When a developer makes a game, their heart and soul is put into it. This could mean beliefs, political views, or otherwise can be implemented to create a unique experience. For some, this is the perfect opportunity to interject their own culture into the medium, and in the case of Reverie, New Zealand becomes the focal point. This probably won’t mean much to people unfamiliar with their culture, and many of the references may be unappreciated, but for those that align with the Kiwis, there’s an unending amount of charm in this.

Plenty of games these days love to recreate experiences of the past. We’ve seen our fair share of clones over the years, and in particular Zelda: A Link to the Past. It’s rarer to see games take after the original Zelda, although it’s certainly not unheard of. The dungeon level design is seen in the very popular Binding of Isaac, but almost everything aspect of the original can be seen in this. In terms of visual style and the world itself, culture aside, the game is clearly inspired by Earthbound. To be fair, any game that decides to be set in our reality with everyday type items tends to get this comparison, but the aesthetic is very much an homage.

The game starts out with you on a boat after arriving at an island; you’re about to spend some time with your grandparents, and are going to be spending your time exploring all the land has to offer. After acquiring your melee weapon, you’ll head into your first dungeon where you’ll see something all too familiar. Not only do the room layouts look familiar with the map system working the same, but the enemies themselves move in the same manner. Playing games that pay homage is one thing, but this almost felt like playing the original game re-skinned. The different tools you come across only add to this, with things like a yo-yo taking the place of the boomerang.

What’s interesting is the choice for item usage. Many of the controller’s buttons are not utilized, although there are a number of items you’ll be switching between regularly. Opposed to the two choices you’re given on NES, you have three. Thing is, certain items that seem like they would not require to be equipped (swim gear) do. Instead of switching between weapons if you are in a dungeon like this, I’d equip passive gear on the shoulder button and never switch it out for an area/dungeon that required it. Otherwise, you find yourself pausing every few seconds, but I feel it would be a much more fluid experience if I was able to assign more buttons to gear. Of course, considering this was originally on the Vita, it makes sense.

If you’re a big fan of trophies, you’ll be happy to know that this has separate lists for both the PS4 and Vita while being cross-buy. Because of this, cross-play is not an option, so you can’t take your console experience on the go, but the game plays well on both. The most notable difference is the fact that loading is barely noticeable on the PS4 compared to the Vita version. Moving between areas means saving seconds depending on the platform you choose to play it on, and the Vita version also seems to play just slightly more sluggishly. If you’re into portability, the game runs very well on the Vita, and the game certainly lends itself to the portable game style, but I preferred my time with it on the PS4.

For anyone that knows anything about New Zealand and Australia, you’ll know there’s a bit of a rivalry. It’s similar to Americans and Canadians, where one dislikes being mistaken for the other much more. Naturally, this means you’ll see at least one dig at Aussies in this fairly early on. Sadly, the homages can be a bit too much of the same for anyone overly familiar with the source material. I had a great time exploring the map, collecting feathers, playing the minigames, and battling the likes of giant rats, but it wasn’t without issues. The game was brand new to me, yet I never felt like I was discovering something unique or surprising. Fighting would occasionally lead to damage that was unwarranted, as hitboxes and enemy damage patterns were inconsistent. The game offers plenty of life so it makes up for these instances, but I’d rather have less life pickups and a more regular experience throughout.

I always feel weird when discussing games that are so close to the source material. On the one hand, you shouldn’t break what isn’t broken, and this certainly makes sure to imitate previous experiences. On the other, it makes me wonder why you should play this instead of replaying the original. But with a game that uses such a fun formula, you’d be remiss to pass it up. If you dig the NES/SNES games that inspired it, you will have a lovely time with this, even though it’s a bit on the simple side.

7 out of 10

Pros

• New Zealand Culture
• Humor
• Side Content/Collectibles

Cons

• Too Close to Sources
• Inconsistent Hitboxes

Reverie was developed by Rainbite and published by Eastasiasoft Limited. The game launched on PS Vita March 29th, 2018 and on PS4 May 10th, 2018 for $12.99. The game was provided to us for review on PS4 and Vita as it’s cross-buy. If you’d like to see more of Reverie, check out the official site.

 

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