Ariana and the Elder Codex Game Review

3 hours ago 2

Want Your Business Featured Here?

Get instant exposure to our readers

Ariana and the Elder Codex is a strong action-adventure platformer that plays great, though its presentation can't quite keep pace with battles.

Ariana surprised me with its basic structure. I will admit, from the trailer, I assumed I was getting yet another Metroidvania and/or Soulslike of the 2D variety, which seems all too common these days. Not that there's anything wrong with that format. For my money, though, I'm a bit worn out by that premise, and was pleasantly surprised when Ariana ended up being somewhat different. This has some light Metroidvania elements, of course, since you will encounter navigational barriers that may not be surmountable until you get certain abilities.

Ariana actually shares far more DNA with something like Mega Man's level structure. Each tome is a level and can be selected in any order. The tomes display a difficulty rating rather than a boss icon as in the Blue Bomber series, though you can decide to take on whatever challenge you feel up for and in any order. The tomes are discreet levels that can be completed once or multiple times to unlock all their secrets and rewards.

Each tome features a central story that will play out through short in-engine cutscenes. You will progress through the levels, engaging in a steady mix of platforming, navigation, combat, and secret hunting. There are usually a few save benches peppered throughout the level that will be familiar to those of you who have played a certain bug-knight-with-depression simulator. Then, the end of the level involves a large boss fight of some type with its own unique mechanics and attack patterns. Lather, rinse, repeat across the tomes until you've fixed them all.

This formula also includes Ariana's spell slot and shard system. Ariana has three spells mapped to different buttons. Initially, these are a mashable sword attack, a short-range magic missile that pierces through enemies, and a healing spell that brings health back over time. Though they are called spells and have all the expected magical trappings, there is no mana or energy system to speak of. Each spell has a cooldown and is usable again once that is completed, allowing you to spam them as much as the timer allows.

What is interesting is how these spells can be altered. As you defeat enemies, they drop glowing shards or crystals (as video game enemies are wont to do), which act as a currency to purchase upgrades. Each time you visit the benches, you can speak with an artificer who helps you improve the spells. As you level them up, you can increase their baseline numbers (more damage, more healing, etc), but also add unique properties to them as well. Furthermore, as you take on the levels, you will get new spells that can be slotted into your three ability buttons, which can substantially change your playstyle. Some of these spells are pretty obvious lock-and-key style design, where you encounter super annoying enemies that are best handled with one specific spell. Yet I'd say the vast majority are quite flexible, and I found myself constantly playing around with different spell assortments to vary up my play style.

The actual game in Ariana is quite good, too. Attacks and movement feel responsive, which is great because that's what you spend 99% of your time doing. Movement is snappy, controls make sense, and attacks behave as you'd expect. One of the more interesting elements is how the dodge works. I expected a roll or a zippy dash or something that would pass through/behind projectiles. Instead, the dodge is like a heavy charge that absorbs projectiles completely. This becomes a key element of your strategy, particularly in boss battles where you actively dodge/dash into as many projectiles as you can so they don't turn and keep chasing you. I did not find this intuitive at first, though after a while, I found it an engaging differentiator between other action platformers I've played before.

There are some odd elements in the mix, though. For one thing… I'm not even sure how to fully express this. On a purely subjective level, Ariana is a few pixels too tall. I know that's an odd thing to say, but she seems a bit too big relative to the actual size of the screen and enemies. Maybe it's just that her head seems disproportionately large compared with her body size and height. It appears to be a stylistic choice that I don't click with, and I wish it were less of an issue. Then again, you spend a lot of time looking at her character model while playing, and I could never adjust.

The biggest letdown is probably the overall presentation. Ariana's model looks fine, and the various particle effects on attacks and spells look fine. The issues lie in the rest of the game's barebones or outright weak visuals everywhere else. The enemy designs are painfully forgettable. Most of them are of the inky black or purple generic minion variety, the kind you've probably slain a thousand times over in other games. The bosses have slightly more variety, but are, for the most part, quite lacking in character. The entire villain lineup looks like placeholder assets more or less, being vague monochromatic blobs that burst into shards and little else.

The story is not all that engaging, either. While there's some attempt at telling vignettes with heart and pathos, they don't quite land how they should or could. The main sticking point lies in how the stories are delivered. Each vignette is played out using these ghostly apparitions, and Ariana fills in the story over time in small chunks. The figures in these stories do not emote much at all. They will stand and deliver dialogue before sliding left or right to leave a scene or perhaps flipping 180 to face another direction. Combine that lack of expression with simple character designs and the general framing of them being storybook characters completely removed from Ariana, and it's no wonder why the story segments don't land.

It's not that the stories are bad - they're passable to fine for the most part - but connecting with them becomes a challenge. The lackluster delivery, simple presentation, and disconnection due to the episodic nature mean that the overarching tale doesn't do much to entice. This leaves everything up to the gameplay, which, while admittedly good, doesn't quite have the legs to shoulder the burden all on its own.

In terms of expectation-setting, we have to consider the price as well. Ariana and the Elder Codex lists for US$39.99 in North America as of the time of this writing, which makes it not quite a budget title but far from a full-priced major release. Viewed in that context, I think it's a pretty solid value for the asking price. The gameplay is fun and novel enough to hold your interest. While some of the graphical presentation is a little lackluster, and the story didn't do much for me, I can't say that it's a bad time. It's fun to play, and performs well even on the Switch 1, even if it doesn't always look the sharpest (but then again, that's been the case for that machine's entire life). I don't think it's a must-buy if you're looking for a definitive action platformer.

Then again, in a sea of gritty metroidvania/soulslike/etc titles, Ariana and the Elder Codex stands apart. It has a pleasing storybook aesthetic, solid action-platformer gameplay, and interesting customization and levelling - all for a reasonable price. There's a good amount of fun here that won't break the bank and stands out from a sea of other 2D action-platformer games, chasing a completely different tone. As long as you can look past its flaws, there's a lot of charm here.

Read Entire Article