Nothing Will Stop Them, Not Even the Obstacles of this Dangerously Cute Puzzle Platformer (PC)
Nothing Will Stop Them, Not Even the Obstacles of this Dangerously Cute Puzzle Platformer (PC)
Publisher: Mastiff
Developer: Clay Game Studio
Genre:
PEGI: 12
Comments:
Have you ever been lost in a song so deeply that you’re transported into another world, a preferred nature spot, or just find peace within the colors and shapes of a painting? Faerie Afterlight has done this for me. Created by the developers, Clay Game Studios, this Indonesian influenced game, with lovely music, folk art and beautiful visuals transported me into what might be the coziest and most chill Metroidvania I have played since both Ori games.
The Story
You don’t have the full story from playing this demo, but I will try to explain what I understood so far. You start off in Lumina, where faeries protect the light of their precious home. You begin by controlling this adorable blob of some sorts who seems to not remember his name. In the beginning of his journey, he runs into this faerie who introduces us to part of the big picture in the story. Basically, Lucentia was the ruler of Lumina and brought peace and order and protected the light in their world. However, the evil mastermind, Kradyrev who was imprisoned, broke free from his seal and with his immense powers, destroyed Lucentia, took her core for himself and created darkness in Lumina. We learn that this cute little blob is Kimo and his trusty sidekick is, Wispy and together they go on a journey to restore the light in Lumina.
The Gameplay
I loved the battle system of this game. While Kimo doesn’t really do much except walk around smacking enemies with what looks like a blade, the entire game is carried by Wispy who has one of the best abilities in the game: mind control. Wispy can control enemies with her mind in order to use their help in the platforming of this game. And boy, is there a lot of platforming. She can also redesign environments, depending on the paths you take and unleash a powerful attack, provided you have enough energy for that. For just a sidekick, Wispy sure has more abilities than Kimo. Overall, this is a puzzle platformer, so get ready to use your thinking cap to figure out how to unlock hidden pathways, locked gates and discover 100% of each area you unlock. Overall, the puzzles, the platforms, the enemies and boss fights, bring a thrilling experience, one that takes me back to when I experienced Ori and the Blind Forest for the first time.
The Environment
The contrast of dark and pastel colors really emphasized this visually beautiful world that was created by the developers. The visuals remind me of looking at an abstract painting, inspired by folk art with structures and visuals influenced strongly by Indonesian culture. The background of the game is very impressive as well, one might encounter waterfalls, stretches of greenery and Indonesian themed structures, making this game feel like you’ve been transported straight into the world, experiencing the light breeze of the wind, while hearing the rustling of the leaves as you traverse across the world map. Once you begin to explore Lumina, you not only fall in love with how the world is portrayed, but the music captivates you throughout the journey as well. I can’t decide if I love “Something About Roseate Thicket” more than I loved “The Thing We Have to Do to Fight Back”, all composed by Firmansyah R Wibowo. You can listen to the soundtrack here if you don’t believe me on how powerful and captivating the OST of the game sounds.
My Impressions
This game has matched my expectations on what a great puzzle Metroidvania should be. It compares to games such as both the Ori titles, Rain World, and similar simultaneous duo platforming such as Greak and Chronicles of 2 Heroes: Amaterasu’s Wrath. Faerie Afterlight has challenging platforming, lots of NPC side quests and definitely very interesting puzzles to solve, which makes this Metroidvania engaging for many hours of gameplay.
The game recently reached gold status and the expected release date is September 28, 2023, so keep an eye out by wishlisting it on Steam and following the developer’s official Twitter (X) account. Clay Game Studios did an outstanding job standing out from other Metroidvanias and it is definitely a game that I will be playing until completion upon its full release. Hopefully a physical release is in the cards if their digital release proves successful.
Faerie Afterlight Twitter: https://x.com/FAfterlightGame?s=20
Developer’s Twitter: https://x.com/claygamestudio?s=20