Magenta Horizon

released on Oct 17, 2021

Magenta Horizon is a fast-paced 2D action platformer game that is heavily inspired by the Spectacle Fighter genre. Playing as a Reaper of the twisted purgatorial afterlife, push your skills to the limit to destroy the hordes of demons and epic bosses to reach your destination.


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Magenta Horizon is one of my favorite action games, perhaps even the most fun I’ve had in the genre. It’s a whirlwind of chaos and skill that is incredible to master.
Music that goes hard, wonderfully weird aesthetics, an expertly designed move set, a dizzying cast of delightfully devilish enemies, interesting stages + world, and a maniacal ceiling for challenge… this game is just packed with things to love.

Magenta Horizon is the full power of an action-game fiend, blasted at you without restraint. Each enemy type is cleverly designed to present you with a threat that deserves your attention… have fun dealing with an entire arena of them at the same time. There is a truly staggering number of monsters in this game, and they’re eager to gang up on you with their impressive diversity and powerful synergies.

Each arena is an incredibly crafted challenge. You aren’t only facing a purposeful onslaught of great enemies, often the arena layout itself is ready to join the fight against you. There’s a great sense of variety as you encounter various line-ups of enemies, strange environmental hazards, and interesting gimmicks. Especially amusing is the occasional flagrant disregard of occupancy limits… arenas that cram these enemies into a painfully tight space.

Gretel’s powerful moveset is what allows the game to have these mad challenges. She has a wide array of fantastic feeling moves that flow into each other as a non-stop stream of violence. Over the course of the game, you’ll unlock 8 (!) awesome magical spells that each provide a powerful ability… which also can synergize with each other to create awesome crowd devasting effects. Finally, Magenta Horizon has the greatest healing mechanic in all of video games. The glorious healing bomb promotes aggression so well that it puts things like DOOM’s glory kills to shame.

Speaking of aggression, this game has excellent bosses. None of the nonsense common to games where it feels like you and the boss are taking turns. Instead, both of you are wildly and relentlessly aggressive.

Magenta Horizon also has one of the best hard modes. Reaper difficulty is a beautiful force to be reckoned with, it cranks the wonderful challenge to a whole new level… here the enemy and arena design truly shine. It feels awesome to overcome these gauntlets which all prompt a “are you serious” reaction from me.

Finally, I must point out that Act 2 absolutely rules. This review applies to act 1, which you can check out for free… somehow Act 2 is even better. The levels are much more interesting to navigate, the musical style is even more developed, the necklace system starts to offer interesting decisions and build choices and of course the enemies are simply evil.

had a blast with this. what it perhaps lacks in presentational polish, it more than makes up for with rough-hewn charm and what i think might just be the deepest, most satisfying combat i've ever encountered in a 2d platformer. sincerely implore people to try this one out, the demo is free so there's no excuse to sleep on it. really looking forward to the full release!

HOLY SHIT YOU CAN FIGHT V1 IN THIS GAME

Review written after around 40 hours, SSS ranked all levels of the Act 1 demo.

Magenta Horizon enemy roster is extremely well thought out. They are aggressive, come in high numbers and they all feel like pieces of a greater whole. What Magenta does well is that it doesn’t forget that enemies are not good just in a vacuum but work better in the interplay between each other. Enemy compositions are always engaging and make each of the chess pieces shine. They control space in different ways, hit you with projectiles or obstruct movement by sheer size alone. They also come in combinations that bolsters each other covering up weaknesses.
Big bats are easy to stagger but shoot out projectile even after you bring them to the ground, small fodder enemies come in high numbers and and can easily overwhelm you on the ground, Lobsters physically block you impeding your mobility, ranged enemies need to be dealt with fasts and high tier enemies work well both on the ground and on the air, can create hazard or support each others.The game builds on this more and more with arenas becoming way more dense of enemies, creating a system that is both chaotic and intentional, forcing you to adapt, make split second decisions and constantly re-evaluate target prioritization.
The enemy that most exemplifies this is the Propeller Demon, a small helicopter that damages and staggers you if you come in contact with its propeller blade. Alone they are easily dealt with by attacking them from below. However in combination with other enemies they become a priority as they control air space forcing you to rethink the way you move and position yourself.

