There’s a supermarket chain in Europe called Lidl, and it’s inexplicable if you don’t know what to expect when you enter. For the unprepared, this is one of the strangest places on earth. The shelves are filled with just about anything you’d buy at any other supermarket — almost. The brand is slightly crooked, and the color of the famous brand is slightly biased; the wine red of Coke is a little more intense, and the purple of chocolate is softer. Oreos are called Neos for a reason. It’s like wandering into a quirky — and much cheaper — another world.
That’s what Kojima means to Hollow Knight. This is an off-brand, cheap budget version of everyone’s favorite premium Metroidvania. You know exactly what it’s for – combat, aesthetics, level design, enemies, even the tombs of the giant creatures that came before… they’re all there and intact. But instead of injecting that drawing style into Hollow Knight’s doomed bush, the Cherry team has this Flash game aesthetic. Instead of a rich, comprehensive soundscape, you have a hodgepodge of sound effects and some simpler music.
But these are not bad things. In fact, the simplicity of it all — this obvious off-brand feel — is good for the game. That means you won’t be distracted by cool mechanics, simple but effective combat, tight platforming. Everything on the screen is readable and easy to parse: cracks at the end of this map? It’s a secret, of course. The big pink glowing skeletons surrounding the block? It will hurt you if you touch it. This spinning red circle in the middle of your airship? Well, that will be your hitbox.
On the surface Islets has a simple charm, but once you open the “inspired by” package and dump the contents on your workbench, you’ll find the game has a charm of its own. For example, in Metroidvania Revival isn’t as focused on combat as in other games, and as you progress through its namesake floating island, some platforming puzzles are incorporated into the title, really so impressive that you’re You’ll be forced to grin as you figure out how they work. And how to use them to find all the little secrets that developer Armor Games drilled into the cracks.
The setting of the game is simple: you are Iko, a brave little mouse, set out on an adventure to restore the island. Over time, the five islands have parted ways, many adventurers before you start exploring the heart of the islands, reactivating the cores and pulling them together. This means – as you might expect – you’ll need to return to the map’s shards as you gather more power; double jump, wall climb, dash, etc.
What’s different about Islets, however, is how it fits into the retrospective nature of the Metroidvania game to you. Instead of simply going back to an area and jumping a little higher than last time, once you’ve reconnected the two islands back together, a whole new area can be used from a pre-existing path. Whether that means scarier platforming, another hidden boss, or just weaving a geographic brain teaser for you depends on the island.
The game is simpler than its contemporaries, which is good; it’s a quick finish, but you’ll be hooked every step of the way. There’s no mechanical depth you see in Bloodstained, Hollow Knight or Guacamelee – but that’s really not the point. Essentially, it’s more wholesome than any of these games, and it’s also fun: it’s fun to feed the treacherous guide cum frog to him trying to sacrifice your spirit. It’s amusing to watch an arrogant, wealthy rat companion endlessly blow smoke up his own ass. As a quiet, unsuspecting hero saving the world from destruction… well, I didn’t expect that, but it’s also fun.
The game does have this Newgrounds or Kongregate feel, and I respect that. The animations are simple, the sound effects are rudimentary, and the graphics are simple. But the richness of game design supersedes all of that, with a charming little game at its core combined with this kind of craftsmanship that you can close your eyes and think you’re playing Ori and the Blind Forest or something.
So don’t let any of the trailer screenshots put you off, if you’re thinking “it looks like Hollow Knight, but in 2002” – none of that matters. What matters is how the game feels in your hands, and you’ll stay up until “I’m going to explore one more area” or “I’m going to take another boss.” It’s a gorgeous game, and an engaging one, and anyone who gets even a fraction of the fun out of the genre should at least try it out.
I promise you, it will keep you hooked and hungry for more.
