Erra: Exordium

Erra: Exordium, developed by Fair Pixel LLC and published by Kirkidexi LTD, is a 2D action-adventure that distinguishes itself through a rare combination of mythological inspiration and industrial dystopia. Drawing heavily from Sumerian and Akkadian influences while embedding them in a dieselpunk framework, the game constructs a world that feels both ancient and mechanized, where remnants of civilization coexist with cold, unfeeling technology. This unusual blend gives the experience a strong identity from the outset, creating a setting that feels deliberately unfamiliar yet internally consistent. The gameplay unfolds within a side-scrolling structure that emphasizes precision, timing, and careful decision-making. Combat is deliberate rather than flashy, requiring players to read enemy patterns and respond with measured actions. Encounters are often tense, as mistakes can be costly, and the game rarely allows players to feel completely in control. This design encourages a methodical approach, where success depends on understanding the rhythm of combat rather than overpowering opponents. While the mechanics are relatively straightforward, the emphasis on timing gives them weight, t…

Absolutely horrible game. Sad, because the graphics and post-apocalyptic theme is pretty cool, but the mechanics are absolute garbage. Mobility is extremely limited, making it feel like a total slog. You can't reload and dodge, you have to walk around and let the 2-3 second animation play itself out to actually reload. Parrying timing compared to other games is nowhere near as refined. You have to intentionally parry way earlier than you would to get the parry off. Got to the first boss and literally not even 5 bullets put a dent in its health bar, meanwhile you're getting blasted with homing rockets, bombs from the sky, zombie robots coming after you -- and your endurance meter runs out after a few slides. LOL. No thanks. Very disappointed.

I really want to like this game, but it's just not fun. It's clear the developers were going for a slower pace where careful timing is critical, which I [i]should[/i] enjoy, but the aim controls for the gun consistently kill flow. You almost always want to aim straight ahead, but the default aim direction is on a slight upward angle, so you have to move your right thumb off the button cluster (on the gamepad) and over to the joystick to aim straight, get off a shot or two before the enemy fires their ranged weapon again and you have to dodge their projectile, and [i]then[/i] you have to put some distance between you and the enemy so you have enough time to reload your gun, which only holds three shots, then move closer and do the whole thing over again. This is bad enough with the enemies that shoot slow-moving projectiles, but once you reach the enemies that shoot normal bullets, it goes from tedious to painful. I didn't even mention that you have limited stamina, which dodges, parrys, and melee attacks drain, so if you're having trouble figuring out the timing for a section and keep dodging attacks while you figure it out, you're going to run out of stamina and die.

I feel a bit bad giving this one a thumbs down, as it's clear the team was going for something original they were passionate about, and it has a huge amount of artistic effort poured into it. That said, it really just isn't much fun to play. As a result I regret most of my time with it. The mechanics are pretty straightforward, and seem to be inspired by cinematic platformers of old. But the levels don't offer much of a puzzle to unravel. There's a little platforming along the way but none of it requires much thought, precision, spatial reasoning, or really any skill. And then there's the combat. Memorize an enemy's animations, parry their attack, melee them while they're stunned, and then repeat until they're dead. You also have slide that lets you move through enemies or projectiles to reposition yourself. When working as designed, it's tedious. But then the game throws more than one of any enemy at once, even the weakest ones. You must then shoot one of them with your very slow gun that never carries enough ammo for more than one enemy at a time, or stun them with a powerup that you get a limited supply of, so you can then go back to killing them one at a time again with the …

The game hooks you instantly with its look, and appearance is really amazing. Seriously, I cannot even imagine how long it took to make such beautiful atmosphere, really wow. Despite of clunky and uncomfortable controls, movement and combat - it is playable, just get to use it. Definitely worth to try.

too bloody hard even on easy mode, hate it and myself while playing it haha