The focus on enemy design doesn’t mean the player’s kit is lacking. Gretel has a lot of different moves both in the air and on the ground; strings aren’t long, instead you have different attacks that all feel distinct, useful and flow into each other seamlessly. The option while on the air especially shines through, inspired by Hollow Knight, you can pogo enemies to stay in the air but Magenta also adds two more options that open up aerial play even more. The diagonal dive builds on the pogo by having similar properties and opening up both more mobility and more approach options. The hook, instead, doubles as both an offensive and defensive tool pulling you towards enemies and letting you pass through some of them creating yet another approach option. While the lack of a movelist can be frustrating it also makes discovering new moves more organic and interesting, it will most likely be patched in later tho.

A sub weapon system supports the melee, each with their own meters that recharge by hitting enemies. In act 1 there are four of them, a simple projectile, a grenade, a spike attack and a propeller blades that work similar to a boomerang.
They also work in combination: hit a grenade with a projectile and it will create a bigger AOE explosion staggering enemies in his path, skewer the propeller blade with a well timed spike and it will spin in place dealing heavy damage all around.

As a way to customize your playstyle you also have necklaces pieces you can equip in the style of Hollow Knight that modify your moves, give you more offensive and defensive options, make moves behave differently depending on the combo counter and so on.
The slots are limited but the low number of options at the moment don’t create meaningful choices, but this will most likely change as the game gets updated.

This offensive option is also supplemented by an incredibly smart healing system, instead of using consumable items, by hitting enemies you increase a meter that gives you up to 3 charges of a healing grenade. Toss it to an enemy and for a time any damage you do to it will spawn healing orbs. Obviously this promotes aggressive play and makes it so you always need to take a risk if you want to replenish your health, but the true beauty of the system comes from the more offensive application . Equip a specific necklace piece and healing bomb will start to deal heavy stagger to enemies,you can now using it proactively taking a risk by spending a charge when you don’t need to heal , stopping a group of enemies charging at you, creating space in a chaotic situation or setting up for a combo

The same thought and care is put on the defensive options you have at your disposal together with the aforementioned pogo, dive and hook you also have an iframe dash. Dodging itself can’t be done without thought, larger or blocking enemies can’t be dodge through, once again controlling space in an interesting way.
The breadth of options means that any single one is never over centralized even more so thanks to the importance of correct positioning. Where and when you position yourself is paramount both for avoiding and punishing enemies. Harder enemies are designed with this in mind having attacks dependent on your position in relation to them that can’t be dodged on reaction alone.

This is even more apparent during boss fights.
All of the fights are engaging and fun to fight, testing you in different ways and most of the time having to split your attention to different targets playing to the system strengths.
Bulcher the train, mascot of the game, is a favorite of mine, having you continuously rethink your approach as you jump over him, avoid his charges and position yourself fishing specific attacks, all in a split seconds situation all the while dealing with propeller blades that control aerial space. Reminiscent of classic Monster Hunter is a robust system that sees the boss stagger once a secondary bar is depleted, timing your attack correctly will even make you stop a charging train.
Of the entire boss roster only one of them feels on the more mediocre side, mainly ‘cause it’s easily dealt with by just keeping in the air and doesn’t play in the controlled chaos as much as it could.

The arena design doesn’t disappoint either. Especially on the higher difficulties, Magenta plays with interesting ideas. Instead of simple carenas, you also have cramped spaces, environmental hazards and small platforms over spikes with aerial enemies forcing you to stay on the move. Bolstering the already incredible enemy design even more and creating always fresh situations.
These arenas together with the non combat areas are also fun to traverse. Levels are simple mazes that offer choices in how to route, together with cool optional fights and hidden items.
While the art direction is both unique and well made, the levels can be confusing to traverse at time, routing the level to obtain a better time rank is fun however so some frustration at first does increase the overall enjoyments on replays.

