Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom

In case you are craving for games featuring a Metroidvania style, I finally have something for you. Developed by Game Atelier, Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom is a game that goes right back to the end of the 80s and sports a 2D action/platform mechanics that have been missing for a little while. Despite the fact that the dev comes from the mobile platforms, and thanks to a partnership with Ryuichi Nishizawa, creator of the incredible Wonder Boy.

Monster Boy looks and plays like a superb title, at least for the parts that I could test with the demo.

The story, to be honest, is rather simple: for some unknown reasons your uncle gets drunk after abusing of royal … and starts to wreak havoc in your little village. He also manages to turn you into a pig, a thing that changes your perspective and your playstyle. This simple mechanic, though, appears to be the strong point of the game with your avatar acquiring, level after level, the ability of shapeshifting and, with it, the possibility to use different skills to solve different kinds of problems.

The demo contains two levels, the first of which is depicted inside this article. We are dealing with a classic 2D mechanics, where the levels (and the characters design) are beautifully drawn and are very pleasant to traverse. Judging from the map, the game world is huge and the platform mechanics get deeper as soon as the title starts showing its action nature which also embeds some simple RPG features, like the ability to buy weapons and gears to enhance your skills.

Since the game came out a few months ago many sites have already reviewed it and awarded it with a score that is often in the range of 9/10. As usual, though, I suggest you try it out yourself before you buy it. I really liked the demo but I suck at this kind of games, so I guess I will have to skip this one. Thank you for reading.