NOTE: This review is based on my experience playing this game on the OUYA.
Ignis Mortis
^ from: friv-games.com - This is the opening screen to "Ignis Mortis."
Ignis Mortis has you traversing a huge 2D world. With no real storyline, you are basically out and about killing off monsters across a number of environments. The ultimate goal is to be able to enter the boss' lair and kill him. Ignis Mortis was created by a developer who goes by the handle of LordHannu.
Characters.
If you are to become a champion in this game, you will need to go around this massive land and kill off monsters. Doing so means you must use one of these three:• Knight: deals 1 unit of damage and has 10 units of health. Main weapon is a sword.
• Berserker: deals 2 units of damage and has 5 units of health. Main weapon is an axe.
• Archer: deals 4 units of damage and has 2 units of health. Main weapons are a bow and arrow.
If you ask me, I recommend you use the archer. Since all or almost all of the enemies are close-quarters enemies, having the advantage of attacking from distance is handy with the Archer. Just remember that the Archer has the fewest health points. So make sure you don't get into any kind of jam with enemies on both sides.
The World.
You start off in this rather serene and quiet setting. Once you go further, you will be in forests, a desert-like setting, and you will even delve into what seems like a volcano. You can access the map at any time to plan where it is you want to go. You probably will not get lost too often. However, I will stress that it can be repetitive trying to keep going back and forth to find different ways to access certain locations. This game will surely keep you busy since the world in this game is so large. While going back a lot is a typical element of most Metroidvania games, it can be frustrating playing Ignis Mortis.The Items.
To enter the final lair, you must find six items. Those six items are three different boots and three different swords. The boots you find will allow you to walk on certain surfaces without taking damage or dying. There are three swords. From my playing, all the swords do is increase the attack power of your character. No magic or anything is given to you.As you kill monsters, you will be collecting coins. From my playing, the coins are only good for having your health restored by a certain entity in the world. It is the ONLY way to have your health restored as well as gain back any lost lives you may have previously lost playing the game.
There are small white flags with the letter "C" on them. Touch these, as they will be respawn points should you die. The last one you activate will be where you will respawn.
The Monsters.
You will face four different kinds of monsters. Here is a description of each:• The most common enemies are these zombie-like creatures. They can climb hills and attack furiously if you get too close.
• There are these red creatures that somehow are suicidal in wanting to soak you in their blood.
• Another monster is a green monster that swings punches at you. These are the strongest monsters that require several hits to take down.
• There is a monster that scoots along the ground using its arms for movement. When killed, this one leaves behind a lot of coins. A couple of hits will defeat this creature.
These are among the various other hazards in this game.
Game Hints.
Now let's delve into some of the nuances of this title. Here are some hints of mine...• The first thing I want to warn you is that the game's heads-up display (HUD) can be confusing. You have three lives, represented with three hearts. The real health meter is in the center. When you see your icon with blood or are withering, you know you are dying. When all three hearts are lost, the game is over, and you must start from the beginning.
• If you are not sure what item to get first, try getting the green boots first because a lot of the world has these green slime pools. You can jump over most of them, but the green boots are the ones I think you should get first.
• Since the enemies don't have any kind of long-distance attacks, it is best to use the archer to be able to attack from a distance. Just remember that the archer has the fewest health points of the three characters.
• You will not die if you are around water blocks. You do, however, need water boots to access one of the three swords in the game.
• Check your map OFTEN. You can (and will) get lost trying to plan where you want to go. Do not be surprised if you find yourself visiting some of the same places again just trying to find a way around.
Now for some final thoughts on this game.
Final Thoughts.
Ignis Mortis is really a game that could have been much better. Too many bugs and glitches really prevent this from being a stellar indie game. The graphical detail looks horrible. Someone noted on a website that the atmosphere in Ignis Mortis and the graphics don't exactly blend well. And to an extent, I agree. While the world is a massive one, the game just feels like it could have been much more. At one point, I was able to get to the edge of one map and ended up going into this area where I was falling forever. More monsters and more items would have made the game better. For instance, having some kind of item to help you heal after taking damage would be nice. The game would probably benefit from a Save system considering how lengthy this game can be. If it were possible, either the ability to double jump or jump higher would be great to try to access some parts of some maps. But maybe the biggest flaw of this game is...Ignis Mortis is BROKEN.
One aspect of the game that frustrated me from my playing was that you can not access the Green Sword no matter how much you try. Without having all of the items on the map, you can't enter the boss' lair situated at the bottom of the World Map. There were two ways I tried to reach that elusive Green Sword, neither worked. So Ignis Mortis is broken. And again- it could have been much more. Better gameplay mechanics, better graphics, better performance (it can be sluggish and slow), perhaps more items, perhaps more diversity in monsters, and a lot of less frustrating elements would have made "Ignis Mortis" a better game than it really is. The game is still fairly good as a more-than-decent platformer. But compared to other Metroidvania-type games, this game is mediocre and above average at best.
And if you're wondering why I reviewed the OUYA version of Ignis Mortis, it is because the game plays best on the OUYA. The browser version of this game is slow and sluggish. It probably should only be made for the OUYA because that version is the best-performing version of the game.
For More Information...
I often try to feature a video of a game after offering thoughts on it. So look at the following video to see the game I just reviewed:^ (Russian Text) // Ignis Mortis
You can play this game online and even download it for the OUYA (which this review is based on).
• Ignis Mortis on Newgrounds
• Ignis Mortis (OUYA)
So there you have my thoughts on "Ignis Mortis."
I'm glad you were able to drop by to see my blog and its posts. Subscribe and Follow if you enjoyed my work and want to see more of my posts when they become available. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment