Introduction
Zapling Bygone is a twisted Metroidvania where you murder your foes and steal their abilities by wearing their skulls and absorbing their consciousness into your hive-mind. Released on PlayStation, Xbox and Switch on March 9 2023.
**Disclosure: I received a free review copy for this game. This does not affect my opinion in any way**
Review
For another platformer, this surprising fun and comic-esk game is definitely worth your attention. The game is pretty open – you can venture wherever you like, however you do need certain skills to scale and traverse which you find by exploring.
There is a handy map which sort of helps to guide you; it shows you where the infected areas are, the nearest shop, and lots of other useful points of interest.
There aren’t really levels as such, just lots of different areas to explore. The more you explore, the more the map will show.
Each area is full of combat, and at times precision platforming to avoid an enemy. There are multiple dangers in each area and if you miss-time a jump, it could be lights out. Remember to heal, otherwise things go turn bad pretty quick.
There is so much going on in each area that sometimes it can be difficult to remember what you need to do, whether it’s using the platforms in combat, healing, jumping… this makes each area challenging in its own right.
Bosses in this game are relentless and extremely challenging, you will need a certain skill level, and/or plenty of hours to win the fight. There are frequent save points however, which also replenish any lost health. Of course being ‘extremely challenging’ is individual, this was how I felt, but it won’t be the case for others.
There are collectibles in the form of memories which can be found by exploring. You also collect various skulls that grant you different abilities, these can be found after defeating a boss. There are also shops dotted about the map where you can buy various items.
Be prepared to spend a lot of time backtracking, as there is no objective so it was hard to know where to go a lot of the time.
Without a guide, the game takes around 4-5 hours to beat, so platinum would probably take around 6-8 hours. This is just a guess however. I recommend a guide if you are looking to achieve Skull Master.
Rating
Pros:
- Interesting story
- Characters
- Soundtrack
Cons:
- Difficulty set quite high
- Difficult to know where to go as no objective
Summary
A fun, fast-paced horror-infused platformer with comic-style storytelling. Enjoyable, until it isn’t. If you enjoy a good platformer, then you’ll enjoy this.
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Game & Developer Information
Developer Website: 9FingerGames
Developer Socials: Twitter
Publisher Website: JanduSoft
Publisher Socials: Twitter
Images – https://www.igdb.com/
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