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| "Jane's tent was a bitch to put up but it was a hit at Glastonbury" |
Set in an alternate, distant future, the player is cast in the role of detective Axel McCoin, a burnt-out detective who regularly uses the fictional drug Spark to cope with extreme pain caused by his failing bio-implants. Mostly dismissed by his superiors, Axel (cool name ) gets embroiled in a series of murders that hint at a larger conspiracy…
A 2D game that involves resource management, combat, and base-building – but all in a very brisk arcade style - the game tasks you with building up your little village until you gain enough gold in your coffers to finish the level (of which there are several available).
The game begins with a tutorial, which is somewhat abstract in how it’s entirely wordless – this is charming and fine…but this is game that could really have done with a little more depth here, and after showing your little horse-seated monarch how to complete the basic game mechanics, it ends with an emblem on the screen. I thought the game had crashed, as the tutorial had clearly finished, but none of the buttons on the controller did anything to move past this greyed-out screen. It turns out that I had to press ‘start’ then ‘new game’ and the main levels were now playable, it’s this slightly esoteric approach that makes the game seem a bit more involved and daunting than it actually is.
The visuals are bright and cartoony, the animation smooth, and the music lilting and gentle - before ramping up a touch in the night-time sections that is, where the combat happens in earnest. During the day, you move left or right, adding folks to your tiny army, searching for chests and coins to afford various builds and defences. Then, when the night comes, you have to fend off small waves of sword-wielding attackers. The game ends if your main tent is demolished, or you get struck by an enemy whilst not holding any coins (they act as a sort of health bar), as this causes you to fall of your horse, ending the game.
The premise and presentation is great, but I found the game limiting in a lot of aspects. You cannot directly control anyone aside from yourself – and you can only attack by turning away from the enemy and kicking them with your horse (an automatic action)– but they will pretty much always strike you at the same time, taking a coin away from your treasury.
This means that you have to rely on the archers that follow you around, and more often than not, they’ll get distracted by shooting at a passing rabbit or deer. The base building is also quite functional, and almost feels like a ‘lite’ version of itself, I found it hard to get engaged in the game, as I spent most of the evening standing still in my fort (the days / nights pass quickly, so it’s only a few minutes) then in the day, wandering around trying to find something to do, the lack of text in the game sort of hampers it, as sometimes the on-screen icons aren’t particularly clear.
Monarchy also has a two-player co-op screen where the other player can be another friendly monarch assisting you, and this adds some fun and extra tactics to the game, but even then it feels oddly slight, as if there’s something missing to really get me engaged. It almost feels like a mobile game in this aspect, as it’s such a breezy experience.
SUMMARY
Whilst I much preferred the depth in Dark Quest 3, I get the feeling that I didn’t quite ‘get’ Monarch, and I hope that other players will click with the game more.
As it stands, I’ll still play with my young son – as he quite liked the characters and simplicity – but Monarch does – to me- feel like a game that needs a little fleshing out in order to stand up above the crowd, and pull plyers in for the long haul.
6.5/10
💧MELTING💧
A perfectly timed release for the spooky season, Camp Sunshine is a game made in RPG Maker that admirably captures the 16-bit era. Whilst however, it scores highly for mood, sound design and setting, issues with the core gameplay take the wind out of its sails a little.
That said, the show must have been on a hell of a lot, as the moment I booted up the game and heard that theme, even I was surprised how much of the show I remembered, from the voices, character names and family members, it all came flooding back. Heck, maybe I did watch it more than I can recall! Or perhaps it was such a cornerstone of culture at the time that it just permeated my very being.
Running at 60fps on Switch, this is an extremely light and calming 1st-person adventure game about completing daily tasks such as photographing butterflies, befriending animals and re-hanging fallen lanterns etc.
With relaxing music, a slow pace and zen tone, Flutter Away is a decent enough escape for an hour or two, but is probably best enjoyed by younger players. Or hardcore butterfly enthusiasts!
