Game:

Strider (1989)

Category:

Review

Duration: 2:22

757 views

64

Developed by Double Helix and Capcom, Strider gets a reboot 25 years after the original arcade release. The object of the game is to hack and slash your way through enemies, as you collect power ups and unlock new areas. There's about 15 bosses and dozens of different enemies you'll encounter. And the entire overworld is interconnected. It took me about 7 hours to complete the game on the hardest setting, while collecting all the items. Some items are essential and add more moves or attacks to your arsenal, others are optional, like costumes, concept art, and upgrades. The control in this game are second to none. Strider is incredibly responsive and it's easy and satisfying to carve your way through enemies. In addition to scaling walls and multiple jumping, Strider can throw daggers, change attack elements, and activate special assists. The new abilities are introduced gradually, which makes it easy to learn the eventually complex controls. Speaking of introduced, I really appreciate how you're thrown into the game, with no tutorials or other bullshit to tie you down. Just a simple notice that tells your what buttons to press once you earn a new technique. I wish all games would do this. It's still annoying that you can't skip some cutscenes. You can also play survival challenges or beacons runs that you collect throughout the stages. Which are fun but there's no incentive to play, because there's no achievements and the leaderboards are broken. I hope they fix this. And there's no option to remove subtitles, which impede a big chuck of the screen. The visual are impressive and striking, and they don't distract from the gameplay at all. Some backtracking is required, as with all metroid-vania style games, but it's never too annoying, unless you're going for 100%, in that case it's a bit of a drag. They could have used a better warp system. Overall, Strider is an action-packed slash-em up and one of the best retro reboots. And I don't use action-packed loosely. I experienced very little downtime during my adventure. The enemy placement is dense, and the faster you press attack the more damage you do because there's virtually no cooldown between hits, which might lead to some sore thumbs or broken blood vessels.