It’s clear where Lords of Exile got its inspiration from. Still, the game has some little touches of its own and its challenge is very interestingly balanced. You get 8 stages with bosses at the end and often mini-bosses in between. You also unlock speed run, boss rush and a second playable character after completing the game. You mostly try to beat enemies and stay alive because there are death pits and if you get hit by enemies, you can easily fall to your death. You have some traps, jumping, climbing, gambling, 2 shadow skills and 1 upgrade after every boss. Now most of it sounds basic and perhaps boring but the way they’re done can be a bit different sometimes. Jumping is unique in that you only execute a double jump when you’re about to fall instead of instant the moment you make your first jump. There are some horizontal and vertical climbing sections where you also need to be careful not falling to your death. The 2 shadow skills are mostly used for platforming. One breaks blocks to get through a level and the other is kind of a hook that brings you to the other side. Upgrades are stat increases mostly like stronger attacks, more ammo with the throw weapons but also how you get double jump. Gambling is pretty much a slot machine where you pay money to win prizes like more money etc. There are shops in the stages where you get three random items you can buy like more health, throw weapons and shield.
So let’s start with the good stuff. The graphics look charming with the retro style. The stages are pretty varied, there are a decent variety of enemies, all the bosses are unique (& awesome) and there is even a lot of effort put into some of the mini-bosses. With some of them I thought they were bosses at first because they look so cool and intimidating. The game has some Asian style setting and you can see this with some of the Japanese kanji used correctly in certain spots. It’s a nice touch. The music sounds wonderful and always keeps me energised. Playing with the second character, Lyria, is fantastic. She’s so nimble and has long ranged attacks by default. It was a great reward unlocking her after completing the game. Remember me bringing up death pits and the game’s unique challenge? The game is pretty challenging and you will die BUT, the game has frequent checkpoints. So you don’t have to retry big sections often. Same before every boss. This is a great decision since you get some challenge but you’re also given the opportunity to learn and not repeat sections too often. You’re still incentivised with playing good in order to not die but the fun is not taken out of the game by punishing you too much. The achievements are also excellent. They’re fun and there is a decent challenge with no damage boss rush, but they’re all doable with a bit of practice. It took me over 10 hours to get them all.
Now on to the not so good stuff. Gambling honestly feels pointless aside from the 2 achievements attached to it. You have enough money, drops and shops that you can easily ignore it. And that’s fine to be honest. I prefer having them all instead of being forced to gamble. The 2 shadow skills also feel basic, they don’t really add much to the platforming. There is one bug with boss rush but you can get around it until a patch is released. Double jump is okay for the most part but it can be clumsy with boss fights. It might appear that it doesn’t register sometimes, it’s just very strict. But hey, I guess this was also part of the challenge.
I had lots of fun playing LoE. It might not be super original but it was entertaining and scratched that itch. I appreciate how your time is respected with checkpoints and fair achievements. I paid €11 and think it’s worth it.
So let’s start with the good stuff. The graphics look charming with the retro style. The stages are pretty varied, there are a decent variety of enemies, all the bosses are unique (& awesome) and there is even a lot of effort put into some of the mini-bosses. With some of them I thought they were bosses at first because they look so cool and intimidating. The game has some Asian style setting and you can see this with some of the Japanese kanji used correctly in certain spots. It’s a nice touch. The music sounds wonderful and always keeps me energised. Playing with the second character, Lyria, is fantastic. She’s so nimble and has long ranged attacks by default. It was a great reward unlocking her after completing the game. Remember me bringing up death pits and the game’s unique challenge? The game is pretty challenging and you will die BUT, the game has frequent checkpoints. So you don’t have to retry big sections often. Same before every boss. This is a great decision since you get some challenge but you’re also given the opportunity to learn and not repeat sections too often. You’re still incentivised with playing good in order to not die but the fun is not taken out of the game by punishing you too much. The achievements are also excellent. They’re fun and there is a decent challenge with no damage boss rush, but they’re all doable with a bit of practice. It took me over 10 hours to get them all.
Now on to the not so good stuff. Gambling honestly feels pointless aside from the 2 achievements attached to it. You have enough money, drops and shops that you can easily ignore it. And that’s fine to be honest. I prefer having them all instead of being forced to gamble. The 2 shadow skills also feel basic, they don’t really add much to the platforming. There is one bug with boss rush but you can get around it until a patch is released. Double jump is okay for the most part but it can be clumsy with boss fights. It might appear that it doesn’t register sometimes, it’s just very strict. But hey, I guess this was also part of the challenge.
I had lots of fun playing LoE. It might not be super original but it was entertaining and scratched that itch. I appreciate how your time is respected with checkpoints and fair achievements. I paid €11 and think it’s worth it.