First of all I’d like to know if you are aged over 20? If so you’ll remember the last ever console to use the different coloured plastic things we humans called “cartridges” and they where the very things that had our not so big games stored and protected inside. And yes, that was the N64. While the N64 will never be remembered for its great life-span, it did have some great games for it, such as Banjo-Kazooie, Golden eye, Ocarina of time, and Majora’s Mask from the Zelda series, which you will also remember the damn FRUSTRATING AS HELL camera angles, especially on the like of Banjo-Kazooie. This story though, is alas very Zelda, and so I present to you, the dear reader to… Warden: Melody of the Undergrowth.
First off, I’d to like recommend a game pad for this title, (whether is an Xbox 360, which I used, or something else) it’s not required as such, but it will help as everything is all in a finger or thumb’s reach, this is particularly helpful because you won’t be stretching your fingers across the keyboard landscape.
The game-play is a pure nostalgic trip to the golden days of the start of 3D Zelda type games, where there’s an easy tutorial where your father is teaching you how to fight with melee weapons. Roll dodge out the way of the enemy attacks, and also locking the camera onto your enemy, (though i was not allowed to jump while the camera was locked) then the fun begins as you get separated from your father, and explore the main game as you collect lore from reading off stones or by talking to some really bizarre NPC’s, (Oh how I miss the era, where games didn’t take themselves too seriously ) finding new weapons, solving puzzles to advance, and of course to this genre, fighting and beating the 7 bells out of bosses by learning attack patterns to dodge and counter attack till his / it has no health left.
Even the music feels nostalgic as you’re treated from a piano score from the title screen and of course you can turn it down, or mute it all together with the sound effects, if you so desire but being a single player only game I’d personally soak it all in and have everything at the highest volume to immerse yourself in and listen to the strange sounds while the NPC’s talk to you. Even the weapons sound like a proper thud should, and breaking vases… who does not like breaking ’em to find goodies inside?
Controls feel at tight as one would expect from a 3D platformer of this quality, and you’re gonna need it as you walk on tiny ledges and crawl across a wall like Spider Man via vines on the walls. You can only carry 3 melee items at a time but that does not count your torch. Melee weapons such as swords,axes, mallets and so forth, they all behave differently like mallets hitting hardest, while swords swing faster then mallets etc, so it’s down to you which you want to keep when you find the next “shiny”.
The UI is nice clean and all the while you see what your buttons are going to do in the top right while using a gamepad so if you stand near something, it will say “pick up” or “read” next to the button for context sensitivity.
There is lots to find in Warden: Melody of the Undergrowth, like lore pieces, secrets to find and also armour to help deal with bosses much easier, though if you get hit whilst wearing them it will be knocked off soon as you get hit, which yes, will help your own hitpoints out.
If being guided back to the past, to games that led the way to where we are now, then you’ll want to get this on steam. There’s 43 achievements to unlock for the 100% completion guys and gals out there. (just like myself)
Images taken from Warden: Melody of the Undergrowth’s Website
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