Today’s game is Helvetii, a dive into Northern European lore featuring fighters, half-beast creatures, and druids. It’s a bit roguelite with a splash of side-scrollers, and the blend is actually pretty fun.
Helvetii looks great both in handheld mode and on the big screen. The details aren’t so small that the Switch screen is negative for gameplay. Not only is it easy to see everything you want to see, it’s also very visually appealing. The use of colors and shapes make this game a delightfully addictive one.
The soundtrack is similarly pleasant to listen to.
Game controls are smooth, responsive, and not overly tactile. I’ve played a few games that required pixel-level precision to make jumps, find objects, and complete other actions to advance the game. These usually flatten me out a bit. I appreciate games that require some skill to play, but they are just games. I don’t want to get hung up on the desire for perfection just to get around. Luckily, the Helvetii developers didn’t forget to keep things simple and easy to use, allowing gamers to focus on their adventures.
However, this is where things tilt from the best the game can be. Helvetii is an adventure game with a story. However, the story is a little thin, lacking some interaction with other characters and a little less connection between the ongoing adventure and the story. Backstory elements are overused and vague. After the leader learned to stand up and fight for his people before the darkness overtook him, you now have to go stop him, but not in the way of details or follow-through What we’re left with is an almost level grind approach where you have to keep fighting areas on the map to get the upgrades you need to get past the boss at the end of the level.
Let’s talk a little bit about player avatars. There are three heroes to choose from: fighter, half-beast, and druid. A fighter is basically a ‘tank’, half-human looking like a cross between a human and a fox, with less hitting power but more magic. More agile. Finally, as expected, it has low hitpoints and doesn’t do great damage with melee attacks, but it makes up for this with more mana from magical ranged attacks.
Most gamers will recognize the regular Triangle Adept routine. This allows for some interesting playback options. The downside of this game is that getting through a level 5 times feels like every other time he’s gone through it. At least it’s less repetitive as there may be some areas on the map that are arranged in a different order.
On the positive side, you’ll see a map of where you were at the top of your screen. Levels are divided into discrete areas (represented by rectangular boxes), and line segments protruding from the boxes indicate paths you can take if you survive anything you find in that area.
Some areas have shops where you can talk to their owners, buy food and other items (some of which can increase your stats, some of which can heal you, etc.), keys to unlock treasure chests, and so on. Of course, you need game coins to buy anything, and the game is pretty conservative with where and how much you spend, so use them wisely.
As you progress through the series of areas that make up the level, you’ll face an inevitable boss. The theme this time seems to be “big and in charge”. Bosses aren’t more difficult versions of other bad guys you’ll encounter, but some are unique characters.
Minor spoiler alert, one of the early bosses is Oberon. He’s what you’d expect from a level boss—big, hard to kill, and can take you down fairly easily.Knows the drill.Some of Oberon’s attacks have learnable patterns. Unfortunately, he also embodies a near indifference to the game and to playing with it. I understand that he’s seen as undeserving of his due attention and could probably be slapped down easily, but he’s not engaging players well. There are other bosses who are frustrated with the attention they are getting. Get ready for the dying part of the game. Don’t worry too much. You’ll get the extra skills and buffs you need to finally reach a mutually beneficial agreement (i.e. you’ll be able to outmaneuver bosses).
If you can live a little higher level to get the buffs you need to fight some bosses, this could be a really fun game.
