The Messenger

 Xbox One
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 24 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 24
  3. Negative: 3 out of 24

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  1. gunndor
    Sep 13, 2020
    10
    As others have noted, this is a tribute to 16 bit platformers, but it’s an upgrade in every way. The difficulty is very well-balanced and progresses evenly. Boss battles are generally fair, some can be tough, but after a few tries you can get past them. On top of that, the game is full of tongue-in-cheek humor and cleverness unseen in the vast majority of games. I grew up playing gamesAs others have noted, this is a tribute to 16 bit platformers, but it’s an upgrade in every way. The difficulty is very well-balanced and progresses evenly. Boss battles are generally fair, some can be tough, but after a few tries you can get past them. On top of that, the game is full of tongue-in-cheek humor and cleverness unseen in the vast majority of games. I grew up playing games like Ninja Gaiden, and The Messenger has better controls, more unique weapons and combos, and is just more fun due to the playability and humor. Highly recommend it if you like the genre!… Expand
  2. Xbox_Alive
    Jul 18, 2020
    9
    The messenger received accolades at The Game Awards for Best Debut Indie Game and truly is a great indie game by Sabotage Studio. You begin starting the game somewhere in far east village. A village of ninja's who are well trained to be ready for the invasion of the devil army. However our ninja has become bored of this prophecy and history lessons cause he thinks it's all just a myth. TheThe messenger received accolades at The Game Awards for Best Debut Indie Game and truly is a great indie game by Sabotage Studio. You begin starting the game somewhere in far east village. A village of ninja's who are well trained to be ready for the invasion of the devil army. However our ninja has become bored of this prophecy and history lessons cause he thinks it's all just a myth. The devil army attacks and everyone perishes because our western hero shows up too late. He gives us a scroll to deliver to three sages then we become the messenger and our journey begins. It's not surprising that this game won the Best Debut Indie Game reward it certainly is deserving of such recognition. The audio the graphics combined with the play mechanics everything is sure to please indie fans and surprise others maybe not as into the indie scene. Most of the indie games released recently look retro indie but smell like 2020. Well let's look deeper in to game after first time you die you'll meet Quarable who can control space and time and can save you from death. It's basically a companion that takes you to the last check point each time you die. After you re-spawn it takes some of your coins. However I noticed that if you stay still and wait long enough it just goes away and you can keep your coins to yourself. After you start the game in few minutes of playing you should find your first shop which does not look like a shop and the shopkeeper isn't your typical shopkeeper. You can bring shards here also to receive upgrades. First one from the house you'll receiving claws that allows you to climb walls. The game really gives you immersive feelings as you play. So in effort to avoid any spoilers, if you're looking for something new to play, don't pass up on the Xbox One release of The Messenger by Sabotage Studio.… Expand
  3. Kaede393
    Jul 10, 2020
    9
    Before playing The Messenger you must know it is a tribute to all those 16-bits 2d side-scrolling platforming action games. This game is so well done that it makes you improve little by little until you end up playing in a way you never imagined. Its difficulty level is very friendly, even a lazy casual gamer could finish the game if he wants to, and is a great challenge for those who likeBefore playing The Messenger you must know it is a tribute to all those 16-bits 2d side-scrolling platforming action games. This game is so well done that it makes you improve little by little until you end up playing in a way you never imagined. Its difficulty level is very friendly, even a lazy casual gamer could finish the game if he wants to, and is a great challenge for those who like to complete games o goes for collectibles. To finish this note, the dialogs are so good that I laughed high and loud everytime. I couldn't recommend this game so much… Expand
  4. arambs
    Aug 19, 2020
    9
    The only thing im gonna say is that i love this game. Its not a masterpiece but the gameplay is farely good and the dialogues and story are awesome, one of the best indies ive played. And its on gamepass.
  5. Broyax
    Aug 28, 2020
    0
    Mais nom d'un petit bonhomme, qu'est-ce que ce jeu Megadrive fait sur ma Xbox ?!... ah mais oui, c'est un énième étron indé de la catégorie rétron pour rétrodegs parce qu'il paraît que les jeux vidéo, "c'était mieux avant"... mieux avant, t'es sûr ?

    Les graphismes de la génération 16 bits, 256 couleurs à l'écran et des pixels gros comme ça ! tu peux presque les compter, putain. Mais il    Mais nom d'un petit bonhomme, qu'est-ce que ce jeu Megadrive fait sur ma Xbox ?!... ah mais oui, c'est un énième étron indé de la catégorie rétron pour rétrodegs parce qu'il paraît que les jeux vidéo, "c'était mieux avant"... mieux avant, t'es sûr ?

    Les graphismes de la génération 16 bits, 256 couleurs à l'écran et des pixels gros comme ça ! tu peux presque les compter, putain. Mais il paraît que c'est de lard, du pixel lard, tu peux pas comprendre, c'est un "hommage" parce que "c'était mieux avant" et que la Megadrive, c'était le bon vieux temps... ouais, les cartouches Sega à 449 francs français, toutes taxes comprises, prix public conseillé. Trop bien.

