Reviews:
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Hand-drawn flair and unusual characters help give this Metroidvania a chance to make an impression
There’s no doubt that what will likely draw most people to Fearmonium is its visual style, which makes it feel a bit like a less refined Cuphead in Metroidvania form. There’s no doubt that it’s a bit of a visual treat, though once you’re in the middle of the action all of that falls away and you’ll be more focused on the gameplay aspects. That’s where it does take a bit more of a hit overall I’d say, as the controls and your capabilities in combat are middling at best, lacking a real crispness, though I’m not sure if somehow the visual style may play into being a part of that issue somehow. I’d say another issue I saw when holding this up to its competitors in the space is the overall flow of the stages and having a sense of where you should be going. Yes, all Metroidvanias will tend to require you to explore and backtrack, but usually there’s a sort of flow to things so you have a sense of where you should be going. Lacking that natural (or even guided) sense of direction, at times it felt like I was burning time accomplishing little, trying to look over the map to see where I’d gone wrong. To its credit there are some sequences that deviate from the normal action to help break things up, though since some work out mechanically better than others that also amounts to a mixed bag ultimately. If you’re a genre fan and are looking for something a bit different, this delivers, but against some stiff competition in the space it’s clearly a rung or two down from the top tier.
Justin Nation, Score:Good [7.7]