<Disclosure - This game was provided free for review purposes>

Aurelien Regard’s The Next Penelope is a futuristic reimaging of Homer’s Odyssey; old meets new in a stylish yet retro world of neon race strips and mechanical monsters.

Upon starting the game we are transported to Ithaca, Penelope’s home world. We soon learn that it is under siege by Poseidon who is seeking revenge for the death of his son at the hands of Odysseus, Penelope’s husband. After a brief tutorial, Penelope makes a deal with Poseidon to track down her love in exchange for sparing her kingdom, and the odyssey begins.

While the story shows promise, it quickly becomes little more than a quiet backdrop. Characters from Greek mythology such as the Minotaur or Arachne are introduced only to be killed off soon after. The conversations between Penelope and these characters also reveal very little about the plot and offer minimal insight into the characters themselves. While this is hardly essential in a title such as this, when employing such rich subject matter, it feels like somewhat of a wasted opportunity. The developer is to be commended for attempting to incorporate such lofty inspiration, and with more of the themes and characters crossing over into the gameplay this could have been an interesting tale, but sadly, what little story there is on offer is largely forgettable and likely to go over a lot of player’s heads.

The gameplay is split between racing sections, which will often include enemy pilots, and large-scale boss fights. The racing mechanics are very simplistic, your craft will accelerate on its own allowing you to concentrate on steering and attacking. This was the first thing that seemed odd to me – it felt as though a lot of the control I would normally have in a racer was taken away by not allowing me to control my own speed. Braking is another option which is alarmingly absent and makes drifting on courses without barricades incredibly frustrating – on these levels it becomes a matter of memorising when and where to drift as opposed testing your reflexes and steering. Additionally, I felt the tracks were zoomed in way too much, making each upcoming turn a gut-wrenching experience.

Racing against CPU opponents does however involve an element of strategy, as Penelope’s arsenal of weapons and upgrades will be essential to claiming first place. These power-ups include a laser beam, which can bounce of walls to hit foes, a grappling hook to clear debris and life-stealing mines to name a few. Smart use of weaponry really is the key to success, and failure is often the result of missing a shortcut, or recharge point. Energy will be required to use any of Penelope’s powers, but also doubles up as her health bar; this encourages ‘tactical’ use of powers and smart racing. The energy mechanic is sadly, far from perfect. Energy is all too hard to recover with too few recovery points on the tracks and too many necessary powers.

The boss battles are a mixed bag. Some of them test your racing abilities while throwing in obstacles or time limits; these are the most effective as they play off the mostly solid racing mechanics. However, a couple of the bosses are fought in enclosed arenas where the constant acceleration becomes your worst enemy. The inability to brake or even slow down makes it very hard to hit bosses and colliding head on with a wall will likely result in death as it is all too hard to turn around while your ship keeps bloody accelerating. These fights feel laboured as energy/health is too hard to recover; the result is a slow paced battle while you gradually claw back lost energy needed to attack the boss. These really are the lowest ebb of the game, which is a shame as they could have been an enjoyable challenge had the ship controls been altered to accommodate them. Thankfully, the final boss fight does just that and plays out as a side-scrolling shoot-em-up. This is exactly what the other bosses should have done – completely mixed up the gameplay rather than forcing the standard racing mechanics into an arena unsuited to them. This boss-fight is definitely one of the best parts of the game and it’s a shame the shmup sections didn’t feature as a bonus level.

Visually, TNP is a joy to look at. It takes the best of retro arcade design and blends it seamlessly with high-resolution backdrops and animations. The overall aesthetic is comparable to other 80’s arcade style games such as Pac-Man tournament edition which uses the neon glows and particles on darker backgrounds to great effect. Penelope, enemy racers and bosses are all very simplistic polygonal renders which would look right at home in a Star fox game. The characters within TNP are all represented in a pleasant animated style, which effectively apes a western, 80’s representation of Japanese art style. Some character designs are more striking than others, with Penelope herself being a clear standout. The soundtrack is also suitably 80’s in its influences, incorporating elements of techno, synthwave and dance into a bass-heavy, adrenaline fuelled sound which perfectly accompanies the art style while never being too obtrusive.

