When you think of the Metroidvania genre, you probably remember the winding paths that make up a massive game word, peppered with enemies, threats, and obstacles that impede you from moving forward. At least until you get the next super ultra-mega weapon that changes up the game entirely. These are the core components the genre is known for and often provide a deep, enjoyable experience that can eat up almost as much time as your favorite open world game. Does Paradox Soul meet the incredibly high bar set forth by the likes of Castlevania or Metroid? Not really, but at least it tries to meet you half way.

Despite being advertised as a throwback attempt to the adventures of Samus or the Belmont clan, the gameplay has more in common with the more recent release, Not a Hero. Sure, there are the token upgrades and keys that allow you to improve your character or unlock the path forward, but none of them offer any substantial impact to the overall experience. You’ll be working your way across linear levels, dodging or taking cover only to peek out and take pot shots at the limited number of enemies the game throws at you. If you’re familiar with the adventures of Mayor Bunnyman, this will be something you’ll pick up on quickly, but will likely struggle with due to the fact that the rolling ability and cover inputs are one and the same. This left me more often than not getting stuck on one of the cover assets when I was trying to roll out of harm’s way as a melee style enemy was closing in for the kill. This would’ve likely pushed me to the brink of rage quitting if it wasn’t for the overly forgiving nature of the game.

Out of the box, you’re given a whopping 4 hit points and in the event you run out, you’ll simply restart with a fresh batch of them from the exact same room you previously failed on. While I do love checkpoints and autosaves, the risk or challenge that most games provide is essentially null and void in Paradox Soul due to this. Early into the game I found myself just running and gunning through the limited number of enemies as I breezed my way through the next door, ignoring the cover and rolling mechanics entirely, never paying attention to how many hearts I had left. I only stopped once I died and restarted the room to rinse and repeat my way to victory.

Much like the gameplay, the presentation is just there – nothing memorable shines through. There is a surprising amount of detail tucked within the pixelated lab settings, but the repeated nature of the rooms that never really evolves beyond a simple backdrop from left to right becomes a blur as you push through the all too similar floors. The enemies don’t improve the experience since you’ll be taking down the same robots and feral dogs (side note: I really wish we could stop rewarding players for killing our canine friends) for the duration of the story, which again, is just there and fails to impress like everything else in the game. The only variation to be found comes in the form of the limited number of boss battles sparsely placed throughout the many levels, and even then, due to the limited attack patterns, it just adds to an affair that is all too easy that I struggled to stay engaged with.

At the end of the day, Paradox Soul fails to fall into the deep genre it attempts to emulate due to the lackluster presentation and overly forgiving mechanics. At its low price point, it isn’t the worst game you could spend your hard earned cash on, but don’t expect anything memorable akin to Super Metroid or Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

4 out of 10

Pros

• Extremely Short
• Max Out the Gamerscore/Trophies in Under an Hour
• Low Price Point

Cons

• The Roll/Cover Mechanic Doesn’t Work As Advertised
• Ultra Repetitive
• Lack of Challenge

Paradox Soul was developed by Ritual Games and published by Ratalaika Games. It is available on NS, PS4, PS Vita, and X1. The game was provided to us for review on X1. If you’d like to see more of Paradox Soul, check out the Steam Page.

 

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