Maseylia : Echoes of the Past

I heard about Maseylia via the developer on Bluesky, and downloaded the demo. I was charmed by the art, the story, and the nostalgic feel of the gameplay for someone whose childhood gaming was done primarily from the mid-90s into the 00s. Naturally, I purchased the full game when it was released. I'm terrible at games that require timing, accuracy, and coordination, but it's rewarding to triumph over a portion that has thwarted me time and again (I'm looking at you, field of ice floes you have to navigate after you get the grapple). Unlocking new parts of the story is also exciting. I'm I think my only minor gripe is that it's sometimes difficult to determine where I'm supposed to go. After reading some other reviews, I'm inclined to agree that stronger contrast in shading would be helpful to alleviate this. Overall, I'm enjoying it. It's a challenging, aesthetically pleasing game with an interesting premise in a style that takes me back to my childhood.

Pretty solid 3D Metroidvania especially for someone's first game as the platforming and exploration are enjoyable. It's especially fun with the ice sliding or chaining movement abilities together for gauntlets. Combat's the weakest point of the game as it works but there's nothing special about it. Sometimes there's a bit of jank in seeing where to go or certain textures not showing up. Took a bit over six hours to finish (spent another hour checking for missed bonuses) and a repeat for the speedrunner achievement was about three hours (with the achievement requiring under five hours) so it's a good short to medium sized game.

I appreciate the art style, but ultimately that is what got in the way of me enjoying the game. It's mostly huge cavernous rooms that feel largely empty and because everything is the same color palette it is often difficult to tell where exactly you are supposed to go. That coupled with the platforming being fairly basic didn't inspire me to keep going. Unfortunate because 3D MV's don't come around too often and I had hoped this would be a good one.

As an avid player of 3d Platformers and Metroidvanias, a 3d Metroidvania was a must for me, and this game sure delivered. The gameplay is smooth, the biomes are diverse and nice to look at, and I had an overall blast playing through this game. The music is also wonderful. The upgrade system flowed nicely, and it became increasingly more enjoyable to navigate the map with new abilities. Definitely check this game out!!

gud game

Quality 3D platformer, a little rough around the edges but still a fun game to play through