Flynn: Son of Crimson

 PC
User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 17 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 17
  3. Negative: 1 out of 17

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  1. nitorita
    Apr 4, 2022
    6
    Flynn: Son of Crimson is a 2D platformer that initially comes off looking promising from its attractive interface and clean pixel graphics, but quickly turns flat as the gameplay turns monotonous and linear within minutes and is only reinforced by an unengaging story.

    Due to the lack of an RPG aspect to the game, there is nothing convincing you to fight any of the enemies except for the    Flynn: Son of Crimson is a 2D platformer that initially comes off looking promising from its attractive interface and clean pixel graphics, but quickly turns flat as the gameplay turns monotonous and linear within minutes and is only reinforced by an unengaging story.

    Due to the lack of an RPG aspect to the game, there is nothing convincing you to fight any of the enemies except for the compulsory ones. The areas are not provided with any mystique to promote exploration. There is not much to write home about as this game is one you'd want to complete as soon as possible once you've gotten a taste for it, assuming you're able to trudge through it. You experience everything the game has to offer within the first half-hour of the game.

    The boss fights are all right as a whole, and arguably the most meaningful element of the game, but some bosses like the Aquatic Voltknight are designed very, very poorly, and will cause you to regret ever bothering to play in the first place. The decision to respawn the character right next to a hole is also incredibly frustrating, as you constantly slip and fall in after it happens. The random corruptions of past completed stages which force you to go through them again is bit of a chore to go through as well.

    Overall, a forgettable experience that I wouldn't recommend even if you are a fan of platformers.    … Expand
  2. pmasterfunk
    Jun 19, 2022
    6
    I really wanted to like Flynn: Son of Crimson, but I feel like it fails on some key elements, and it really brings the experience down.

    First off, the game looks wonderful. It has some of the best spritework around, characters and enemies look great and are animated very well. Locales and backgrounds are full of details, and the whole package looks fantastic. The music is pretty good.    I really wanted to like Flynn: Son of Crimson, but I feel like it fails on some key elements, and it really brings the experience down.

    First off, the game looks wonderful. It has some of the best spritework around, characters and enemies look great and are animated very well. Locales and backgrounds are full of details, and the whole package looks fantastic. The music is pretty good. All around, the presentation is strong.

    There's some decent variety in both looks and level design, and levels all feel unique. There are a few annoying levels here and there, but for the most part it's solid. One level is really annoying because of some other mechanics, so I'll get back to that one later.

    The story? Well, it's not great, but it's not a deal breaker. A lot of "twists" are revealed in text dumps in a late game level, and it feels kinda cheap. I just didn't have any attachments going in, so at the reveals I just kinda went "meh".

    The action is where stuff kinda went south for me. The game controls well, but a few things annoy me. Grabbing ledges works really well, but climbing up requires the jump button and letting go uses the down button. It just always felt strange. Moving while hanging on ropes is really slow and usually boring. The general battle mechanics also don't do it for me at all. I know it's all nitpick, but it feels like death by a thousand cuts. Attacking just didn't feel good to me. It seemed kinda slow and laggy. Attacking while jumping stops the character mid-air, which seems really weird. Basic enemies take too many hits to kill. Practically all enemies act the same and can be defeated using the same tactic; roll when they're about to attack and hit them from behind. The only difference being the number of rolls it takes to kill them. With many enemies around, the roll cooldown is pretty frustrating. The long range attack is slow, its range is too short, and the cooldown before moving is too long. There's a "Devil Trigger" mode that's so OP that there isn't any point in using the meter for other attacks.  All enemies attack for the same amount of damage: 1 HP. It doesn't matter if it's a tiny bee stinging you, or a huge sentient armour stabbing you with a spear. 1 HP.

    The really bad level I mentioned earlier has to do with the long range attack. Certain obstacles can be interacted with using an elementally charged long-range attack. Water blocks can be frozen to use as steps, torches can be lit, certain enemies can be stunned with lightning. But changing elements and charging the long range attack are finicky and slow. For that one terrible level, I needed to constantly swap between elements to hit enemies and freeze ice blocks and then light torches to see what I was supposed to do next. It was the slowest, most boring level in the game. It's not challenging, it's just slow. The game has a pretty brisk pace otherwise, and all of a sudden you gotta stop every second platform to swap elements, charge, shoot, swap again, charge, shoot, continue. I don't understand how this level got through testing.

    On the other hand, levels where the mountable dog runs around are a lot of fun. There should have been more of these.

