Unruly Heroes Review
Played on Xbox One (base)
Developed by Magic Design Studios
Released 23rd January 2019
Despite Unruly Heroes being their debut title, Magic Design Studios aren't new to the development process of platformers as half the design team worked at Ubisoft to create Rayman Legends. With this pre-existing expertise, Magic Design had a strong headstart on creating a great, smoothly animated game.
Story
The story is simplistic, inspired by the Chinese novel "Journey to the West". This lighthearted adventure follows 4 interchangeable characters; Sanzang the wise, Wukong the monkey, Kihong the pig and Sandmonk the brute and they're tasked with recovering a sacred scroll that was ripped and scattered across the land. As I progressed, I happened to lack the intrigue for the ongoing plot, as it's a plain narrative, told countless times - heroes go save something to prevent darkness and chaos. As a result, the journey felt lacklustre and unrewarding as it failed to motivate me to the very end.
Gameplay
The gameplay could of had more depth. On the surface, the game is enjoyable as you narrowly dodge spikes on a wall and land a multi-hit attack. Each character that you can swap between has near-equal traversal opportunities as they double jump or glide while having varying combat benefits. For example, Wukong has better aerial combat compatibility while Sanzang offers a greater range to strike from. In addition to this, there would be platformer-style puzzles that require one of the characters to progress. For example, Kihong would be needed to make his own statue float, while Sandmonk is required to break down walls. Thankfully, the characters are unique enough to offer some tactical thought on who to play in the current situation, however, it never felt like enough. There wasn't a single moment where I found myself desperately needing to switch between characters unless the progress blocked it. The main reason I even switched between the four heroes was to entertain myself with some differentiation in gameplay, but even then it wasn't enough.
The level design is something that I'd have to greatly praise as it felt fluid and dynamic, and had a clear presentation of the main path, all while delivering secret areas that didn't feel too hidden but weren't too obvious to discover. Additionally, the mix of platforming and puzzles were integrated incredibly well with every puzzle feeling like an accomplishment, while every jump and dash felt fast yet occasionally unresponsive. However, there were moments that made the game quite a sour experience, more specifically, the unregistered inputs I was getting and how brutal the hitboxes felt.
Finally, every level would be part of a specific world, from the talon-infested Skull Canyon to the mystical Underworld, each one offering a new innovative mechanic. I enjoyed each of these mechanics, some more than others, but the biggest problem I had with them is how undeveloped they end up feeling. For some reason these mechanics would be completely scrapped and would never be used again after each world, undermining your mastery of them. From possessing inanimate enemies to the bungee jumping orb, there was no need to replace them with either a similar mechanic or an underused one.
Bossfights
The boss fights are creative in design but not in gameplay. Each boss feels unique and gives off a certain menacing aura when fighting them, especially the three-phase bosses at the end of each world. However, when you actually do the fighting, they feel repetitive. The bosses you come across, have a dashable area of effect attack, and a concentrated direct attack. This is the case for every encounter except the end-of-world bosses who have one extra, underused yet creative attack. The designs of each foe are cool and resonate with their world, and the sound effects are on point, but it's just their gameplay that needs the tinkering.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere is a mix. The design of the levels (though repetitive) look pleasant and artistic. The backgrounds complement the level's imagery, all while the sound effects are average. The soundtracks at times felt like either there was too much or too little, all while sounding like a generic tune used for mythological adventures of this calibre. While it wasn't bad, it wasn't satisfying either.
Story- 5/10
Gameplay- 7/10
Bossfights- 7/10
Atmosphere- 6.5/10
Mediocre
While I went in expecting a great game and left feeling slightly disappointed, there is no doubt that Magic Design will exponentially increase their quality within their next few projects.
