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xyzzysqrlThis was a surprise. It's free on Steam which is often a bit of a warning bell... but no, it's great.
It uses the "Monster Girl" trope that usually makes me wince and expect awful fetishisation... but no, it's sweet and fun.
It wears its memey reference/inspiration collection on its sleeve which usually makes me wince (hi, Breath of Death) ...but no, they come off as somewhat clever instead of grating and awful. (THAT one is highly subjective. Check your tolerance levels before entering.)
It's an indie platformer which can often mean levels are a meatgrinder of spikes and quick-moving bullet-spamming enemies... but it knows when to hold back. The hardest levels are challenge mode fights, dying results in a small score penalty but you have infinite lives and usually a decent number of checkpoints. I often found Shovel Knight painfully difficult but did not struggle much here.
Obviously if you're trying for a 100% run (which involves not just one-lifing every level but one-lifing every level in the glass cannon outfit) you will have a MASSIVELY different experience from me, but that is an optional challenge you take on yourself. That said, I still no-death cleared something like 5/12 levels just by doing my own thing.
The basic setup is very Mega Man/Powerpuff Girls. A scientist creates a chimera-girl named Chelshia out of DNA from various other monstergirls. She's built for basic island life and to help out around the house while he's doing research or inventing. Unfortunately at that moment PIRATES ATTACK and make off with all the treasure on Monster Girl Island. There's nothing for it but to graft a stone golem arm onto his creation and send her out to fight for everlasting cash.
The scientist is the only male character in the game and nobody knows what his actual name is. He is quickly redubbed "Science Mom" and stays like that the rest of the story. That's the kind of tone we're working with, here.
So it's off through stages to run, jump, rescue faeries, beat up pirates and collect money. Each defeated pirate boss goes to Monster Jail and gives you a new bit of DNA for your Science Mom to graft in, giving you new powers because DNA works like that now.
It's straightforward and good. Lots of hidden areas to discover and there's even a free postgame-set DLC Halloween mission you can unlock if you've got a file that has every other level complete. (I need to find one level unlock to do that. Hrm.)
Anyway. S'good. Anything more goes to Spoilerspace, where I will discuss this game and a bit about Helen's Mysterious Castle.
Much like Helen's Mysterious Castle before it, nobody gets really hurt or dies in this one. The pirates are actually by and large pretty hype to fight someone on their level for a change, and the masterminds escape for another round sometime in another game. I'm starting to really appreciate this in a game.
It's fun to see Chelshia and Amelia the Harpy Pirate make plans to watch anime together after the whole thing is done, and I loved the "Bad Ending" where you're asked if you want to sign up with the pirates and just say FRICK YEAH and Chelshia ushers in a new golden age of piracy with her new crewbuddies. The pirates aren't exactly GOOD PEOPLE as such (I mean, Amelia refuses to seed her pirated anime torrents) but they're also not evil irredeemable monsters.
It was nice to play a game with monstergirls that didn't wander into weird 'waifu' territory or get uncomfortable or weird. This was a nice game.
Maybe a few TOO many spikes in the last level though.
It uses the "Monster Girl" trope that usually makes me wince and expect awful fetishisation... but no, it's sweet and fun.
It wears its memey reference/inspiration collection on its sleeve which usually makes me wince (hi, Breath of Death) ...but no, they come off as somewhat clever instead of grating and awful. (THAT one is highly subjective. Check your tolerance levels before entering.)
It's an indie platformer which can often mean levels are a meatgrinder of spikes and quick-moving bullet-spamming enemies... but it knows when to hold back. The hardest levels are challenge mode fights, dying results in a small score penalty but you have infinite lives and usually a decent number of checkpoints. I often found Shovel Knight painfully difficult but did not struggle much here.
Obviously if you're trying for a 100% run (which involves not just one-lifing every level but one-lifing every level in the glass cannon outfit) you will have a MASSIVELY different experience from me, but that is an optional challenge you take on yourself. That said, I still no-death cleared something like 5/12 levels just by doing my own thing.
The basic setup is very Mega Man/Powerpuff Girls. A scientist creates a chimera-girl named Chelshia out of DNA from various other monstergirls. She's built for basic island life and to help out around the house while he's doing research or inventing. Unfortunately at that moment PIRATES ATTACK and make off with all the treasure on Monster Girl Island. There's nothing for it but to graft a stone golem arm onto his creation and send her out to fight for everlasting cash.
The scientist is the only male character in the game and nobody knows what his actual name is. He is quickly redubbed "Science Mom" and stays like that the rest of the story. That's the kind of tone we're working with, here.
So it's off through stages to run, jump, rescue faeries, beat up pirates and collect money. Each defeated pirate boss goes to Monster Jail and gives you a new bit of DNA for your Science Mom to graft in, giving you new powers because DNA works like that now.
It's straightforward and good. Lots of hidden areas to discover and there's even a free postgame-set DLC Halloween mission you can unlock if you've got a file that has every other level complete. (I need to find one level unlock to do that. Hrm.)
Anyway. S'good. Anything more goes to Spoilerspace, where I will discuss this game and a bit about Helen's Mysterious Castle.
Much like Helen's Mysterious Castle before it, nobody gets really hurt or dies in this one. The pirates are actually by and large pretty hype to fight someone on their level for a change, and the masterminds escape for another round sometime in another game. I'm starting to really appreciate this in a game.
It's fun to see Chelshia and Amelia the Harpy Pirate make plans to watch anime together after the whole thing is done, and I loved the "Bad Ending" where you're asked if you want to sign up with the pirates and just say FRICK YEAH and Chelshia ushers in a new golden age of piracy with her new crewbuddies. The pirates aren't exactly GOOD PEOPLE as such (I mean, Amelia refuses to seed her pirated anime torrents) but they're also not evil irredeemable monsters.
It was nice to play a game with monstergirls that didn't wander into weird 'waifu' territory or get uncomfortable or weird. This was a nice game.
Maybe a few TOO many spikes in the last level though.
