A certain PAX East demo brought equal doses hope and skepticism.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/roundtable/37229/treasurenauts-not-all-glitters-but-maybe-some-gold
PAX East has come and gone, and although Nintendo pickings were slim, most of us got to play the upcoming Treasurenauts by Renegade Kid. Below is a sampling of some of our thoughts, and you can find more impressions of the game in Neal's Hands-on Preview and our big PAX Connectivity episode.
Alex Culafi, Previews Editor: I’ve never been a huge fan of Mutant Mudds (I acknowledge that it is a fantastic game), partially because the idea and execution of a multi-layered platformer rubs me the wrong way. Treasurenauts, which acts a spiritual successor of sorts to Mutant Mudds, keeps similar 3D sprite visuals while doing away with the layered gameplay. Naturally, the demo left me pleasantly surprised.
Neal Ronaghan, Director: That's kind of how I felt with the Treasurenauts demo, too, even though I dug Mutant Mudds a whole lot. Playing through the same demo I checked out back in January, I remain firmly entrenched in how I felt then: I want to play more. Scouring levels for treasure is fun, and I really like the curse/ghost house levels where ghosts spawn as you explore. The other two demo levels have this more laid-back feel, but that curse level ratchets up the tension.
The one thing I think the demo does a bad job of is let people know the structure, but to be honest, all we have to go on that right now is what Renegade Kid is saying. To me, it sounds cool, with a branching world map, the ability to sequence break, and unlockable abilities.
Zachary Miller, Associate Editor: No part of that game excited me. Neal's right--the ghost level was the most interesting because you had to balance collecting treasure with running back and shooting the gem to make the ghost go away temporarily. There's a risk/reward aspect that I enjoyed. I liked the double-jump and the three different attacks. But the graphics are just so damn basic. There is no personality to this game. Maybe that'll change as it gets further into development. Kirby's Epic Yarn works (kinda) because the aesthetic is so unique. Sonic (which features a similar gem-collecting mechanic) works because Sonic has personality and the worlds he runs in are detailed and colorful. You don't get any of that here. Yeah, all the bells and whistles that Renegade Kid says are gonna be there are cool, but based on that demo alone? I'm just not excited.
Alex Culafi: I think a lack of excitement was somewhat present in the gameplay, but I think we had different conclusions on why. My biggest complaint is that the regular enemy AI was inconsistent; some of the spooky characters in the curse world were tricky, but other AI barely moved or posed a threat (specifically the far too overused crab enemies). The enemies in that game lacked the life of Mutant Mudds, though I wonder if that's due to the early nature of demos.
Guillaume Veillette, Podcast Editor: I'm definitely a fan of Mutant Mudds and I was glad to see the controls and physics being kept mostly intact in this game. And to avoid making the game an almost carbon copy of Mutant Mudds, you have various weapons with different effects, range, power, etc.
Just like Neal, I found collecting treasure addicting in the demo, and I'm eager to see the final game's level progression. But above all, I'm looking forward to playing cooperatively with the girlfriend. It's Download Play enabled to boot, meaning we'll only need to buy one copy!
Topic: Treasurenauts: Not All Glitters, But Maybe Some Gold (Read 674 times)
