Beyond the Ice Palace 2 Xbox Series X Review 6.5/10 "Worth a go if you go mental for this stuff" ⚔️ @PQubeGames #GameDev #IndieGame

Beyond the Ice Palace 2 has a heritage longer than many people reading this have been alive. The original BTIP was released in the Stone Age (1988) for the first mass-market home computers, including the Commodore siblings C64 and Amiga, the Atari ST and the ZX Spectrum. You take the role of the Cursed King, champion of the gods, raised from the dead in order to whip and grapple your way through your decaying kingdom.

You traverse the world through a mix of platforming and the aforementioned grappling. Progress is slow and deliberate rather than fast-paced and exciting. As well as grappling, your chain whips can make directional attacks, although the responsiveness leaves a bit to be desired. This is fine for the initial levels where enemies tend to wander around on a fixed path, but once you're up against the more agile bad guys you'll start to feel the limitations. Talking of bad guys, it's in the boss battles that the game shines. 

From the giant, porcupine-like Page of the Capital, the rapier-wielding teleporting bastard Duke or the Kraboat (yes, a giant crab wearing a boat as its shell), this is where the money is on the screen design-wise and it's the most fun part of the game - probably because you don't have to contend with the cumbersome traversal mechanics. That said, generally the graphics and sound are on the money, the pixel-art style, reminiscent of recent favourites Blasphemous 1 and 2, fitting the old-school mechanics, and the church-organ-and-chorus-tastic sound being spot on as well. The composer is the legendary Allister Brimble, so it's no surprise that it does the business.

In the traditions of Castlevania et al, you can upgrade your character's attack power, stamina and health bar, and learn new moves, through collecting crystals and finding NPCs to give you that extra boost. You can also fast-travel through previous checkpoints - which are occasionally really far apart - to pick up items that you previously couldn't reach, once you unlock double jumps and the like. Again, standard fare. A bit of extra fun comes from some enemies requiring a finisher, such as a good old stomp on the head.

SUMMARY
Overall then, Beyond the Ice Palace 2 is a competent entry in the modern ranks of Metroidvania-style games. The graphics and sound are a good selling point and provide atmosphere, and the boss battles are fun and generally challenging without being unfair. 

However, the general gameplay is all a bit slow and the traversal awkward, which prevents it from being a classic of the genre. Worth a go if you go mental for this stuff or you find it on sale, otherwise try the demo and see how you get on.

6.5/10

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