Angeline Era is the latest Analgesic Productions game, but if that doesn't mean anything to you that's perfectly okay- I think it might be the most widely accessible game they've made yet. However, if you're a returning fan, fear not; this does not mean the game is any less weird or surreal than their previous titles. For the TL;DR of how I felt, I think this is by far the best game they've created so far, and is absolutely worth picking up for the gameplay alone, even if I still don't know how I felt about the game's story and ending. The graphics and music are all fantastic yet again, like other Analgesic works. More on all that below...

I played Ys I & II once for like twenty minutes at my friends house. Despite the short time with it, it still left an impression on me: since then i've occasionally asked myself "why don't more games try bump combat?". It's a fun system where all you need to do is walk into your enemies to attack them. Angeline Era's gameplay revolves around this system, and it is a joy to play. Melos Han-Tani (the game designer) really understands what makes bump combat interesting, from having to mitigate knockback so you don't get slammed into dangerous situations, to needing to plunge yourself headlong into peril and bullets since your "attack" doesn't have any range. The levels are very well designed, with plenty of opportunities to flex your skills both in 3D platforming and massacring the various enemies you'll face along the way. Everything about the design feels like something they added just because they thought it was a fun idea... at one point there is an hour or so long mining minigame where you bump rocks to get ore.

The second huge aspect to the gameplay that is a little less advertised is the "Search" system. To find any level on the overworld, you need to hold Triangle (or the equivalent button) to initiate a "search", which will reveal a level if one is hidden on the tile you're on. However, this also can be used inside levels. So if you find a suspicious place while bumping and slashing around, you can once again hold the button and uncover something. Well, maybe "uncover" is the wrong word... sometimes it'll teleport you, spawn things, change the level, it can pretty much do anything. Because of these systems, I can definitively say that if you love secrets and exploration this is the game for you! It feels really rewarding to notice a strange patch on the ground, and having it teleport you to a completely different secret area after searching it. All of Analgesic's games that i've played have exuded this explorative energy (Anodyne 2 has you clipping out of bounds for collectables), and i'm glad the trend continues here. One criticism with this however, is that the secrets go too far sometimes... A lot of the secrets are "secrets for secrets sake", which is totally fine, but when you've been teleported to a secret area from inside a secret area from inside a secret area from inside a secret area, and all there is inside of it is an NPC that says a line about trees, you start pressing the search button on every tile in the room like you're trying to find a hidden door in DOOM.

The story is... interesting. I'm pretty used to Analgesic's writing style at this point, so reviewing it is kind of like trying to gauge how spicy a hot sauce is to somebody who has never tried it before... but it feels very tangental and sometimes unfocused despite having enjoyable parts. I really enjoyed Anodyne 2's story and emotional themes, didn't really get anything out of Sephonie's at all, and Angeline Era is smack dab in the middle. Analgesic's storytelling style is very fragmented, with focus on specific interesting worlds rather than the greater picture as a whole- an example of this would be walking into a level and suddenly getting a long backstory about a blacksmith out of nowhere. Both Anodyne and Sephonie do this, but never to the point of muddying what the core story is about. Angeline Era kind of goes all over the place, particularly in the final act, to the point where I didn't really know or understand what was going on by the end of it. When the credits rolled, all I could really say to myself was "sure, OK". I wasn't mad or disappointed, I was just sort of confused and underwhelmed. I don't even remember if I actually got all of the crystal stars Bicones, I just stumbled upon "the point of no return" fight while exploring and suddenly was entrenched in plot development after plot development for two hours. I think the story was maybe just bogged down with too many moving parts and sudden story shifts to stay cohesive. The writing itself is totally fine though and on par with other Analgesic works- funny, surreal, quirky, sometimes scary. A bunch of jokes made me laugh out loud, and there's a lot of them in Angeline Era... so even if you find the writing overly quirky or weird to start I think you'll eventually find something to enjoy here. You can even see the "writing" in the level design too, with lots of pretty good gags in various traps, level names, and secrets (loved the chest guy).

All in all, I think this game is a fantastic entry into the Analgesic catalogue, even with my few criticisms. If you've never played one of their games before, this is a fantastic start. It's fun and nonlinear, rewards exploration, has great combat, and is deeply funny at times. High recommend, just prepare yourself to expect the unexpected! This game is extremely confident and never strays away from what it wants to do, even if it's weird or off-beat. For that, I have nothing but respect.

PS. Anodyne 2 had a decently large secret postgame, and I guarantee I haven't found everything there is to find in Angeline Era. Just thinking about going back has me excited, it'll be fun to explore what I missed!

Angeline Era is an amazing drawback to titles such as Legend of Mana, Brave Fencer Musashi, and Knight & Baby. It does more with less. That's what made many PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2 games exceptionally fun and compelling. Simple systems mixed with loads of secrets and fulfilling exploration.

Can't help but wish more games approached exploration the way this one does!

What initially drew me in to Angeline Era was the strange narrative vibes, but the star of the show is definitely the combat. I found it pretty challenging at times in the early game, but it becomes much more manageable as you get to grips with it and start getting more tools.

The combat ends up feeling fair, fun, and creative. There's a lot of room for skill growth and strategic play. Even though the "bump into stuff" idea is really simple, there's a lot of depth to the combat that the game does a good job of exploring, the various combat scenarios cleverly exploring the potential of its systems, with each equipment item twisting new ideas into the mix.

The "find the levels" aspects of the open world, and "in-level" exploration are both really interesting, giving the world the sense that secrets could be around any corner. While some of the best equipment is well-hidden, your reward for exploration often... isn't a reward at all, and if you're in a "collectathon" mindset, this might be frustrating. I think it works, though, contributing to the narrative 'vibe' and matching the "old-school" vibe in a way that feels sincere, not cynical.

I enjoyed the narrative a lot, but it's very "abstract", and solid answers are few and far between. It could be dismissed as weirdness for weirdness's sake, but I think it's worth engaging with it an open mind, even if it never completely coalesces into coherence.

One of my favourite games this year.