Dormidin Studio’s Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster arrives on PlayStation 5 with a fairly familiar pitch for Metroidvania fans, but wraps it in an old-school sword-and-sorcery aesthetic that immediately sets it apart from the genre’s more gothic and fantastical contemporaries. Set in the troubled world of Arborea, the game puts players in control of Ren, the last of the Beastmasters, whose ability to harness the souls and powers of animals makes him central to a new conflict between humans and non-human races. There’s a prophecy, an oppressive kingdom, dark magic and a heart-devouring talking sword, so the ingredients are certainly there for a deliberately pulpy fantasy adventure. Unfortunately, while the setting has plenty of potential and the game wears its 1980s inspirations openly, the actual narrative rarely develops enough personality to make its journey compelling. Ren and the supporting cast tend to feel rather thin, while uneven writing and translation issues can make conversations harder to follow than they should be. The wider framework of optional quests, NPC interactions and multiple endings adds some welcome ambition, but the story ultimately works better as a reason to keep moving through Arborea than as something that consistently draws you into its world.
That sense of potential carries over to the gameplay, because Barbarian Saga has some genuinely appealing ideas at its core. As a 2D action Metroidvania, it gradually expands Ren’s repertoire beyond basic sword attacks, parries and jumps, eventually adding movement abilities, magical attacks and, most importantly, transformations based on the creatures whose souls he can absorb. These powers fit the Beastmaster concept nicely and provide the usual Metroidvania satisfaction of returning to previously inaccessible areas with new ways of traversing the environment. Ren can also customise aspects of his abilities through his ritual necklace and its assortment of fangs, amulets and other components, while sword techniques, potions and curses offer additional ways to develop his combat options. There is enough here to make progression feel more involved than simply unlocking a single key for the next door, and the animal-based powers are easily the game’s most distinctive mechanical idea.
The problem is that getting to the more interesting parts of that progression can require more patience than the game really earns. Ren starts out feeling limited, and although a gradual increase in abilities is a fundamental part of the genre, Barbarian Saga often leaves players without enough information to make exploration feel purposeful. Dead ends and sealed routes are common, while the map and its presentation apparently do little to make it clear which unexplored paths might actually lead somewhere useful. That can turn the freedom of a large interconnected world into a process of repeatedly wandering between locations in the hope that a previously overlooked route turns out to be the correct one. Fast travel is available and certainly helps to reduce some of the friction, but backtracking can still become excessive, particularly before the movement abilities that make getting around faster have been unlocked. For players who enjoy being left entirely to their own devices, that openness may be part of the appeal, but the game often seems to confuse limited guidance with rewarding exploration.
Combat is similarly caught between a number of good ideas and an execution that doesn’t always feel sufficiently polished. The basic swordplay, parries, special techniques and transformations give Ren a respectable selection of tools, and the arena duels are arguably the most memorable variation on the formula. During these one-on-one encounters the camera moves closer and the presentation takes on the appearance of a fighting game, with spacing, defence and counterattacks becoming more important than simply cutting through enemies. These moments help break up the normal exploration and provide the game with some of its strongest encounters. Outside of them, though, the combat can feel rather stiff, with repeated enemy types and awkward enemy behaviour reducing the effectiveness of the wider system. Some boss encounters fare better, offering recognisable attack patterns and more focused challenges, but the overall balance remains inconsistent.
That inconsistency is particularly noticeable in the game’s approach to difficulty. Barbarian Saga clearly wants to be demanding, and there is nothing inherently wrong with punishing platforming sections or enemies that require careful timing. Too often, however, the difficulty seems to come from frustrating combinations of projectile attacks, awkward enemy placement, hazards and questionable collision detection rather than from challenges that feel cleanly designed. Flying enemies and ranged attackers can be especially irritating when encountered during precision platforming, while slightly rigid movement further undermining situations where the controls need to feel completely dependable. The limited healing system adds another layer of pressure, as potions have to be purchased with earned currency rather than conveniently replenishing at rest points. When those resources are scarce and save points are poorly spaced, a death can mean losing a considerable amount of time simply retracing old ground.
Visually, Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster’s hand-drawn presentation and colorful fantasy imagery give it a recognisable identity. The game draws heavily on the barbarian cartoons, fantasy films and pulp-inspired sword-and-sorcery worlds of previous decades, and that influence can be effective when Arborea’s creatures and locations come together to create the kind of exaggerated fantasy universe the premise promises. The visual style is perhaps the game’s strongest asset, with hand-drawn environments and monster designs, even though environments are less consistent. The result is a presentation that has personality without always having the level of refinement needed to make that personality shine. The audio, with music and sound effects that are serviceable rather than memorable, supports the action without adding much atmosphere of their own.
In the end, Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster is a game that we wanted to like more than we actually did. The combination of animal transformations, customisation, Metroidvania exploration and arena-based duels gives Dormidin Studio a foundation to build on, and its pulpy fantasy setting is at least a welcome change from more familiar genre aesthetics. But too many of those ideas are undermined by a lack of refinement in the fundamentals. Exploration frequently lacks direction, progression can become needlessly cumbersome, combat and movement don’t always feel smooth enough for the challenges being asked of them, and the narrative does little to provide a strong emotional incentive to push through the rougher sections. There are moments when the Beastmaster powers and retro fantasy atmosphere hint at a much better adventure, but they never quite manage to overcome the frustration surrounding them. For dedicated Metroidvania fans who can tolerate some rough edges there may still be enough here to explore, but with so many more consistently polished examples of the genre available, Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster struggles to transform its promising concepts into an adventure worthy of its own prophecy.
Score: 6.8/10