    Et donc là dans ce jeu Segadeg ou plutôt cette imitation de jeu Segadeg (et Segadead) tu te tapes la "jouabilité" d'antan toute pourrie, très difficile bien sûr parce que avant, ton jeu à 449 FF, tu voulais pas le finir en une après-midi quand même... donc, t'étais là pour en chier un maximum, car à l'époque, on ne savait faire que ça : de la difficulté répétée et répétitive pour prolonger la durée de vie d'un ersatz de jeu sans contenu...

    Des mécaniques très simples et très cons, de la 2D ignoble, de la daube défilante (scrollante en franglais) des combats (?) de presse-bouton épileptogène et de la plateforme débile pour con-currrencer Mariol, l'idole des nintendaubeux, car Nintendaube était un con-current sérieux de Sega !

    Et donc, plus besoin de ressortir la Megadrive de la poubelle, grâce à ces "jeux" rétrons indés, redécouvre les affres du jeu tout merdeux d'avant quand c'était bien de la merde ! ah la la, on vit vraiment une "drôle" d'époque !    … Expand
  6. Karottedraak
    Jul 8, 2020
    8
    First of al i played this game on game pass and didn't buy it so this effects my rating of this game.

    The messenger is a silly 2d platformer game which really reminds me of the first ninja gaiden on the nes. But besides the reminds of ninja gaiden it also felt like it with botton mashing and some what challenging boss fights. I completed this game in about 11 hours and i really liked    First of al i played this game on game pass and didn't buy it so this effects my rating of this game.

    The messenger is a silly 2d platformer game which really reminds me of the first ninja gaiden on the nes. But besides the reminds of ninja gaiden it also felt like it with botton mashing and some what challenging boss fights. I completed this game in about 11 hours and i really liked it. The game also didn't frustrate me which will always give it plus points for me. For the story its only text blocks with some silly texts and it doesn't take it self seriously and that while the world actually really seems like it has a lot of lore and interested me.

    I will give this game a 8/10 because i really had a blast with it and i will return for the free DLC that just released!

    ( btw: It didn't made you feel like a messenger )    … Expand
  7. saimonSG
    Jul 24, 2020
    5
    esta regulat es un titulo que lo diria mas o menos esta bien para jugarlo un rato
  8. JoeTurner
    Mar 10, 2021
    10
    This game is a love letter to the games I grew up with. While the most obvious influence is Ninja Gaiden, there is also some Megaman, Super Mario and eventually Metroid thrown in the mix. The gameplay feels great, implementing classic gameplay with a few new tricks up its sleeve.

    The difficulty curve is close to perfect. While it's certainly challenging, it's fair, and most of the    This game is a love letter to the games I grew up with. While the most obvious influence is Ninja Gaiden, there is also some Megaman, Super Mario and eventually Metroid thrown in the mix. The gameplay feels great, implementing classic gameplay with a few new tricks up its sleeve.

    The difficulty curve is close to perfect. While it's certainly challenging, it's fair, and most of the toughest challenges are optional. There are a few times I had trouble figuring out where to go later in the game, but I figured it out before I got too frustrated.

    Besides the great retro graphics, the music is fantastic. The story is not too intrusive, but what is there is very well written and there is a nice mix of heart warming moments and very funny jokes. A few of these will only be truly appreciated by old timers like me, but I really liked the overall atmosphere and pacing of the game.

    When I first started this game I thought it seemed pretty good. As I got farther into it I realized that it was a really good game. By the time I was midway through (this game is quite long, taking me over 20 hours to beat, plus DLC) I was in love. In the end I cannot recommend this game highly enough.

    I consider this to be one of the best games of it's type ever made. It is epic and keeps you interested with new techniques to master and entertaining bosses and levels. To tell too much would be to spoil the surprises.

    It is a masterpiece and I really hope they release more DLC, or better yet, a sequel. Play this game, you'll not regret it! 10/10    … Expand
  9. quakedamage15
    Nov 1, 2021
    9
    Gran juego inspirado en clásicos como Ninja Gaiden. Un pixel art muy detallado y tiene una jugabilidad actualizada a los tiempos que corren. Muy divertido.
  10. XEQU
    Jul 2, 2021
    10
    This game is absoluetly brilliant.
    The story is wonderfull and detailled, also funny.
    Give it the first 1-2h that the game can suck you in and you feel ok with the very accurate controls. Dont expect any easy game here, its hard, but worth to play. Absolutely a must play for oldschool platform entheusiasts. played on xbox one x , gamepass. completion ~92% would definitly buy it if    This game is absoluetly brilliant.
    The story is wonderfull and detailled, also funny.
    Give it the first 1-2h that the game can suck you in and you feel ok with the very accurate controls.
    Dont expect any easy game here, its hard, but worth to play.
    Absolutely a must play for oldschool platform entheusiasts.

    played on xbox one x , gamepass. completion ~92%
    would definitly buy it if there would be a xbox physical in the wild.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
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No score yet - based on 2 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. XBLA Fans
    Aug 3, 2020
    60
    This was a tough review because it really is a great game, but it didn’t keep my attention which makes me conclude that, aside from some boss battles, it’s just kind of boring.
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  2. TheXboxHub
    Jul 3, 2020
    90
    There really aren’t many negatives to The Messenger but it certainly won’t be for everyone. It is challenging and will take time to get through depending on skill level, especially for completionists. But the base game can be completed in around 8 hours.
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