Aggelos

 Switch
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. Eurogamer
    Apr 30, 2019
    Aggelos treads a path many others have followed in recent years, but it does it all with a charm of its own.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 16 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 16
  3. Negative: 1 out of 16
  1. GossipGaymer
    May 9, 2019
    8
    A nostalgic side-scrolling adventure, meets metroidvania, that hits almost all the high notes.

    Reminiscent of the spectacular Wonderboy    A nostalgic side-scrolling adventure, meets metroidvania, that hits almost all the high notes.

    Reminiscent of the spectacular Wonderboy games of the past, Aggelos brings a tidy package that joyfully blends the retro with the modern to provide a well-rounded and often challenging adventure.
    Feeling like you are stepping back in time has become somewhat of a normality in modern day Indie gaming, and my time with Aggelos was no different. Not to say this was unwelcome, with Aggelos feeling as though it would have fit perfectly between the 8-bit era of the NES and the 16-bit era of the SNES. Offering a to-the-point adventure lasting approximately 6-10 hours, you will find yourself engrossed in a compact journey to save the…insert generic storyline here. Sadly, the story of Aggelos was often forgettable, with the real highlights being the gameplay and combat, the well-designed regions/dungeons, and a metroidvania search-a-thon charm that was hard to resist.

    Traversing the colourful overworld was always enjoyable, dodging an array of diverse enemy types that felt appropriate to their environments, while also searching high and low for hidden upgrades, hearts, and weapons, that were never quite as conveniently located as they could have been. Fortunately, a helpful NPC offering suggestions for your next course of action makes up for the annoyingly unhelpful in-game map and lack of minimap. Each new overworld zone is quite short in the grand scheme of things, maintaining a consistent feeling of progression as you move from one area to the next. Like any metroidvania, backtracking is prominent here, however a well-designed fast travel system makes this a non-issue in the later stages of the game.

    While there was a lot to love while playing Aggelos, there were also a few issues including an inconsistent difficulty level towards the later parts of the game, and a game-breaking bug in the Nintendo Switch version, which at the time of this review, rendered the game unfinishable. While starting out as almost deceptively easy, the third dungeon brings about a sudden spike in challenge that felt unbalanced. The music was another less than impressive component of the game, with a repetitive soundtrack that felt appropriate to the style, genre, and locales, but never exceeded my expectations for what an incredible musical score in a game could be.

    In general, it was difficult to not be impressed by Aggelos, considering it was put together by Storybird - a single person studio – and still holds the quality and production value of a game completed by much larger teams, and with much larger budgets. Overall, I am very happy to have played Aggelos, finding that its triumphs far outweighed any drawbacks of the experience. A sequel is more than welcome, and with a few tweeks, this series has potential to become something special.

    Highlights:
    - Solid adventure with a strong nostalgic feel and well-integrated metroidvania gameplay.
    - Enjoyable combat system that was easy to learn and master.
    - Not afraid to challenge you with its wide variety of interesting enemies and bosses.
    - Dungeons felt well designed and structured, including some puzzle elements.

    Lowlights:
    - The story felt fairly generic but accomplished the goal of providing reasonable context.
    - The music could be repetitive and did not stand out for the genre.
    - Difficulty was inconsistent between the first and second halves of the game.
    - Early version bugs in the Nintendo Switch port, rendering the game unfinishable.

    GossipGaymer Score: 8/10    … Full Review »
  2. Simoss13
    Mar 18, 2022
    6
    I loved the Genesis/Mega Drive art style and gave it a punt on sale.
    The music and graphics were great. I also enjoyed the enemies and world    I loved the Genesis/Mega Drive art style and gave it a punt on sale.
    The music and graphics were great. I also enjoyed the enemies and world it offered.
    The upgrades and new abilities were great to earn. The dudgeons and puzzles has a good challenge and interesting to solve.
    I did not like no check points near the boss after you die. The bosses were bullet sponges being too hard compared to the rest of the game.
    I really did not like the map and fast travel coming after 1/2 through the game. Because of this, expect to get lost at times.    … Full Review »
  3. jjenks
    Oct 20, 2021
    6
    I really liked the game BUT -- the ending is way too hard. At level 18 and without the "Ultimate" gear - I couldn't get past the last guy. TheI really liked the game BUT -- the ending is way too hard. At level 18 and without the "Ultimate" gear - I couldn't get past the last guy. The "save point" is too far away and reloading/walking back got really boring fast. I didn't finish the game because the final boss was too hard. Yes, I am not very good which is why I picked "Normal" but I tried nearly an hour to finish him and gave up out of boredom/frustration.… Full Review »
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