There is something very retro and charming about TNP, and its visuals and sound design are definitely some of its stronger assets. One fantastic feature in particular is the option to activate scanlines and a simulated arcade cabinet haze at any time by pressing (L3)/(F10). This highlights the game’s fantastic retro visuals and makes it feel like a genuine arcade experience. My one gripe is that after each death, this option seemed to reset and had to be turned back on -this quickly became a pain as I died a lot, which brings me neatly to my next point.

The Next Penelope is hard as ♥♥♥♥. Now this isn’t necessarily a criticism: I’m no stranger to old-school arcade games and am even partial to a bit of masochism, but TNP demands perfection. Slip up once or twice and you will fail, particularly on the Acheron stages where there are no barricades. But when you finally manage beat a level, it feels great. Like all good arcade games, the true appeal of the game shines when overcoming a challenge. While the difficulty may not always be particularly fair (some levels and bosses were just cruel), overall I feel that the challenge on offer is solid enough to please arcade fans and even offer some replay value when attempting to beat time trials and unlockable missions.
A bonus local co-op mode is included and plays a bit differently to the base game. Only one weapon is available and using it will place you immediately in critical condition. Additionally the camera will focus only on the player in first; fall too far behind and you’ll be wiped out. This mode is a nice little addition and offers some variation on the racing mechanics. What this game really needs however is an online mode. The single-player content, while fun, feels like a precursor to a greater challenge, which an online racing tournament would suit perfectly.

Overall, The Next Penelope was a pleasant surprise. It pays homage to its arcade roots both stylistically and in terms of difficulty while presenting a sleek, polished experience with a variety of game modes on offer. The challenge borders on unfair and made me angrier at a game then I’ve been in a long time, but the achievement of completion outweighs the frustration. While I would have preferred a more focused experience, this variety helps to highlight each of the mechanics while offering a unique and diverse slant on the racing genre. The boss battles are a definite low point and the game is thin on single-player content, but the retro aesthetics and (mostly) smooth controls are enough to make this Odyssey one voyage you’ll want to embark on. For the work of a single man, The Next Penelope is a truly impressive example of what indie games can offer to the industry.

