Psuedoregalia has been passed around in 3D platformer circles with the bold claim as to being one of the best within the genre. I believe this claim is one that falls victim to recency bias.
The reality to Psuedoregalia, or rather the subjective reality that is the culmination of my limited gamer experiences, is that the game is a fantastic little gem. It's by no means one of the legendary titles that'll forever change the face of the genre, but it is an excellent platformer within it's own right.
In my opinion, 3D platformers are dependent on two major aspects: movement and level design. Moving your character within a 3D space should be fun within it's own right, and levels should provide the player a space that's fun to move around in. This space should challenge them, test them, and push against them until they eventually reach their objective.
Psuedoregalia does movement control extremely well. The level design is much more of a mixed bag.
Navigation and conveyance are a big part of level design. Areas are sectioned off into major areas, with those areas containing multiple rooms that are blocked off by a black fog in the doorway to save on resources. This is authentic to the N64 aesthetic Pseudoregalia pays tribute to, a technique they'd most likely use.
However, the issue comes with multiple levels blending in with one another, each one being sectioned off from the next, making finding the literal lock and literal keys of the game needlessly difficult to find.
Pseudoregalia is a 3D Metroidvania, and would greatly benefit from the inclusion of a map like the developers plan to do. Will the map fix these problems I had? Most likely. But I believe there's ways of conveying the world better without the need for a map. This is a challenge made more difficult in comparison to a 2D metroidvania, but it's something that I could see being accomplished more definitively by this developer in a future title.
In comparison to other Metroidvanias, Psuedoregalia's areas often feel disconnected from one another. They're cohesive in theming, but often felt loosely connected in terms of structure. Much of the level design felt like scattered ideas that were retrofittingly made into their level theming. The castle never really feels like a castle, more so just a series of loosely connected sections with objects and textures indicating I was in a castle.
Constructing worlds to feel as though they could realistically run together can not only help the overall setting become more realized, but could also more concretely direct players where to go much more naturally. Psuedoregalia never really felt like it accomplished this.
Granted, I'm not so sure Psuedoregalia was necessarily going for this type of design, given it's leaning into the absurd. Sybil herself is a strange goat-bunny-cat thing, though this may in part have been done to appeal to someone who's more into furry stuff, given the sex appeal of the character. (I put her pants on much to the dismay of the horny audience watching me stream the game.) Fantasy creature inhabitants roam around the land, enemies range from flying swords to magic plate throwing maids to trumpets that throw musical balls at you — it all points to the absurd.
The story itself feels as though we're a dream wanderer putting the mind of the dream's host, the Princess who's the final boss, at ease by defeating her. Or maybe Sybil is a figment of the Princess, given their abilities are mirrored with one another? I'm honestly not sure, I was focused solely on the gameplay rather than the lore.
Speaking of both gameplay and the Princess, her final boss exemplifies the fact that Psuedoregalia is NOT about it's combat. This final encounter wears tropes I love about final boss fights: bringing in mechanics that shift away from regular combat like a bullet hell, having the abilities of the final boss reflect the player character's, having the boss mad dash away with teleportation to showcase their power, absolutely nuts music, etc.
Unfortunately, the core combat doesn't support the weight of these tropes. Combat becomes hollow when I'm still making use of the same simple 3 hit combo that I attack every enemy with. There was no real push and pull to the fight, and I felt like I was just hitting her until she eventually was defeated. It's emblematic to the fact that combat was more an afterthought.
It's important to keep in mind that all of these criticisms are a mere drop in the bucket in comparison to the pure game feel this game provides. It's the glue that keeps everything intact, and what makes Psuedoregalia so special.
Not every 3D platformer has achieved this level of finesse that's associated with controlling Sybil. Entire dev teams of people haven't been able to match the work on display here. Each ability feels rewarding to perform, each bringing their own flavor to the tool kit. Some abilities are simply a charge attack, but others add onto already existing ones, expanding them and creating progression gates.
This aspect of the game is fundamentally solid. It's simple and has aspects I've seen before in other games, but it's very well executed. I can see why some have claimed it to be the best controlling 3D platformer they've ever played. Though, I'm not entirely sure I agree with the sentiment. It takes a bit to get used to these controls, and at times I felt like I wasn't able to do exactly what I wanted.
Though, this may just be the ability progression emphasizing this feeling. It's a feeling that's almost essential to the core existence to Metroidvanias; due to your abilities being locked out from the start, moving through areas that require those abilities start out rough, but ultimately become breezy as your unlock your full arsenal.
All of this is to say that the full moveset itself is fantastic, but I believe there are better contenders for the title of "Best Controlling 3D Platformers".
This review has been centered around the expectations set around me for Psuedoregalia and responding to claims with my criticisms, but make no mistake that I believe this game is great. Through a critical lens, I can clearly see room for improvement and expansion upon concepts, but I also acknowledge the incredible foundation this developer has built, and realize the great potential for this developer moving forward. As a foundation, it's a great game, but I'm more ecstatic to see what this developer does next.
