2023-11-23 14:00:00
Worldless is an adventure cosmic in which metroidvania-style exploration and especially combat are the center of its universe.
In his book “The cosmic connection“, the teacher and popularizer Carl Sagan He explained to us that human beings are made of an extraordinary material: stardust. In our DNA is the same fiber with which those stars and nebulae that inspire us from infinity every night are embroidered.
These words will echo in your head, or at least in mine, with every step we take in Worldless. And this title, the first from Noname Studio, an indie developer based in Barcelona, is a story where stars, constellations and the duality of darkness and light merge.
Costellations and Stars.
For a start Worldless It tells us a rather opaque and very ethereal story where it is quite difficult for us to follow the thread of what is happening. Argumentatively, it is open to many interpretations given its parsimony in this aspect. After many hours it is clear, at least to me, that the duality of light and darkness of the cosmos is the central axis of the plot. Both cannot exist without each other and this reaffirms that together they are more powerful.
Without going into spoilers, Worldless gives us the possibility of handling a kind of stellar being, created from stars that make up its body. Our protagonist is therefore a being of light, who has unique abilities for combat and exploration.
However, as we have anticipated, at some point in history we will not only be a being of light, but our nemesisdarkness, will also have its share of prominence to face the difficulties that the game presents to us.
Dual gameplay, like Yin-yang itself.
In Worldless we will move through 2D platform scenarios, with a clear style metroidvaniawhere the exploration and the backtracking They are fundamental. At times the game mixes other elements that we will talk about later, such as combat.
If we focus on the metroidvania part, it is totally immersive. The need to use different skills to advance through the stage makes it very enjoyable. We will have powered jumps, double jumps, and sprints that will help us overcome difficulties. The character’s movement is quite fluid and except for the powered jumps, the control is perfect.
Very varied mechanics.
But the gameplay of Worldless hides another mechanic that is not anecdotal but quite the opposite. It has as much prominence as the part metroidvania. And Wordless has a very elaborate combat system. Throughout the map we will find different mini bosses to face. To eliminate them we will have to use several skills that we can unlock in a talent tree.
We will have at our disposal several types of attacks: melee, ranged bow attacks, or ranged magic attacks. Each enemy has a weakness to one of the attacks and therefore if we attack him with this, we can “make him collapse” to, instead of killing him, steal his “soul” and use it as a talent point in the tree. skills.
Attack and defense.
Therefore combat becomes something very technicianwhere we will not only seek to eliminate the enemy, but we will try to make him vulnerable in order to steal his soul, something that is much more difficult than simply killing him.
The confrontation system is balanced, it is a turn-based combat where we will have, in addition to the attack phase, a defense phase where we must play well with the locks o parrys so as not to die before time. All of these combat variants make encounters with enemies in Wordless very interesting.
Extreme minimalism.
If we focus on the visual and sound section Worldless It stands out for its extreme minimalism. An example of this is the design of our character, which is merely schematic, as well as that of all the enemies and bosses. This is also transferred to its scenarios, 2D environments where minimalism takes on maximum importance. That does not mean that they are full of color and personality. We will have dark closed areas, others open and colorful, there will be rain and water, flowers growing and many details, all of them, outlined with simple, modest and even insignificant strokes.
All of these incredible details continue when we open the map. This representa each area where we are and is born from our head as a constellation, continuing with the aesthetics that are so simple, but at the same time immersive of the game. All levels of Worldless They have a constellation structure which means that, despite managing a somewhat humanoid character, we do not forget our stellar essence.
Conclusion.
Worldless it’s a metroidvania very good with a very rich and accomplished minimalist style. Its game mechanics, with parts that offer us well-worked turn-based combat or perfect platform exploration, make us have a double experience in terms of gameplay.
Los scenariosdespite its simple, are beautiful and idyllic, without losing sight of their ethereal and cosmic concept. However, it is true that its minimalism in terms of history and context, together with a plot that is quite opaque and so open to interpretation, means that you do not engage enough with the title.
In my case it has been difficult for me to keep playing because I couldn’t find the motivation or drive to continue moving forward due to this lack of connection with the player. Despite this, Worldless is one of those titles that arrive without making noise, but that bring a good, interesting, well-executed proposal that will not make you see the starsbut if enjoy them.
Wordless
19,99€
Pros
Very good level design Worked and polished gameplay Very careful artistic design
Cons
Story too ambiguous that does not engage the player The music is merely anecdotal Sound section could be better
#Analysis #Worldless #Sagan #stardust