If there’s one thing that surprisingly never gets old (for me at least) it is games that take the design past titles and renovate them for something new, yet nostalgic. This is precisely where Aggelos fits in, a title that is out now on PC with console releases coming soon that cites Wonder Boy in Monster World as an inspiration. The premise is that the hero is thrust into a battle for survival as invaders from another dimension set out to make the Kingdom of Lumen less peaceful than usual. It is up to the player to gather their strength and repel the monsters through sword and sorcery.
Judging by the trailer, this looks like a solid entry into the popular Metroidvania genre with a ton of Action RPG elements weaved into it. There also seems to be quite an array of movement options from an upward slash to get just a bit more height to a crazy portal attack that damages enemies between the two points. Stylistically, Aggelos is colorful and just screams retro. The press release also mentions being inspired by non-linear Japanese titles, which is always great to see for fans of the genre looking to tackle things on their own logic and skills.
I’m also getting a Lavos vibe from Chrono Trigger in one of the bosses in the trailer, which I hope was intentional.
The press release also boasts side-quests and secrets to find, but truly when I find new retro-inspired games, I immediately wonder if it will make a good speedrun. Of course, it can take a few days for those to start popping up, but do share those runs with us!
Aggelos is out now on Steam, with Xbox One, PS4, and Switch versions hitting sometime in 2018. The title was developed by Storybird Games and is being published through PQube Limited and Look At My Game.