The ranking system frames the entire experience. Other than on time spent, it also ranks your style points and deaths. Interestingly damage taken is not ranked and this works twofold.
It makes it possible to keep enemy count and aggression high as taking damage becomes expected.
It makes going for high ranks not frustrating at all as minor mistakes don’t force you to reset each time, instead rewarding you for your mastery of the combat system and level. With the added bonus of not making, as many games do, the health and healing system obsolete when going for SSS.

If it isn’t clear enough I’m enamored with the game and the potential it has and I urge you to try it out . The demo is free on both Itch and Steam, and it’s rare to see such well designed passion project type of action games with such level of polish and design, especially from a solo developer. So download the demon, and go enjoy the controlled chaos of a dance in purple.

Played for ~60 hours, SSS rank on hardest available difficulty for all levels. Runs here.

Really, really solid piece of work, especially for a game with 2/3rds of its planned content still forthcoming. Considering the game is free, there is no reason not to try it if you're an action game fan.

Magenta Horizon holds a deep reverence for two of the most fundamental pillars of action games: positioning and dynamism. Hollow Knight's influence on the movement (and the game in general) is obvious, but the addition of a diagonal dive and a hook attack that pulls you through enemies makes things significantly more interesting than simply jumping and pogoing around. DMC-like strings with various useful properties also add much-needed nuance and agency to the ground combat. The tension between safety/mobility in the air and options/damage potential on the ground informs almost every decision you make, and you'll find yourself constantly evaluating which is better suited for the moment.

A varied and volatile enemy roster puts this into context, and each disrupts you in different ways with melee attacks, speed, projectiles, or sheer size. The small helicopters are a favorite of mine: their simple attacks aren't much threat, but their spinning propellers will hit you on contact, making aerial getaways from more oppressive enemies deceptively challenging. Arenas filling up with hordes of different foes, all acting independently, gives rise to the delightful controlled chaos that so many of the action game greats are known for. Bosses are also pleasantly dynamic, with varied attack patterns and a Souls/Monster Hunter-style stagger system to keep things fresh. Once you beat the middle difficulty, give the highest a shot, it's where the game truly shines. Each encounter is completely redone, with tough enemies from the last stage suddenly appearing in the very first. Some of the best and most creative fights are found here, as the dev starts to go wild with cramped arenas, oppressive environmental hazards, enemy spawning setups, and synergistic compositions.

Each of the subweapons in the game are distinct, and have multiple situationally useful properties rather than explicitly hard countering anything. Creating the spike in midair will slam you to the ground (invaluable for movement), and the boomerang can be aimed in different trajectories to deal general damage over a wide area or stagger fliers quickly. Some even combine with each other: for example, timing your spike to skewer a boomerang creates a stationary spinning blade that deals massive DPS to anything in reach. A la Alien Soldier, each weapon can be assigned to one or more of 8 possible slots, and each slot has its own meter. The frightening levels of lethality you can achieve by maximizing this brings combat to a blistering speed, especially in later stages where tough arenas reward clean speedkilling.

Artwork and music are both obvious standouts that anyone can appreciate, and lend the game a distinct character. Pinks and purples cover otherworldly vistas, and the enemy menagerie is both delightfully creative and a treat to watch in motion. The progressive metal soundtrack is also fantastic, one of the best in recent memory.

There are definitely still some kinks to be worked out. As a new player, especially one without high-level action game experience, the initial experience is extremely overwhelming with the amount of options and movement you have. Almost nothing can be canceled out of, which works great as a design decision but feels punishing early on. UI needs some polish, and can feel cheap and awkward to navigate. Early level design is both needlessly confusing to traverse (especially since there's no map) and doesn't stand out much in terms of creative fights. Luckily, both of these improve as you get further in. Bugs pop up every so often since the game's still in heavy development, but in my experience these rarely affected gameplay. You can report any you find to the dev and he'll usually fix it quickly. The necklace system (equippables with playstyle-altering buffs) simply doesn't have enough options yet to provide meaningful tradeoffs. The game is also a bit light on content currently, as expected, but what's there is high quality.

Overall, I'm extremely impressed at the level of achievement here so far, especially in the context of a solo dev project. I can't wait to see where the project goes next, I only see things getting better from here.

TLDR just go play it, it's free. https://maddison-baek.itch.io/magenta-horizon