Laika: Aged Through Blood left quite the impression on me in the first few hours. The biking mechanic put into the Metroidvania genre seemed to work so well, and was a joy to mess around with. The controls are pretty tight and responsive, and I am generally a fan of the difficulty of the game. I was also very impressed by the map, which conveys the paths you should follow quite clearly, unlike many other games I have played in the past. The art of the game is top-notch as well, and fits the atmosphere the game tries to portray neatly.
Sadly, Laika also has some unfortunate design choices that make the game feel much less like a Metroidvania than I initially thought. Normally, a well-designed Metroidvania allows you to roam freely through a world packed with secrets and lore, while occasionally blocking your way with an obstacle that you are not yet able to overcome. Once you have stumbled upon the right abilities or tools to traverse said obstacle, you can revisit the place at your own leasure. Every area you visit and everything you do should feel rewarding, which makes the Metroidvania so exciting to play. You're exploring a vast world, filled to the brim with interesting bits and pieces to put its history together.
However, Laika does not do this. The main story quest revolves around gathering items and talking to NPC's to advance, which makes the entire game feel like one giant fetchquest. Sidequests reward you with mostly useless crafting materials (not even currency), and the only thing you have to do in between gameplay segments is teleport from one place to the other to continue said quests. There are no secrets to uncover, only collectables to gather, which makes the entire game feel bland outside of biking around and doing flips to reload your ammo. And apart from the occasional inventory description or background art, I could barely discern any significant lore about the world from regular filler content.
Now, this would not be a big problem if the main NPC-driven quest was unique and interesting to follow, but I found this to be quite the opposite as well. For a game about heavy topics, which are actually warned about in the opening screen, the story is quite devoid of build-up and emotion in my opinion. Connecting to characters is difficult because of cringy one-liners (characters saying "Hilarious!", "Fuck.", and "Wanker" after every single line of dialogue), and the conversations you have rarely deviate from the main topic of "killing the birds" and the curse your family has been saddled with. You spend no quality time or meaningful moments with NPC's at all, not even your daughter Puppy, leaving out the possibility of connecting to a character like you would to a friend or family member.
But not only the story and main quest were disappointing to me in the end. For one, returning to parts of the world I had already completed felt utterly empty and uninteresting due to long flat roads and same-y enemy designs and positioning. Additionally, the crafting system is way overblown and requires you to revisit places multiple times to gather ingredients and currency. In total, you need about 25 to 30 thousand viscera (the "money" of the game) to buy every item and upgrade, half of which are useless compared to your starting revolver, which somehow has better accuracy than the sniper rifle does.
On top of that - and this is my personal opinion - the ost with lyrics are unbearable. I actually rather turned the music off than keep it on. It felt like such a waste, because the ost outside of the lyrical songs fit the game perfectly fine. Please videogame developers, don't put lyrics into your OST unless it means something.
I find it such a shame that an entirely unique concept with fun mechanics are overshadowed by poor decisions on the design of this game. I would have loved if Laika chose to hold close to the Metroidvania genre by making the world feel mysterious and worthwile to explore, but sadly I cannot say that it accomplished this. I had an okay time with this game in the end, mainly through satisfying motorcycle gameplay you would find in a 2000 or so line-rider game.
Sadly, Laika also has some unfortunate design choices that make the game feel much less like a Metroidvania than I initially thought. Normally, a well-designed Metroidvania allows you to roam freely through a world packed with secrets and lore, while occasionally blocking your way with an obstacle that you are not yet able to overcome. Once you have stumbled upon the right abilities or tools to traverse said obstacle, you can revisit the place at your own leasure. Every area you visit and everything you do should feel rewarding, which makes the Metroidvania so exciting to play. You're exploring a vast world, filled to the brim with interesting bits and pieces to put its history together.
However, Laika does not do this. The main story quest revolves around gathering items and talking to NPC's to advance, which makes the entire game feel like one giant fetchquest. Sidequests reward you with mostly useless crafting materials (not even currency), and the only thing you have to do in between gameplay segments is teleport from one place to the other to continue said quests. There are no secrets to uncover, only collectables to gather, which makes the entire game feel bland outside of biking around and doing flips to reload your ammo. And apart from the occasional inventory description or background art, I could barely discern any significant lore about the world from regular filler content.
Now, this would not be a big problem if the main NPC-driven quest was unique and interesting to follow, but I found this to be quite the opposite as well. For a game about heavy topics, which are actually warned about in the opening screen, the story is quite devoid of build-up and emotion in my opinion. Connecting to characters is difficult because of cringy one-liners (characters saying "Hilarious!", "Fuck.", and "Wanker" after every single line of dialogue), and the conversations you have rarely deviate from the main topic of "killing the birds" and the curse your family has been saddled with. You spend no quality time or meaningful moments with NPC's at all, not even your daughter Puppy, leaving out the possibility of connecting to a character like you would to a friend or family member.
But not only the story and main quest were disappointing to me in the end. For one, returning to parts of the world I had already completed felt utterly empty and uninteresting due to long flat roads and same-y enemy designs and positioning. Additionally, the crafting system is way overblown and requires you to revisit places multiple times to gather ingredients and currency. In total, you need about 25 to 30 thousand viscera (the "money" of the game) to buy every item and upgrade, half of which are useless compared to your starting revolver, which somehow has better accuracy than the sniper rifle does.
On top of that - and this is my personal opinion - the ost with lyrics are unbearable. I actually rather turned the music off than keep it on. It felt like such a waste, because the ost outside of the lyrical songs fit the game perfectly fine. Please videogame developers, don't put lyrics into your OST unless it means something.
I find it such a shame that an entirely unique concept with fun mechanics are overshadowed by poor decisions on the design of this game. I would have loved if Laika chose to hold close to the Metroidvania genre by making the world feel mysterious and worthwile to explore, but sadly I cannot say that it accomplished this. I had an okay time with this game in the end, mainly through satisfying motorcycle gameplay you would find in a 2000 or so line-rider game.