Odallus for me was one of those games, that by the end of it all, you loved to hate it. It was a glorious pain in the rear coupled with intermittent periods of pure joy. Odallus was really hard for me. It took me many more hours, lives, and rage quits than I care to admit. However, in the end, I overcame adversity and finally finished it. There were many hoots, hollers, and eye-rolls from the rest of the family throughout the end credits. For as much as Odallus is good, it’s also as faulty. There are numerous bugs I discovered along the way that really hampered the experience and occasionally required repeating sections of levels due to restarts. Let’s all take an epic journey into the bowels of the Odallus dungeons and see what else is there.

Developer: JoyMasher

Publisher: Digerati

11 Hours Played // Review Copy Provided // $11.99

Similar to how a mixologist crafts cocktails the team at JoyMasher have prepared a well-proportioned mix of action and Metroidvania game elements. The Odallus action elements shine brightly throughout the game’s 8 different levels where you have to traverse traps, battle bosses, and put your platforming skills to the test. It borrows elements from these genres by how they strategically place key items and require the extra mile of effort to uncover the secrets held within. You’ll find yourself backtracking through levels acquiring powerful items, secrets, and pathways to additional levels.

“There’s nowhere to turn but backward “

Odallus is linear only at the very start. This might be its biggest weakness as the game is best when it’s showcasing its Metroidvania elements. I didn’t really get into the groove Odallus was dishing out until I made it all the way to the end level and was faced with a big wall that said I could not progress further. Did I make it!? What I didn’t realize this at first but I very obviously tried to play Odallus in a linear fashion. I Attempted to quickly buzz through the levels to get to the end. I wasn’t enjoying the game up to this point. It was a hard slog but this was just the beginning. I hate Odallus for doing this to me. It didn’t give me any hints, no direction. Just a wall which said: “try harder please”.

“I won’t tell you how many times I rode this boat”

So I went back through the levels and started playing the game a bit differently. I started playing Odallus like a Metroidvania rather than an action game and it started to shine. Let me remind you, shining is not without pain. Searing light straight into your eyes is painful. As I started progressing through the levels for a second, third, fourth, fifth time everything started to fall into place. I started acquiring new and very powerful items like the Pazuzu Cape which allows you to glide through the air. Once these items come rolling in it will let you find new secret areas. I swore some of these areas were not there before but there they were, plain as day. After this I started really enjoying the game. If you search it out online there is a definite order of operations to Odallus. I strongly recommend for you to explore it for yourself just like you would with Super Metroid back in 1994. There’s nothing like acquiring the cape then going back and discovering the levels where you need to use it to reach previously unreachable sections of the level.

“A wide variety of enemies means a wide variety of tactics”

A lot of Odallus consists of progressing through levels by making it from checkpoint to checkpoint while fighting a wide variety of enemies and bosses. If your not good enough to make it to the next checkpoint and die along the way, don’t worry. Odallus will save any key items you may have found since you last saved and let you keep them. This doesn’t mean the levels are easy. There are quite a few sections that I had to try, 10 or 20 times before I was able to succeed. Like the games of old, nothing in Odallus is programmatically generated, so memorizing platforming sections and enemy attack patterns are required. This makes it so the game as a whole becomes easier the more you play it. Enemies that were once painful are now easily slain. A hard jumping section that made you rage quit yesterday will become easier and you’ll find yourself doing it in your sleep. You just have to keep trying.

“Odallus has a fair share of map and camera bugs”

Throughout my 11 hours with Odallus I came across numerous out of bounds and camera bugs. These bugs often required me to exit the level and restart and only on very few occasions did I need to force close the application to restart. These bugs often lead me to lose my current checkpoint and having to start the level over from the beginning. The clip above highlights one of these camera bugs in question. You could also fall all the way off the map in this location if you went left far enough. These bugs hold back Odallus from earning top spots in my opinion. They are just far too frequent and discouraging to go unnoticed as they directly impact the player.

“Odallus does, in fact, have a story”

I would be seriously remiss if I didn’t include the fact that Odallus does have a story to it. It’s not just some warrior rampaging the countryside attempting to fulfill a death wish. You are Haggis, a father who wants to rescue his son from the impending darkness. I soon found out that not everything was as clear-cut as it seemed. There’s a few twists and turns, especially in the end, that makes this story worth completing. Story pieces are provided through boss fight dialogs, shop keeper remarks, and hidden secret tomes that tell the history of the world. It’s nice but I think the action and exploration game elements far outweigh the story elements in Odallus.

“A wide variety of enemies require a wide variety of tactics”

Odallus is one of the best action platforming games on the Nintendo Switch. While I didn’t enjoy it as much as Axiom Verge it’s a slightly different game with a slightly different aim with a respectable showing. Hardcore Castlevania and Ghost and Goblins fans will find this one right in the middle of their wheelhouse. The art style has a deep retro style to it which is enjoyable. Maybe I’m just a retroholic and like this sort of thing. If you want to pull out a few hairs and discover just how good or bad at video games you are you should definitely install Odallus today. The price tag is well worth the experience.

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