[i]<Disclosure - This game was provided free for review purposes>[/i] Aurelien Regard’s The Next Penelope is a futuristic reimaging of Homer’s Odyssey; old meets new in a stylish yet retro world of neon race strips and mechanical monsters. Upon starting the game we are transported to Ithaca, Penelope’s home world. We soon learn that it is under siege by Poseidon who is seeking revenge for the death of his son at the hands of Odysseus, Penelope’s husband. After a brief tutorial, Penelope makes a deal with Poseidon to track down her love in exchange for sparing her kingdom, and the odyssey begins. While the story shows promise, it quickly becomes little more than a quiet backdrop. Characters from Greek mythology such as the Minotaur or Arachne are introduced only to be killed off soon after. The conversations between Penelope and these characters also reveal very little about the plot and offer minimal insight into the characters themselves. While this is hardly essential in a title such as this, when employing such rich subject matter, it feels like somewhat of a wasted opportunity. The developer is to be commended for attempting to incorporate such lofty inspiration, and with more of the themes and characters crossing over into the gameplay this could have been an interesting tale, but sadly, what little story there is on offer is largely forgettable and likely to go over a lot of player’s heads. The gameplay is split between racing sections, which will often include enemy pilots, and large-scale boss fights. The racing mechanics are very simplistic, your craft will accelerate on its own allowing you to concentrate on steering and attacking. This was the first thing that seemed odd to me – it felt as though a lot of the control I would normally have in a racer was taken away by not allowing me to control my own speed. Braking is another option which is alarmingly absent and makes drifting on courses without barricades incredibly frustrating – on these levels it becomes a matter of memorising when and where to drift as opposed testing your reflexes and steering. Additionally, I felt the tracks were zoomed in way too much, making each upcoming turn a gut-wrenching experience. Racing against CPU opponents does however involve an element of strategy, as Penelope’s arsenal of weapons and upgrades will be essential to claiming first place. These power-ups include a laser beam, which can bounce of walls to hit foes, a grappling hook to clear debris and life-stealing mines to name a few. Smart use of weaponry really is the key to success, and failure is often the result of missing a shortcut, or recharge point. Energy will be required to use any of Penelope’s powers, but also doubles up as her health bar; this encourages ‘tactical’ use of powers and smart racing. The energy mechanic is sadly, far from perfect. Energy is all too hard to recover with too few recovery points on the tracks and too many necessary powers. The boss battles are a mixed bag. Some of them test your racing abilities while throwing in obstacles or time limits; these are the most effective as they play off the mostly solid racing mechanics. However, a couple of the bosses are fought in enclosed arenas where the constant acceleration becomes your worst enemy. The inability to brake or even slow down makes it very hard to hit bosses and colliding head on with a wall will likely result in death as it is all too hard to turn around while your ship keeps bloody accelerating. These fights feel laboured as energy/health is too hard to recover; the result is a slow paced battle while you gradually claw back lost energy needed to attack the boss. These really are the lowest ebb of the game, which is a shame as they could have been an enjoyable challenge had the ship controls been altered to accommodate them. Thankfully, the final boss fight does just that and plays out as a side-scrolling shoot-em-up. This is exactly what the other bosses should have done – completely mixed up the gameplay rather than forcing the standard racing mechanics into an arena unsuited to them. This boss-fight is definitely one of the best parts of the game and it’s a shame the shmup sections didn’t feature as a bonus level. Visually, TNP is a joy to look at. It takes the best of retro arcade design and blends it seamlessly with high-resolution backdrops and animations. The overall aesthetic is comparable to other 80’s arcade style games such as Pac-Man tournament edition which uses the neon glows and particles on darker backgrounds to great effect. Penelope, enemy racers and bosses are all very simplistic polygonal renders which would look right at home in a Star fox game. The characters within TNP are all represented in a pleasant animated style, which effectively apes a western, 80’s representation of Japanese art style. Some character designs are more striking than others, with Penelope herself being a clear standout. The soundtrack is also suitably 80’s in its influences, incorporating elements of techno, synthwave and dance into a bass-heavy, adrenaline fuelled sound which perfectly accompanies the art style while never being too obtrusive. There is something very retro and charming about TNP, and its visuals and sound design are definitely some of its stronger assets. One fantastic feature in particular is the option to activate scanlines and a simulated arcade cabinet haze at any time by pressing (L3)/(F10). This highlights the game’s fantastic retro visuals and makes it feel like a genuine arcade experience. My one gripe is that after each death, this option seemed to reset and had to be turned back on -this quickly became a pain as I died a lot, which brings me neatly to my next point. The Next Penelope is hard as shit. Now this isn’t necessarily a criticism: I’m no stranger to old-school arcade games and am even partial to a bit of masochism, but TNP demands perfection. Slip up once or twice and you will fail, particularly on the Acheron stages where there are no barricades. But when you finally manage beat a level, it feels great. Like all good arcade games, the true appeal of the game shines when overcoming a challenge. While the difficulty may not always be particularly fair (some levels and bosses were just cruel), overall I feel that the challenge on offer is solid enough to please arcade fans and even offer some replay value when attempting to beat time trials and unlockable missions. A bonus local co-op mode is included and plays a bit differently to the base game. Only one weapon is available and using it will place you immediately in critical condition. Additionally the camera will focus only on the player in first; fall too far behind and you’ll be wiped out. This mode is a nice little addition and offers some variation on the racing mechanics. What this game really needs however is an online mode. The single-player content, while fun, feels like a precursor to a greater challenge, which an online racing tournament would suit perfectly. Overall, The Next Penelope was a pleasant surprise. It pays homage to its arcade roots both stylistically and in terms of difficulty while presenting a sleek, polished experience with a variety of game modes on offer. The challenge borders on unfair and made me angrier at a game then I’ve been in a long time, but the achievement of completion outweighs the frustration. While I would have preferred a more focused experience, this variety helps to highlight each of the mechanics while offering a unique and diverse slant on the racing genre. The boss battles are a definite low point and the game is thin on single-player content, but the retro aesthetics and (mostly) smooth controls are enough to make this Odyssey one voyage you’ll want to embark on. For the work of a single man, The Next Penelope is a truly impressive example of what indie games can offer to the industry. [h1]7/10[/h1]