They have the potential in creating one of the titles to change the face of the 3D platformer genre, I just don't think Psuedoregalia was the game to do that.
The reality to Psuedoregalia, or rather the subjective reality that is the culmination of my limited gamer experiences, is that the game is a fantastic little gem. It's by no means one of the legendary titles that'll forever change the face of the genre, but it is an excellent platformer within it's own right.
In my opinion, 3D platformers are dependent on two major aspects: movement and level design. Moving your character within a 3D space should be fun within it's own right, and levels should provide the player a space that's fun to move around in. This space should challenge them, test them, and push against them until they eventually reach their objective.
Psuedoregalia does movement control extremely well. The level design is much more of a mixed bag.
Navigation and conveyance are a big part of level design. Areas are sectioned off into major areas, with those areas containing multiple rooms that are blocked off by a black fog in the doorway to save on resources. This is authentic to the N64 aesthetic Pseudoregalia pays tribute to, a technique they'd most likely use.
However, the issue comes with multiple levels blending in with one another, each one being sectioned off from the next, making finding the literal lock and literal keys of the game needlessly difficult to find.
Pseudoregalia is a 3D Metroidvania, and would greatly benefit from the inclusion of a map like the developers plan to do. Will the map fix these problems I had? Most likely. But I believe there's ways of conveying the world better without the need for a map. This is a challenge made more difficult in comparison to a 2D metroidvania, but it's something that I could see being accomplished more definitively by this developer in a future title.
In comparison to other Metroidvanias, Psuedoregalia's areas often feel disconnected from one another. They're cohesive in theming, but often felt loosely connected in terms of structure. Much of the level design felt like scattered ideas that were retrofittingly made into their level theming. The castle never really feels like a castle, more so just a series of loosely connected sections with objects and textures indicating I was in a castle.
Constructing worlds to feel as though they could realistically run together can not only help the overall setting become more realized, but could also more concretely direct players where to go much more naturally. Psuedoregalia never really felt like it accomplished this.
Granted, I'm not so sure Psuedoregalia was necessarily going for this type of design, given it's leaning into the absurd. Sybil herself is a strange goat-bunny-cat thing, though this may in part have been done to appeal to someone who's more into furry stuff, given the sex appeal of the character. (I put her pants on much to the dismay of the horny audience watching me stream the game.) Fantasy creature inhabitants roam around the land, enemies range from flying swords to magic plate throwing maids to trumpets that throw musical balls at you — it all points to the absurd.
The story itself feels as though we're a dream wanderer putting the mind of the dream's host, the Princess who's the final boss, at ease by defeating her. Or maybe Sybil is a figment of the Princess, given their abilities are mirrored with one another? I'm honestly not sure, I was focused solely on the gameplay rather than the lore.
Speaking of both gameplay and the Princess, her final boss exemplifies the fact that Psuedoregalia is NOT about it's combat. This final encounter wears tropes I love about final boss fights: bringing in mechanics that shift away from regular combat like a bullet hell, having the abilities of the final boss reflect the player character's, having the boss mad dash away with teleportation to showcase their power, absolutely nuts music, etc.
Unfortunately, the core combat doesn't support the weight of these tropes. Combat becomes hollow when I'm still making use of the same simple 3 hit combo that I attack every enemy with. There was no real push and pull to the fight, and I felt like I was just hitting her until she eventually was defeated. It's emblematic to the fact that combat was more an afterthought.
It's important to keep in mind that all of these criticisms are a mere drop in the bucket in comparison to the pure game feel this game provides. It's the glue that keeps everything intact, and what makes Psuedoregalia so special.
Not every 3D platformer has achieved this level of finesse that's associated with controlling Sybil. Entire dev teams of people haven't been able to match the work on display here. Each ability feels rewarding to perform, each bringing their own flavor to the tool kit. Some abilities are simply a charge attack, but others add onto already existing ones, expanding them and creating progression gates.
This aspect of the game is fundamentally solid. It's simple and has aspects I've seen before in other games, but it's very well executed. I can see why some have claimed it to be the best controlling 3D platformer they've ever played. Though, I'm not entirely sure I agree with the sentiment. It takes a bit to get used to these controls, and at times I felt like I wasn't able to do exactly what I wanted.
Though, this may just be the ability progression emphasizing this feeling. It's a feeling that's almost essential to the core existence to Metroidvanias; due to your abilities being locked out from the start, moving through areas that require those abilities start out rough, but ultimately become breezy as your unlock your full arsenal.
All of this is to say that the full moveset itself is fantastic, but I believe there are better contenders for the title of "Best Controlling 3D Platformers".
This review has been centered around the expectations set around me for Psuedoregalia and responding to claims with my criticisms, but make no mistake that I believe this game is great. Through a critical lens, I can clearly see room for improvement and expansion upon concepts, but I also acknowledge the incredible foundation this developer has built, and realize the great potential for this developer moving forward. As a foundation, it's a great game, but I'm more ecstatic to see what this developer does next.
They have the potential in creating one of the titles to change the face of the 3D platformer genre, I just don't think Psuedoregalia was the game to do that.