Is this game a masterpiece? Not sure yet, but it is one of the finest Commodore C-64 (or NES) inspired games I have played in a long time. Everything here oozes quality 8-bit game - the graphic, the sound... but maybe not the design. It is actually very playable, at least in the lower (of 2) difficulty settings. You don't die every 3 seconds, like in the also recently released Beholgar, and the game offers considerably more than just platforming and hack 'n slay. It is more like a metroidvania in 8-bit, with many at first inaccessible locations, an auto-map, NPCs to talk to, magic spells to learn, potions to drink, a journal with your open quests (yes, there is more to do than just "save the land"), weapons and armor to equip, skills to learn, power/health/mana stats to upgrade. In the main menu you can read a Demonology book with pictures of all types of monsters you encountered so far (and how many you already killed). During some fights, NPCs fight side by side with you, quite immersive. There is a day/night cycle with different monsters, monsters get pushed back when you hit them (and don't simply overrun you while you hit them multiple times - I look at you, Beholgar!). Everything is quite simple and presented like on the C-64 (or NES, or Master System if you insist) - there are no long stats and texts, only a few spells, NPCs mostly just have a sentence or two to say and monsters just run along their (programmed) path. Ok, some attack you when they notice you. Monsters respawn when you re-enter a location, so you can kill them again for XP and gold. There are often decisions to make - and they lead to different, drastic outcomes. Often unexpected.

The core gameplay is a classic 2D action game - walk, duck, jump and kill every enemy with your mace (or other weapon/spell), but the presentation is interesting and the controls are tight. When you leave a location the screen takes a second to refresh - I am sure they could have switched instantly, but this is just like in the old days. And it gives you time to take a sip of your coke. Despite all the bells and whistles around, and the lower difficulty compared to many of the old classic games, the game is still not easy. Monsters kill you, when you fall into water or lava you die, traps squash you. The game can be saved in shrines (which also heal you and replenish your mana), but it will cost you XP and gold to reload. Death is always only a step away if you are not careful. Technically it looks and sounds like an 8-bit game, but of course I do play on 4K with VSYNC enabled and with my wireless XBox controller. And there are no loading times nor do I have to switch floppy discs.

Conclusion:
Retro styled gaming at its finest for today's audience. It just gives you the impression that you play an old classic, but in reality you play a modern, highly playable 2D sidescrolling hack 'n slay/platformer.

[table][th] Review by [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34633003-Gaming-Masterpieces/lists/] Gaming Masterpieces [/url] - The greatest games of all time on Steam. [/th][/table] Is this game a masterpiece? Not sure yet, but it is one of the finest Commodore C-64 (or NES) inspired games I have played in a long time. Everything here oozes quality 8-bit game - the graphic, the sound... but maybe not the design. It is actually very playable, at least in the lower (of 2) difficulty settings. You don't die every 3 seconds, like in the also recently released Beholgar, and the game offers considerably more than just platforming and hack 'n slay. It is more like a metroidvania in 8-bit, with many at first inaccessible locations, an auto-map, NPCs to talk to, magic spells to learn, potions to drink, a journal with your open quests (yes, there is more to do than just "save the land"), weapons and armor to equip, skills to learn, power/health/mana stats to upgrade. In the main menu you can read a Demonology book with pictures of all types of monsters you encountered so far (and how many you already killed). During some fights, NPCs fight side by side with you, quite immersive. There is a day/night cycle with different monsters, monsters get pushed back when you hit them (and don't simply overrun you while you hit them multiple times - I look at you, Beholgar!). Everything is quite simple and presented like on the C-64 (or NES, or Master System if you insist) - there are no long stats and texts, only a few spells, NPCs mostly just have a sentence or two to say and monsters just run along their (programmed) path. Ok, some attack you when they notice you. Monsters respawn when you re-enter a location, so you can kill them again for XP and gold. There are often decisions to make - and they lead to different, drastic outcomes. Often unexpected. The core gameplay is a classic 2D action game - walk, duck, jump and kill every enemy with your mace (or other weapon/spell), but the presentation is interesting and the controls are tight. When you leave a location the screen takes a second to refresh - I am sure they could have switched instantly, but this is just like in the old days. And it gives you time to take a sip of your coke. Despite all the bells and whistles around, and the lower difficulty compared to many of the old classic games, the game is still not easy. Monsters kill you, when you fall into water or lava you die, traps squash you. The game can be saved in shrines (which also heal you and replenish your mana), but it will cost you XP and gold to reload. Death is always only a step away if you are not careful. Technically it looks and sounds like an 8-bit game, but of course I do play on 4K with VSYNC enabled and with my wireless XBox controller. And there are no loading times nor do I have to switch floppy discs. [u][b] Conclusion:[/b][/u] Retro styled gaming at its finest for today's audience. It just gives you the impression that you play an old classic, but in reality you play a modern, highly playable 2D sidescrolling hack 'n slay/platformer.