Evoland

 PC
Metascore
61

Mixed or average reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 27
  3. Negative: 4 out of 27
  1. IGN Italia
    Apr 21, 2013
    45
    Don't get fooled by its cuteness: Evoland is a bad game, unable to fulfill its promises. Behind a bunch of jokes, there's an old, ugly, clumsy role-playing game, unable to bring any justice to its source materials.
  2. Hooked Gamers
    Apr 12, 2013
    45
    Evoland is a cheap, short adventure game and if you are looking for an afternoon trip down memory lane, the ten Euros it costs is not that big a price to pay. If however, you are looking for a good indie game to spend a few days with, you will be better off looking somewhere else.
  3. Riot Pixels
    Jun 10, 2013
    40
    As an introduction to old-school classics, Evoland is just too boring, and most veterans are not that nostalgic to blindly forgive its shoddy attempts at game design.
  5. Eurogamer Germany
    Apr 12, 2013
    40
    Evoland lives off your nostalgia, which, in turn, is the only reason for you to keep on playing it. After the first 30 minutes, where the evolutionary steps come in entertainingly swift succession, the game actually stops evolving much, settling for a mixture of mindless fighting and lowbrow puzzles, chucking in the occasional graphics update. Also, it promises to be a virtual history lesson of the genre, only to perpetually being stuck on A Link to the Past and Final Fantasy VII. Evoland early on just loses track of what it set out to do.

Awards & Rankings

89
#89 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 210 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 88 out of 210
  2. Mixed: 89 out of 210
  3. Negative: 33 out of 210
  1. IronSavior
    Apr 5, 2013
    0
    Please understand me: There is no game here. There are no goals or adversity. There is absolutely no story and no message--that is unlessPlease understand me: There is no game here. There are no goals or adversity. There is absolutely no story and no message--that is unless the story is that the author has played a few RPGs over the years and he also remembers some of the mechanics from those games. The experience can be described as "walk a little and then we mention something RPGs used to have". Evoland fails to deliver, or even propose, as much as a single aesthetic other than this.

    What's more is that the creators of Evoland have managed to reference this list of RPG mechanics and then fully divorce them from the reason we played the games that originally used them. Sure, these mechanics were present In the original works that inspired Evoland. However, in those works, we had a reason to fight the random battles, we had a reason to pick up the first sword, we had a reason to visit a village. In Evoland, these mechanics serve no purpose other than for the sake of listing them.

    A lot of game makers have made the mistake of analyzing a successful game and concluding that the game's success is only due to the mechanics that make up the game. When a game maker tries to follow a "formula" in this manner but also fails to adequately serve any aesthetic, then you have a guaranteed bad game because the audience will not have a reason to engage in any of those mechanics. I thought since Evoland was supposed to be a nod to the history of RPG mechanics, that it would naturally avoid this pitfall by using those mechanics as a means to remind us why we played those old RPGs in the first place. Sadly, it's just a rote list of disembodied RPG mechanics.    … Full Review »
  2. gameplayhdpc
    Apr 5, 2013
    8
    Wow! I didn't expect this game could be so good. Great ideas, perfect solutions, very innovation gameplay.

    History of jRPG from NES/GBC to    Wow! I didn't expect this game could be so good. Great ideas, perfect solutions, very innovation gameplay.

    History of jRPG from NES/GBC to PS2 very ironic, but sentimental and charming.

    Only problem in this game is short lenght.

    First 8 min on YT:
    youtube.com/watch?v=lTQYXYX7_RM    … Full Review »
  3. Key26
    Apr 4, 2013
    10
    My childhood is back, I can't remember the last time I felt so good playing a game. Every treasure I discover a nostalgic smile appears on myMy childhood is back, I can't remember the last time I felt so good playing a game. Every treasure I discover a nostalgic smile appears on my face. This is the dumbest review I could write, but I think that someone else can understand what I mean.… Full Review »
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