    So yeah, Flynn... it could have been pretty good. There's hope for the devs, for sure. But this game falls very short of my expectations.    … Expand
  3. 3a21
    Sep 7, 2022
    7
    This game has a good potential.
    You can upgrade your skill, find hidden item each stage.
    But the game is too short and cannot get back to find hidden item when you reach to final boss.
    and the way you change your range skill is a problem when you are in combat and you muse change your skill or weapon.
  4. Fuz
    Oct 27, 2021
    9
    This game kinda came out of nowhere for me, but it's a really, really good platformer. Simple yet effective: you control Flynn on his quest to blah blah blah, the game is a classic platformer with some brawler mechanics - he starts with a sword and during the game he acquires new weapons and abilities, and combat is mainly focused on dodging the enemies' attacks and counterattack. NothingThis game kinda came out of nowhere for me, but it's a really, really good platformer. Simple yet effective: you control Flynn on his quest to blah blah blah, the game is a classic platformer with some brawler mechanics - he starts with a sword and during the game he acquires new weapons and abilities, and combat is mainly focused on dodging the enemies' attacks and counterattack. Nothing complex, but it works and it's fun. Controls are tight and precise, the game is really a pleasure to play and it's really engaging, I found myself unable to stop playing, "just one more stage" and then it's 3:00 AM. Tons of fun.
    The pixel art is ASTONISHING. It's really beautiful. Detailed, colorful, skillfully animated, very pleasant. Easily one of my favourite indie pixel art of these last years.
    Pet peeves: the dodge-focused combat could have been better, it's often hard to see the "tells" and thus evading, and it's kinda annoying having to dodge all the time even the smallest trash enemies, especially on small platforms.
    Another little thing that bothered me is that you can't rebind a few keys (menu, inventory and the key to skip dialogue) which is quite annoying. Nothing major, but still I don't see any reason not to let us rebind them and have those keys more easily reachable.
    All in all a really good game, I can't wait to play more games from this studio.    … Expand
  5. eded9999
    Sep 23, 2021
    5
    Average.
    Boss are unappealing and is kind of boring how you repeat the fight against that hooded girl again and again.
  6. Shilfein
    Feb 14, 2022
    7
    Good but not great, also don't expect a Metroidvania. It is a linear 2D Action/Platformer (emphasis on the Action part) with a bit of exploration and only 1 unlockable movement skill.

    Combat is competent, but not excellent. * There is a dodge with invencibility frames you need to absolutely abuse in combat. * There is a healing bar that takes 1 second to use, so requires to find an    Good but not great, also don't expect a Metroidvania. It is a linear 2D Action/Platformer (emphasis on the Action part) with a bit of exploration and only 1 unlockable movement skill.

    Combat is competent, but not excellent.
    * There is a dodge with invencibility frames you need to absolutely abuse in combat.
    * There is a healing bar that takes 1 second to use, so requires to find an opening in battle to use.
    * There is a special meter bar to use special attacks in the most demanding fights.
    * 3 different weapons. But not too much of a difference between them gameplay-wise.

    And that is pretty much it. It gets boring after a while: Just attack until the enemy flashes in white, then dodge behind him and keep attacking.

    You can beat 100% of the normal enemies like that. The game could have used a parry mechanic and some enemies using undodgeable/unblockable movements to mix things up.

    Final bosses are a bit better, they usually have more interesting patterns. But there are very few of them...

    Platforming is mediocre, but the game isn't focused on that anyways.

    Story and NPCs are terrible. No charm or traces of good writing whatsoever.

    "Good but nothing special" just sums it up.    … Expand
  7. ylnylmn
    Oct 22, 2021
    7
    I finished the game 101%. It was a good game but sometimes I got bored. Graphics and music are not bad. The game has an ordinary story. Combat and. Platforming is not bad but jumping and especially wall jumping could have been done better. Skill tree is not enough. And most skills are useless. Boss fights are good but easy because the fury skill is too strong. Overall it was a good game, II finished the game 101%. It was a good game but sometimes I got bored. Graphics and music are not bad. The game has an ordinary story. Combat and. Platforming is not bad but jumping and especially wall jumping could have been done better. Skill tree is not enough. And most skills are useless. Boss fights are good but easy because the fury skill is too strong. Overall it was a good game, I had a good time. But I wish it was a more diverse game.… Expand
  8. Dan_Yeni
    Sep 26, 2021
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It's kind of a disappointment. The game doesn't challenge you and turns to be boring in the mid/late game. The animations and the story could be better and the ending doesn't delivery a accomplish feeling, not to mention the 101% doesn't change anything and does not worth (although you can do it easily in about 8 hours). However, the game is smooth. Doesn't shows any crashes and bugs in my experience. Its more like a Donkey Kong game in a Zelda theme than a metroidvania. Perhaps this should be more a game for kids than a hardcore title a player should enjoy (like "Chasm", "Deaths Gambit" or "Blasphemous")… Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. DarkZero
    Feb 2, 2022
    70
    Don’t get me wrong, it might have the odd ‘scourge’ attacks, which are revamped levels up to the teeth with powerful monsters and dangerous threats, and a few unlockable wave-based combat trials (a stretch goal that was reached), but it really doesn’t do anything we haven’t seen before. However, bringing it all together with a solid design, satisfying controls, and being the cherry-on-top nostalgia-fest that it is really seals the deal. A splendid example of the phrase “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
    Read full review
  2. CD-Action
    Jan 19, 2022
    70
    Despite good execution Flynn is not very exciting. It’s simply a solid and quite fun but also very familiar and not memorable platformer that tells a story about a fantasy world invaded by hellish forces. [12/2021, p.79]
  3. GameCritics
    Nov 17, 2021
    85
    Flynn: Son of Crimson isn’t a game that is going to revolutionize action platformers, but it’s a very solid entry into the genre that offers great combat mechanics, solid platforming, and beautiful pixel art to go along with it. This game is absolutely worth a look for fans of this style.
    Read full review
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