After spending almost a year in Early Access, it’s finally time to introduce Patch Quest, Lychee Game Lab’s eclectic mix of genres, to the world. It’s sort of a fusion of the Metroidvania and Roguelike subgenres with a healthy dose of bullet hell mechanics. All framed by an engaging and distinctive aesthetic that lends itself incredibly well to what is essentially a mishmash of ideas that, at first, shouldn’t mix as well as they do. Come with me into the jungle and I’ll show you what the icing on the cake of this game is.
Patch Quest takes place in the mysterious world of Patchlantis, which you can explore at your leisure depending on your skills. Just like any other game based on the Metroidvania formula (which is still entertaining even when it’s burned out), your ability to travel the world is closely tied to your character’s abilities. Patch Quest is no exception. Your starting base has four entrances, and only one of them is open at the start of your adventure. As you discover and find more, new opportunities are unlocked and doors to new realms opened.
Patchlantis is divided into several unique biomes, or zones, filled with their own fauna, wildlife, secret lairs, and, unsurprisingly, bosses. Each new area you explore is randomly generated, encouraging the spirit of adventure that permeates almost every aspect of Patch Quest and encourages multiple iterations. You can venture into this game alone or with a friend next to you on the couch, with split-screen multiplayer. But without a doubt, the most outstanding mechanic in Patch Quest is your character’s lasso, which allows you to capture, tame, and ride any creatures you encounter in the wide world.
Each creature has its own unique abilities that you can inherit and use while riding on their back. In this way you have many interesting opportunities to move around in the different areas. In addition to the bosses, which usually trigger a normal ball hell, the game turns into a giant mess in a few milliseconds. While it’s not quite on par with genre greats like Mushihimesama or DoDonPachi, it’s worth noting that the later stages of the game can feature some seriously intense combat that will have you sweating and jumping with excitement.
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They are challenges that I really enjoyed and that never seemed unfair or impossible to me. On the contrary, they encourage you to experiment with different creatures to ride, upgrades and abilities for your character, and most importantly, different equipment. Fortunately, the penalty for failure is also milder, which not only makes the game fun for you, but also increases your motivation to keep trying different combinations and exploring the game world further. In this way you will also find power-ups and other skills that will help you in the increasingly difficult battles.
In addition to the creatures you can catch and ride, much of the gameplay revolves around acquiring pets that you can bring back to base. You can also collect fauna and flora from your travels through Patchlantis, which you can plant in groups of five to create a specific biome, something the multitude of pets need to thrive. And of course you can also pet and pamper your little friends, which even has a positive effect on their health. This more playful part of Patch Quest is a nice break from exploring, which can get pretty intense at times.
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One aspect that Patch Quest is really good at that I want to highlight is how it forces the player to constantly try new creatures and abilities. Because just like in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, where weapons slowly degrade with use, the animals you catch and ride have limited use or ammo if you so choose. While you’ll find plenty more in the wild, they quickly become exhausted during the many clashes, forcing you to constantly be on the lookout for potential new animals to collect.
Whether you decide to take on the challenges of Patch Quest and Patchlanti alone or with a friend of your choice on your couch, the game In the by Lychee Game Lab offers incredible variety and lots of fun. There are over 50 different animals to discover, tons of challenging bosses, endless interesting skill builds, and a constant desire to keep improving. You will feel great joy in discovering and exploring. I found it very difficult to let go of the controller for long periods of time, which just goes to show how unparalleled fun and thoughtful this gaming system is.
