Nicalis is no stranger when it comes to offbeat games. Just take a good look at Blade Strangers and Runner 3 and you can obviously see that. But RemiLore: Girl in the Lands of Lore is a unique choice even for them, an isometric action game inspired by anime in general and featuring a kooky relationship between a cleaning girl and a…smart-aleck book? Hey, still a more heartwarming story than Twilight.
The story begins when said girl comes across the book, which suddenly opens a portal and sucks her into the world of Ragnoah. However, doing so leaves him exhausted and powerless to reopen it for her and thrust her back into her world. As a result, they have to work together in this mysterious land, gathering magical powers and staying in one piece as they run across a number of bizarre creatures.
RemiLore has some interesting elements going for it. First off, the action can be mixed up nicely thanks to the 200+ weapons that become available throughout the game. These include everything from brooms to swords, which you can utilize through a two-button combat system, creating a number of combos to obliterate enemies with. On occasion, the book can also generate special magical attacks to help the girl out, such as freezing time within a certain area or firing shots in a circular manner to hit all the targets.
That said, while the action is satisfying, it’s likely to become frustrating for some. There are only so many combos that you can create with your attack patterns, which leads to a bit of repetition. The magical techniques and weapons do keep things from going too stale, but it would’ve been nice to open up new attack patterns.
At least the game’s design goes a long way. Rather than going with general level design, RemiLore’s team opted to create randomly generated levels each time through. This also keeps things from getting boring, as you’ll face a healthy challenge with each new room of monsters you’ll come across.
But perhaps it can be a bit too hard, since there’s not really any way to save your progress during a level. You either have to wait until you reach the end of the chapter, or start all the way over at the beginning. Nicalis should’ve applied a system where you could save in spots, as this “one or done” system may frustrate some. At least the presentation is charming. The anime-style design truly stands out, between the duo that you follow over the course of your adventure and the large behemoths you come across. Ragnoah looks like a fantastic place as well, complete with fantasy-based cities that are fun to run through.
The audio is good too, between music that feels like it got ripped straight out of a cartoon (despite some mild repetition) and Japanese dialogue that hits the spot. There’s no English option, but everything is easily translated, so you don’t miss a beat.
RemiLore would’ve gone much further with its journey if it had a fairer saving system and some form of evolution with its combat. But it’s not bad in its current form, with hours worth of combat-based gameplay to enjoy, along with a fun, bouncy visual style and humorous dialogue. If you love anything anime-based, or just want a different kind of adventure to play on your Nintendo Switch (or PS4 or Xbox One, the game’s on those platforms as well), RemiLore just might sweep you off your feet.
