With Risky Woods, we’re including a game that’s over thirty years old in this port roundup. In addition, we’re looking at ChronoBreach Ultra and Tricks Magician, which were both released on Steam prior to their recent console ports.
Risky Woods review (PS4)
Having been around videogames for decades, we really enjoy QUByte’s Classics line. Their latest is Risky Woods, a platformer published by QUByte for consoles and originally developed by Dinamic Software. As protagonist Rohan Young, you must save the petrified monks and restore wisdom to the kingdom while battling evil creatures and facing treacherous traps. It’s a game we first played in the Atari ST/Amiga era, and we went back to it thirty years later on a PlayStation 4.
The gameplay mechanics present a classic 2D platformer with a tough challenge. Rohan’s abilities, power-ups like axes and fireballs, and precise timing are crucial to overcoming hordes of high-speed enemies and navigating ever-changing landscapes. Risky Woods has versions for a multitude of systems back in the day, but a challenging difficulty level was definitely a constant.
Visually, Risky Woods is a nice example of a late era 16 bit home computer platformer, with detailed sprites and medieval fantasy aesthetics. When you consider the kind of horsepower these systems had (half a meg of memory, running on floppy disks), the graphic quality and vibrant colors are impressive. The music complements the gameplay with engaging tunes, although some may not perfectly match the game’s theme.
Pros about the game include captivating visuals, challenging gameplay, and a variety of enemies and power-ups. However, the high difficulty level and certain gameplay mechanics may not suit everyone’s taste. Overall, Risky Woods offers a challenging platforming adventure for enthusiasts seeking a nostalgic and challenging experience that they may have overlooked before.
ChronoBreach Ultra review (PS4)
ChronoBreach Ultra, developed by UpsilonGames and published by Ratalaika Games, is a time-bending action platformer that follows a cute robot armed with laser guns as it explores a deadly factory. The game introduces time manipulation mechanics that allow players to slow down or stop time, adding a twist to the gameplay. The arsenal of weapons available to the robot provides a satisfying variety of attacks, making combat engaging. The game offers decently constructed levels and challenging boss fights, ensuring players stay on their toes.
On the positive side, ChronoBreach Ultra boasts a vast selection of weapons to experiment with, and the time-manipulation mechanics add an extra layer of fun to the action. The game’s levels are well-designed and gradually increase in difficulty, providing a decent challenge. Additionally, the boss battles are enjoyable and rewarding to overcome.
However, the combat in ChronoBreach Ultra is a bit underwhelming. Many enemies are bullet sponges, requiring multiple hits to defeat, and combat can become a war of attrition as a result, making encounters feel too long and even tedious at times. The game’s controls are initially clunky, and certain design choices, such as infrequent checkpoints and repetitive Arena Mode waves, hinder the overall experience.
Despite its flaws, ChronoBreach Ultra delivers a fair budget price action-platformer with interesting ideas that, while not reaching their full potential, still offer an enjoyable experience. With a wide array of weapons and playstyle choices, the game provides variety, but it falls short of leaving a lasting impact or generating significant excitement. Overall, ChronoBreach Ultra is a decent title for players seeking a challenging yet somewhat average action-platformer experience.
Tricks Magician review (PS4)
Tricks Magician, developed by Nibb Games and published by Ratalaika, takes players to the world of a magician seeking to escape an alternate reality crafted by a vengeful assistant rabbit. Sound weird enough? The game boasts an interesting mechanic involving gravity manipulation, pixel art graphics, and of course there’s that premise. As you progress through the 30 stages in the main campaign, the magician’s wand allows you to defy gravity, opening up unique opportunities to navigate obstacles and defeat enemies.
The gravity-defying puzzles in Tricks Magician offer some enjoyment, with the protagonist’s ability to impale enemies on ceiling spikes and dodge incoming cannonballs, showcasing the versatility of the central mechanic. However, despite the novel concept, the game falls a little short of reaching its full potential. After a while, the novelty of the mechanic wears off when the game runs out of innovative challenges, with level designs that leave players wanting more complexity and ingenuity.
Visually, the game features charming pixel art and a cohesive design that complements the magical theme. The use of the environment to eliminate enemies adds a fun layer of strategy to the gameplay, although it regularly feels a bit too formulaic. There’s a “Hard Mode” with a timer mechanic to give players a bit of a challenge, but since it doesn’t really change the mechanics it ends up being more frustrating than anything else.
In conclusion, Tricks Magician is a mildly entertaining puzzle-platformer with a neat gravity-manipulation mechanic and nice pixel art. It does, however, fall a bit short in really running with its concept. It’s fine as a casual and charming puzzle-platformer experience, but it won’t be the most memorable one you’ll ever play.
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