Aggelos has slashed it's way over to the Xbox One from PC--a truly fantastic addition to any platform's library.
A bit of a treat for me--we're jumping back into the fantastic world of Aggelos. Reminiscent of Wonder Boy, this action-RPG comes to us from the developer Storybird Games, jumping off of the PC and now fantastically on the Xbox One. Having really sunk the hours in on PC, I was really excited to see how it played on the Xbox One, and more than happy to have another playthrough of this wonderful sleeper hit.
A classic tale of saving the land, your mission (if you choose to accept it) will be to thwart evil from seeping it's hand over the Kingdom of Lumen. It's no small task, and it's littered with life-threatening troubles along the way, but you're the hero! You can do it!
What I love the most about Aggelos...well, to be honest I love EVERYTHING about Aggelos--is the heart of the whole operation: the snappy controls. Every jump, move, inertia-based run feels so devilishly good to perform. It's like if you're favourite Nintendo game got a serious tune up. The movement is so reliable, that it quickly becomes clear that if you fail, you'll only have yourself to blame.
Starting out, as this is a RPG, you'll have basic moves with eventual unlocks that will help you in your journey. Collecting items here and there along the way is also a common practise--but the great thing about the way Aggelos handles it is with simplicity. You never feel overwhelmed at your items, or even if you're on a side quest fetching something, or taking it back, it's never too muddled up with other tasks. It makes handling these little fun bits easy in concept, with the added danger and challenge of the journey itself to deliver.
As the game progresses on, it becomes more and more difficult, especially in the way of platforming. Enemies can be dispatched, and you will get better weapons and armour along the way--it's the tricky jumps and maneuvers that will really take you for a ride. You'll have to work with some serious Mega Man-like precision in a lot of scenarios to avoid simple attacks or to get to a place you want to go. Aggelos doesn't steep up the difficulty all in one go, rest assured! You'll be properly trained with nimble fingers by the time you meet these small and large challenges. Another reason why Aggelos is so fantastically fun and balanced.
In your journey to save the land, you'll be made to enter different temples that house a diabolical boss at the end. If you're a fiend for punishment on the end of a good boss fight, you'll do well by this game. No push overs themselves and some seriously awesome sprite designs, the bosses will show no quarter as they pummel you with various unique attacks. This is when you'll really have to put your skills to the test!
Moving from PC to Xbox One was exactly the treat I thought it would be. My PC playthrough was exclusively with keyboard, and with simple control design, I knew it would work beautifully with the Xbox controller. There was something really arcade-y feeling about the port to Xbox One, and I gotta say, i'm really excited that it made it over okay. This is a must have game, and the more outlets to give it a try, the better!
I will forever sing the praises of this tidy little masterpiece. It's going to make you work if you wanna win, but I promise you you'll have so much fun in the process. Visually stunning, and genuinely fun to play: don't miss out on this one if you can help it!