Video Game Review: Metaloid: Origin

Developer: RetroRevolution

Publisher: RetroRevolution

Genre: Action

Platforms: PlayStation 4

Metaloid: Origin is a throwback platformer that pulls from all the usual suspects. It’s a bit of Castlevania, and a LOT of Sonic and Megaman. These kinds of games are a dime a dozen these days, so it takes a special one like Shovel Knight to stand out amongst the crowd. Metaloid doesn’t really break the mold in any significant way, but it does present a decent time if you’re itching for another one of these types of games.

I’ll start with what I liked about this game. First of all, the controls are intuitive and after a few minutes you’ll find that it feels very natural to play. If you’re a fan of the genre, you’ve dealt with a control scheme like this a thousand times, and often they are not this responsive. Navigating the world is simple and free of frustration. With that said, it definitely feels like a control scheme that was designed for something like a Super Nintendo controller. The way you cycle through weapons and abilities is very reminiscent of how you’d do it in a game like Super Metroid, but we have enough buttons now that the somewhat clunky cycling of weapons can be done away with. I understand throwing back to the Super Nintendo days, but certain things should stay in the past.

The game is generally pretty fun and is short enough so as to not overstay it’s welcome. There are around ten levels, all of which feel different from each other, at least for the most part. There are some fun gimmicks introduced in most stages to keep things feeling fresh. However, while the levels distinguish themselves from the others well enough, I do think there’s a bit of an issue of variety within individual stages. Basically, each stage is pretty long but there isn’t much variation inside the stages themselves. It stretches on past where I feel it should, and you start to lose track of where you are because it feels so similar. There isn’t enough packed into these stages to justify their length.

There are three characters to play as, which does increase the games replayability. Each character has a unique set of upgrades and weapons they can use. Something odd about that though, is once you select your character, you’re stuck with them for the whole game. It makes your choice feel arbitrary because unless you start three different files, there’s no way to know which character you’ll like the best until you’ve played the game three times. If there were an option to select before each level, you’d be able to quickly discern which character you prefer and you could then stick with that one. As it stands, I played the whole game with the fire girl, then one level each with the other two before deciding it wasn’t worth it.

My favorite part of the game, by far, is the boss fights. They’re very Megaman-esque and are not shy about it. They were easily the most difficult part of the game, and easily the most rewarding and fun. Now, I won’t pretend the characters themselves were memorable because they’re just not. In my head I can’t picture what a single one of them looked like, but I can remember their attack patterns because I had to study them so extensively. There were points in I felt hypnotized by the game. I was just mindlessly restarting and trying to better my mistakes.

You may have noticed a pattern in this review; Metaloid’s biggest issue is that it lacks a strong identity. Every aspect of the game, from the gameplay to the graphics, and all the way down to the music. Every single aspect of Metaloid is lifted from somewhere else and the bare minimum is done to add to it or differentiate itself. That doesn’t mean it isn’t fun, but it does make it tough to give it a glowing recommendation. In other words, if you’re starving for yet another throwback platformer, then give it a go. Otherwise, there’s very little here to offer you.