2018 has seen a resurgence of Metroidvania style games,
and you can add The Messenger to the crowded list of new releases embracing the past.
At first glance, the game looks like a clear homage to the Ninja Gaiden series, and while
that isn’t entirely inaccurate,
the game goes far beyond nodding to just a single retro franchise.
The Messenger begins as a linear, level-based action game
that hurls ever more increasingly difficult challenges your way,
whether it’s slashing through enemies or trying to jump across narrow platforms.
Things ramp up at a nice pace to ease the player into the mechanics
while providing a fair challenge, but The Messenger hides an ace up its sleeve.
A few hours in, the game radically shifts from a strictly linear experience to a more open style adventure.
What The Messenger adds to the equation is the unique ability to jump between the 8-bit style of the world
you progressed through originally and a new 16-bit version, which
often radically alters the layout and terrain of once-familiar zones.
You can’t manually trigger the change at any time, but
rather, gates are spread across the world which allow you to hop back and forth.
These mostly serve as puzzle elements, and you need to jump between time periods
in order to progress through this new version of the world.
The changing between 8-bit visuals and music tracks to their more
elaborate 16-bit counterparts is a really cool effect.
Though some degree of backtracking is expected with this type of game,
it does wind up a bit on the heavy side.
Going back through the world you just traversed in linear fashion to see how it’s changed
is exciting at first, however, the effect loses some of its magic by the end of the game.
Just being able to jump and slash wouldn’t impress much,
but the addition of new traversal abilities adds depth
and takes The Messenger past just being a nod to older games.
Your character’s mechanics aren’t quite as polished as some other similar contemporaries, but
the combat and platforming feel good, and almost every single mistake or death
is the direct result of your own shortcomings rather than a fault of the game.
What’s absolutely amazing is how the game challenges you in later portions
with advanced platforming and combat segments
that can be overcome in various ways.
This holds especially true when trying to track down every last side item,
some of which require the most demanding patience and precision in the game.
Additionally, there are opportunities to get creative and bypass clearly intended methods to reach a goal.
Coming up with such solutions doesn’t seem like outthinking an oversight, but
rather a reward for daring to be so bold.
Many of the bosses are challenging enough, but the difficulty never gets out of hand.
None of the basic enemies you come across will put up much of a fight,
but the real challenge of The Messenger lies in trying to survive the platforming
while dealing with these enemies at the same time.
More often than not, your demise will come as an enemy knocks you into a pit after an ill-timed collision.
The story is a decent and sometimes humorous effort that partly mocks the era it pays tribute to,
but at the same time, it tells a mildly intriguing tale.
The writing sports a very sarcastic, almost dark sense of humor,
especially when listening to optional stories told by the shopkeeper.
While many of the twists are rather predictable, it’s a solid writing effort,
and seeing things come full circle carries a modicum of satisfaction in the end.
It’s tempting to make comparisons given the deluge of similar games in recent months,
but The Messenger proves its worth through unique merits.
The eventual shift from linear to open progression, the swapping back-and-forth between two retro aesthetics,
and the evolving mechanics and satisfying platforming make a strong argument
for why you should give The Messenger a closer look.
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