A link to the past

I am very happy with that Animal well It caught the attention of the gaming press and gamers more broadly. It’s a great game and deserves to be a huge hit. It’s also the type of game that is often completely overlooked. And if you don’t believe me, you should definitely buy and play right away Master key.

Let’s be clear: they are completely different games. Animal well he Metroid-Like Minhaj, while Master key It is 2D Zelda-Like an RPG, but both are surprisingly good games, made by an individual, and carry out their tasks perfectly in a very friendly and interesting way. One gets lucky, the other doesn’t. Let’s start changing that.

Buried treasure

Buried treasure It is a site that searches for excellent, little-known games that are not noticed anywhere else. You can support the project Via his Patreon.

Master key It is 2D Zelda Distilled form to its purest form. It’s a monochrome RPG in which you play as a cute fox, exploring an ever-growing area while gaining new abilities that allow you to access new areas. The map starts out covered in clouds, and each section is revealed as you reach it, until you discover various biomes, temples, dungeons, and boss battles. And despite being “monochrome” (it defaults to black and white, with options in the settings to choose your own dual color scheme), it’s beautifully detailed, with a large number of distinct enemy types, and great animations, each of which fights differently. With an increasingly interesting range of attacks.

So, yes, this is clinically interpreted to offer all the right ingredients. What is much more important is how well it is done. Master key It’s so beautifully designed, it’s a constant feed of new abilities that open up new areas, letting you always feel as if you’re progressing. When you reach a point where you’re stuck, the world map (which I’m pretty sure is just a living game running on a smaller scale) will flash up the area you should explore further. You’ll inevitably find the passage you missed, the secret entrance that points to you, or the NPC with the item you need. And then there’s that dopamine rush when you realize you now have a whole other set of the game to explore.

There is no speech in the game, instead other characters communicate in simple explanatory speech bubbles. However, everyone feels special. When the game isn’t focusing on me, I find I’m filling out the narrative myself, imagining this little fox’s motivations. Everything is adorable.

It is also full of secrets, mysteries and surprises. There are some pretty in-depth puzzles, and some dungeons offer custom challenges that require a fair amount of head-scratching. At some points, you’ll see rocks with strange patterns on them, and you’ll start writing them down in case they come in handy later. (Spoiler: They will.) Every area seems like it’s hiding something extra, which always makes it worth revisiting areas you haven’t seen in a while in case your new skill set now gives you access to a previously irrelevant platform, or Reveals a whole new dungeon.

The abilities are those that any sane person would desire. So yes, there’s a great hook shot for satisfyingly jumping across gaps, and of course the boomerang for jabbing distant enemies, along with a bunch of other things that don’t get discovered until later. Thorough exploration is always rewarded with more bonus items that will unlock more health and non-vital but cool abilities and piles of cool cash. So the new ability represents a new opportunity to collect more of that ability as well.

Now, I’ve commented correctly several times, and I’m not alone. But there’s already a small but lovely community on Steam Swap Tips, and a thread dedicated to those at the end of the game who share their discoveries of the game’s deepest secrets. I was definitely there, looking for payment, and at one point was outright begging for proof. (Unfortunately, the game hasn’t received any guides or walkthroughs on YouTube yet, but hopefully if we all shout loudly enough about it, people will get more involved.)

This deserves to be a huge success for developer Achromi, and it’s not the eternal story of frustration with poor regulation on Steam. (I have to admit, I feel a little cheesy when I see more successful indie companies desperately talking about this on Twitter, rather than directing their large followings toward supporting projects like Buried treasure And many other things.)

It’s ridiculously cheap for a game of this size and complexity, and will keep you entertained for many hours. If you, like me, wish Nintendo would make another product A link to the pastThis is a must. He completely understands the mission, and then he delivers, delivers, delivers.

The master key is now available for steam And Converts.

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