REDO!

Biomachines have taken over the world and killed off all of the humans…well almost all of them. You are the only remaining one that you know of. How you’ve survived so long is a mystery even to you. Suddenly you receive a message from someone you can only assume is another human and just like that you have a new purpose in life. Find this lost soul and maybe there will even be others!

Redo! is all about breaking you out of your comfort zone in both its narrative path and gameplay mechanics. You must weather the storm of violent monsters, savage landscapes, and the glaring possibility that you might be the only one of your kind left in this world. Did the punishing conditions in Redo! push us to keep striving for that end goal? Or did it just push us to the edge of our sanity?

I found Redo! to be an interesting combination of a few different genres so I don’t really know if I could effectively land on just one to describe it accurately. There was platforming and gated areas so you could say it's a metroidvania. You’ll die a lot and save points restore everything including the enemies so there’s definitely some soulsborne elements in there too. There is also a plethora of grotesque monstrosities ready and willing to kill you, and you only have a limited supply of ammo and health drops to help you along the way, so you could easily call it a survival horror game too. However you want to classify it though, the game is without question a tidy package that has a lot to offer.

What initially drew me into Redo! was its fantastic looking pixel art and smooth animations. Ever the sucker for a game with lovely looking pixels I was very excited to jump in and see what else this game would bring to the table. Unfortunately my joy was quickly taken down a notch as the gameplay proceeded to kick my butt all over town and back again. Now I’m no slouch in the challenging games department so it didn’t take me long ro figure out that Redo! was a game that rewarded patience over speed and I am totally ok with that.

Where I lost faith however was when no matter how patient I was the controls still fought me when it came to nailing proper timing with both fighting enemies and making the many necessary jumps to new areas. The controls are just ever so slightly sluggish and that combined with a heavy jump that barely lifted you an inch off the ground made for some very frustrating platforming which ultimately led to a whole mess of deaths that set me all the way back to my last save point. Needless to say I saw a lot of the same area for a very long time. I pushed through of course, but I can certainly see others not finding it worth it though, or getting discouraged by a major setback. Especially considering how slow paced it can seem, and how few and far between the checkpoints can be.

There were a few instances where it felt like damage was unavoidable because of either too many enemies crammed into a small area, or a combination of too many damage causing obstacles with aggressive enemies. And in a game where every bit of health is precious, not to mention hard to come by, it just added to the already mounting frustration. Plus, it really sucks that your riot shield costs ammo to use. So you can’t even readily protect yourself from damage without expending your already limited ammo stash.

I think over all the conclusion I've come to with regards to how I feel about Redo! is that it’s almost there. There’s just that hint of balancing issues that prevented me from truly enjoying myself to the fullest. When it comes to incorporating all those different genres together there needs to be consideration for what makes them successful on their own and if you remove certain elements it just doesn’t work quite as flawlessly. Nevertheless, I would still give a thumbs up recommendation to anyone who's curious. The story is intriguing and there are some really nice moments of gratification mixed among the many times of defeat. It’s worth a play but if you're worried about the tough barrier of entry maybe wait for a sale.

If you’re interested in checking out Redo! it’ll be available on the Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation stores June 22nd!!

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