The gaming industry continues to delight with cool releases. I don't know where so many nuggets came from, but after Kaze and the Wild Masks, Dandy Ace and Dodgeball Academia, it seems that every new project from this country can be added to the wishlist in advance. Loud epithets also apply to UNSIGHTED, an action Poki game with metroidvania elements that impresses with both unusual ideas and the highest quality.
Once upon a time, a meteorite containing an energy called anima fell on the city of Arcadia. By that time, people were using the services of robots with might and main (they are called automatons here), but after what happened, most of the inhabitants decided to leave the city, and thanks to the anime, robots gained intelligence and began to build their society. Subsequently, people realized how valuable the energy of the meteorite is, started a war with automatons and won. They built a tower around the fallen block, sucking all the anima out of it, and the robots began to lose their minds.
Those who no longer had enough energy went mad and became villains. The rest are living their last days - when you talk to someone, the number of hours before the transformation is written next to his portrait. This also applies to the main character Alma, who, in order to "save the world", needs to quickly find five powerful automatons and take the meteorite fragments from them - with their help, it will be possible to create a powerful weapon against the monsters guarding the tower. These automatons, of course, are no longer friendly - they, in Poki game terms, have become bosses.
The story is as predictable as possible, and the characters are flat, but the plot is served well. Firstly, thanks to the wonderful pixel art - there is a huge amount of detail and very high quality animations. Secondly, the idea of dying heroes looks interesting and fresh. If you approach someone a few hours before the transformation, he, weakened, will sit on the floor or, with the bitterness transmitted through subtitles, regret the approaching end. And after his death, in the central settlement, where almost all the remaining adequate automatons have gathered, changes may occur. For example, I let the blacksmith die, and the sign above his shop cracked.
In fact, it was easy to prevent this, I just decided to see what happens in case of death. Closer to the final third of the story (or earlier - it depends on your speed), you will be told that so and so have 24 game hours left to live. Fortunately, the timer can be increased - right after the start of the Poki game you get a scanner that automatically informs you about the presence of a chest with fairy dust in a particular room.
You either use this pollen yourself or give it to anyone. In return, you will receive not only gratitude, but also bonuses - for example, an eternal discount in the store. Each hero has four levels of affection - if someone gets as many as three portions of pollen, then another gift awaits you.
I finished the Poki game in seven hours, exploring 93% of the map and opening two-thirds of the chests, and in my case everyone except the hapless blacksmith survived. The heroine did not have to be fed, but the robotic fairy who accompanied Alma throughout the Poki game ate pollen. Well, a couple more traders had to be rescued closer to the final. As a result, I didn't even use all the pollen I found - of course, the chests with it are often hidden behind riddles or platform puzzles, but they are not so difficult to open. So if you're worried about the timer, you don't have to be afraid. As a last resort, turn on the explorer mode in the menu - time stops with it.
I may have done UNSIGHTED quickly , but that's only because the gameplay is fun. For a long time there was no such thing that I sat down to play and the time flew by unnoticed. Before us is an action Poki game in a large world, the individual locations of which are connected with each other and divided into many rooms. In a sense, this is metroidvania - until you gain a certain ability or open the door from the other side, you will not enter a new area. However, the duration for this genre is too small, and we are already used to side-view metroidvanias, here the camera is located from above at an angle.
All areas are different - from the rainy forest to the mines and the frozen oceanarium. Almost every room has puzzles (often optional): you need to jump over disappearing platforms, simultaneously switching levers, then find a way to a high-located chest, then take the ball to a recess in the ground in order to activate something. The map is very convenient - although the chests are not marked on it (except for those that contain the keys necessary for the plot), it is very easy to navigate through it and look for exits. Moreover, the chests can be marked independently - the developers give out 30 "pins" that allow you to put them directly on the map.
Exploring the locations is terribly exciting - the situations in which the heroine finds herself are very different, and among the trash found there are useful items, including new swords and axes. Great emphasis in UNSIGHTED is placed on pumping the heroine. For money, she buys resources and improves weapons, and in the menu she can install gears with temporary bonuses (increased damage by 20 hits, resurrection after death, and so on) and chips with constant upgrades, of which there are many. Some simply increase health or stamina, others extend Alma's invulnerability after taking damage, or somehow significantly change the gameplay.
You will have to fight often here, and battles are one of the main advantages of the Poki game. First of all, thanks to the parrying mechanics - there seem to be many places where it is, but not everywhere a successfully repulsed attack brings such pleasure. The effects and animations are especially good at such moments, plus it is very pleasant to inflict damage on a weakened enemy several times more than usual. It is advisable to defeat some opponents with the help of parry, since they are quick and painful to hit, but the animations warn about attacks very clearly. There are many types of enemies here, and each one needs its own approach: someone likes to hit three times in a row, but for someone one beating is not enough - two are required.
Parrying is also useful because the heroine has limited stamina - after several attacks she will get tired, becoming slow and defenseless for a second. With a sword, you can hit a little more often than with an ax, devouring almost the entire scale of energy. At the same time, the ax deals more damage, and even weakened targets have no chance of salvation at all. In general, the choice of the type of weapon remains with the player, as well as the choice of bonus elemental damage - you can set targets on fire with a fiery blade, or you can injure them with electricity, especially effective against robots.
There are also firearms here, but the developers have not thought about this element of the Poki game at all. The fact is that gadgets obtained in the story, such as the grappling hook and the freezing cannon, are used in one of the two weapon slots. And these gadgets are almost always needed to progress through the story and solve secondary puzzles. The cat hook is to cling to walls and travel long distances, the cannon is to create platforms on the water and lava. It just makes no sense to take something else, because in the next room you will probably have to open the menu again and change your outfit. Therefore, I fought in close combat, forgetting about the firearms. It's a shame - the store has a ton of goods from pistols to grenade launchers.
However, this is the only complaint about the combat system, there is practically nothing more to complain about. Fights are very funny, dynamic and spectacular, plus the Poki game encourages aggressive gameplay by filling the combo scale - the higher this indicator, the higher the damage done, and the faster the used first-aid kit is restored. It is because of the mechanics associated with the first-aid kit that small opponents periodically appear during fights with bosses - so that there is a chance to heal. But if you use parry accurately, then bosses will not be a problem.
After passing UNSIGHTED, the "New Game +" mode opens, where you can transfer either all items from the previous passage, or only unlocked blueprints. Also available here is the Dungeon Raid mode with procedurally generated dungeons, where before starting you choose two weapons, two chips and a location. Well, there is the Boss Rush mode - the name speaks for itself. All this, as well as the storyline campaign, can be completed in a local co-op with a friend.
UNSIGHTED is probably the most unexpected surprise this fall. Apart from a couple of minor flaws, we have before us a fun and insanely addicting action Poki game with an original idea. While the timers aren't punishing enough to be paid attention to, the mechanic goes well with the story of robots living out their last days. And if the plot of stars from the sky is not enough, then almost everything else is beyond praise.
Pros: original mechanics with robots living out their last days; various, connected with each other locations with secrets and riddles; great combat system with a damn nice parry; great emphasis on pumping - with different types of weapons and passive upgrades; a large bestiary of enemies with their own techniques and weaknesses for each; great visual style; the presence of bonus modes and support for the cooperative.
Cons: you don't use firearms because of the inconvenience; flat characters.