: The soundtrack of this game is so sexy. Every level has a few versions of the soundtrack depending on if you're in the 8 or 16 bit versions, and whether you're underwater (this may be a filter) and it's excellent. I actively enjoyed the soundtrack and didn't listen to anything over the top of it at any point during my play through, no matter how much I wanted to listen to Serial. The enemies make distinct noises, but they are quiet enough not to interfere with the music.

Plot: The story in this game is fairly unique! Well, it hits some tropes along the way, but it does it in a fresh way. The writing is pretty spot on and self aware. I genuinely laughed a couple times and chuckled many times. Talking with the shopkeeper is always delightful, whether he is giving you tongue-in-cheek hints or telling you nearly pointless stories. It's always great. The story takes a back seat to the gameplay though and I think that's how this game was designed.

Gameplay: The meat! This game was designed to control well and control well, it does. At the start of the game I felt a bit clumsy as a ninja that has been shirking his training, and at the end I was zipping around dangerous areas with relative ease. There are so many options of how to get through different areas and they're mostly all viable. This game shows off in the trailers what you will feel like by the end of the game and it's fabulous.

I can't gush enough about this game. I'm so sad that it took my this long to try, it's so wonderful. I HIGHLY recommend this game. Literally the only complaint that I can muster is that I wish the shopkeeper dialogue kept up steam towards the end of the game. There is going to be some free DLC released for this later in the year and I am stoked. [9.5/10]