GameTech: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth worth the price of early access
Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth.
For some games, there is a record of how they were made. This record is made public – in fact, it involves the public. It’s what Steam likes to call ‘early access’, but what the rest of us call ‘in development’.
Early access becomes a record of how a game was created, as players are given the chance to buy an unfinished version of the work, at a cheaper price, so the developers can learn from the feedback and make the experience as good as possible.
The Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth (Early Access, Steam, €10.99) is a record on two fronts. Firstly, it’s an account of how the protagonist Deedlit wakes in a labyrinth, without her memory and uncertain of her surroundings. Secondly, it’s a record of how this game is being made, through early playtesting.
Lodoss War is a well-known anime series from Japan and this isn’t the first game developed in the name. However, it is already by far the most promising. Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth is basically Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, but with twists that take the gameplay up a level.
When we say there are resemblances to Castlevania, that goes right down to the graphics. Unlike Bloodstained, which was made with 3D models, Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth is a fully 2D experience and looks and feels more like Symphony of the Night than most games we have played since. Just like Castlevania, you can pick up a multitude of weapons, level up, gain new abilities like double-jump and acquire various spells that cost mana.
The Wonder Labyrinth itself is also very reminiscent of a castle environment, making the comparisons even more apt. The enemies aren’t quite as imaginative as in Castlevania, but they make up for that in being animated with real care and attention and life.
Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth already does all the ‘vania basics tremendously well, but where it becomes a little more special is through the ‘spirit’ energy that Deedlit controls. There are two types in the early access version – a wind spirit and a fire spirit. Both give Deedlit different abilities, and both allow her to be impervious to damage from that element. In addition, when either spirit gauge is full, Deedlit can regenerate health.
The way the game is designed at present, this means Deedlit must switch between spirits on the fly, especially during hectic boss battles, so that there is a careful balance between attack and defence and regeneration, using the spirits to counter where possible. In one particularly memorable battle, there are two enemies representing both spirits, meaning the player must always be on point and watching the flow of the battle.
If that sounds like a ‘bullet’ hell game, or even like Nier Automata’s wonderful combat system, then you would be right. The Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth may be in early access, but it’s already worth the price of admission. And we’ll go on record to say that.
Meanwhile, if you want to beat your own record, there’s no better game than Forza Horizon 4. Until now, you could only play the seminal racing series on Windows or Xbox, but Playground Games have announced it will hit Steam on March 9 too. Not only that, but there will be cross-play, meaning players across all platforms can test their records against one another.
Forza Horizon 4 features fluctuating weather seasons as the ‘headline’ feature, with racing conditions changing depending on the time of year and therefore the season you are playing in. Unlike an early access game, Forza reached the finish line long ago, meaning PC gamers are getting the real deal here.
Finally, what’s the opposite of early access? A remastered version of an old game. Fully completed in years past, it gets dragged back to the surface, reanimated for one last hurrah, with all the bells and whistles. You can’t hear a whistle in space, but Mass Effect: Legendary Edition will officially release on May 14, 2021, after at least a year of rumours.
It will feature all three games from the original trilogy, plus most of the downloadable content too. Despite the controversial ending of the third game, Mass Effect remains one of the industry’s greatest universes – an unusually rich sci-fi world that will be well worth visiting again.
