Archvale (2021)

This game has great potential, its music and artstyle is great. I got into this game with the mindset that it's just another "Enter The Gungeon" wannabe. And I was wrong. But there are a couple kinks, like if you want to change the difficulty of the game or play local co-op instead of solo (or the other way around), you have to make an ENTIRELY new save slot just to do so. So no changing difficulty on the fly or any of that.

The main thing that got me to put down the game are the difficulty spikes. Not even half-way through the game you are hit with a massive road-block with enemies swarming you like flies and killing you in like 2 hits, and I'm playing on Normal mode mind you, or maybe I'm just bad at the game. Also the puzzle's are pretty lame. I appreciate that this game has Local Co-Op, but it's only Locally. So if you want to play this game with someone online, you can't, unless you use an application like Parsec or Steam remote play together.

I am not saying that this game is bad, but it's just slightly flawed. If you are a sucker for bullet hells or you just want a game you want to play with a buddy (IRL), this is the game for you. But personally, this game isn't for me.

Archvale is what it says on the tin -- a bullet hell RPG. Basically, take some twin stick gameplay like Enter the Gungeon or Nuclear Throne and wrap it in 2D Zelda-esque room exploration, and that's your game.

The combat is solid. Enemy attack patterns are hectic but rarely feel unfair. There's enough variety in the weapons and build options -- achieved through weapon, armor, and Paper Mario style badge system -- to keep you entertained for the 10 hour runtime. I wasn't a fan of the badge shrines that required you to dodge increasingly difficult bullet patterns without getting hit. The ones late in the game are fairly difficult, but not required, so I just skipped them. I also didn't care much for the platforming portions in the dungeons, since the dodge feels just a bit finnicky on a controller, but they weren't so prevalent to really bother me.

I think the game missed the mark a bit in terms of exploration. You're free to go to zones out of order, which made for some really fun runs of trying to survive long enough to get to a later game town and unlock powerful equipment early. Unfortunately, there's not much in the way of interaction with the environments. There are no hidden areas to look for or puzzles in the dungeons or even bits of lore scattered about, so you just kinda go from screen to screen killing (and very occasionally platforming).

The pixel art and music are well enough done, though nothing was particularly memorable.

All in all, Archvale was an experience I was happy enough to have. I probably won't remember much about it in a year, but it was an enjoyable enough 10 hours.