Kraino Origins

Hey, you know those infinitely-respawning birds in Ninja Gaiden precisely placed to knock you into the OHKO pits? Well, what if the entire game was like that? Yeah.

Great little game! Feels retro but still mostly accessible. Like a simplified Castlevania, Shovel Knight etc. Looks and sounds as good as the trailers, always tight and responsive with a good mix of combat and platforming. It's short but sweet, with 8 fairly long levels and 8 shorter challenge levels between. While there are unlimited lives and a decent amount of checkpoints, the bosses can be a little tough. The forced boss rush in the end felt a bit lazy and unfair, but at the very least there was a checkpoint after the first three bosses. Also, bosses generally telegraph their moves decently. Despite some difficulty spikes (with maybe a bit of a skill issue on my part), it's still more accessible than truly oldschool games out there. The game feels a bit like a prologue to something bigger, but it's still worth it and I'll be definitely playing the sequel.

Pretty fun, and has a cool aesthetic, but it is insanely short. You can 100% this in a few hours. Still, it was a good time, and I'm looking forward to the sequel.

I had a really great time with this game and I am eagerly anticipating the sequel to come out. Kranio Origins plays a lot like Shovel Knight mixed with Classic Castlevania, but with slightly less B/S enemy placement in the level design. The campy horror vibes mix well with the gameplay style, and the pixel art is quite nice. This game also seems like it would be a lot of fun to speedrun, if you are into that sort of thing. Definitely recommended! Oh, there is one achievement that is bugged, so if you are a completionist, then you might wanna hold off until it gets fixed.

I really like this so far. Feels like something from the Sega Gebesis, but more modern and smooth. The level selection made me think of that looney toons gaym from the sega gen era and the mocement and combat made me think of boogerman. So maybe a nostalgia trip? Haha But its solid in its own right. So glad it level based. I enjoy replying the same level and collecting all the thingys.

A nice proof of concept for a bigger game. The asking price is steep for what is here though, definitely wait for a sale. Pixel graphics are good, soundtrack is kind of bad actually, and one of the achievements is bugged for me. But its a nice way to spend a couple hours.