It is becoming increasingly difficult to innovate, even minimally and in any aspect. That is why we believe that it is necessary to praise the slightest hint of innovation , however light or minimalist it may be, something that happens in this new production by Maitan69 … that is, by Matías Schmied, a genius who has conceived another work that is quite worthwhile. (despite its flaws), which was funded through Kickstarter . We talk about Evan’s Remains, a game that is very likely to sound familiar to those of you who follow in the wake of this type of independent productions, since it has been available in digital format for a long time (and on all current platforms). A game that has been published recently in physical format, hence we wanted to take advantage of it to analyze it, something that we did not do in its day.
A game that, as you can see in the images and videos that we show you, has a clear retro focus and an old school playable approach . Ok, but what is this all about? Well, precisely at this point is where we think that there is one of the great claims that this production monopolizes, since far from flaunting a trivial and almost superfluous argument as is usual in many proposals cut by a similar pattern, in this case it becomes in one of its most interesting values. We take on the role of a girl who calls herself Vanille, but whose real name is Dysis. This young woman has a very specific goal that is none other than to find a genius named Evan, a guy who apparently is on an unknown island.
Discover a very particular adventure in which 2D platforming puzzles are combined with a fairly deep story.
That’s where the main character goes, and as soon as she sets foot in that location (very exotic, by the way) she realizes that something is wrong. A mystery surrounds this location, starting with the fact that far from being uninhabited, there is an appointment with some other character with whom we can dialogue (in Spanish) , conversations that are interspersed with various flashback scenes that are contributing to us information about both Evan and the protagonist herself and the overall narrative background. A story that we found quite suggestive … although it is not exactly well told, being one of the least successful parts of the work.
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To solve the puzzles we must go jumping on different platforms in the correct order. They are not too complicated in general.
An ephemeral mystery and puzzle-platformer
This is all very well, but in addition to dialoguing with certain characters, what do we have to do to move forward? Well, avoid a kind of platform puzzles. Their approach is very simple. On a fixed screen (or almost fixed) that houses the puzzle itself, we have to try to reach an area that is in a fairly high position. And for this we have to go jumping from platform to platform, which in many cases disappear as soon as we stop having contact with it. It is on this last aspect that the grace of each puzzle revolves, being necessary to activate or deactivate certain platforms in a strategic way as well as certain obstacles that complicate things. And to this are added other elements such as teleports, walls, etc. It seems a bit strange, but we assure you that this playable base is very easy to assimilate and has its grace … although we think that it has not been fully exploited .
As vital as the conversations in this work are, it is a success that it has been translated into our language.
The structure of the puzzles is too similar to each other , and also the amount of them that are seen throughout the game is not excessive … the opposite in fact. Precisely, we are facing a title that can be overcome in an afternoon perfectly and without too many problems. And worst of all is that it is not replayable at all , so once you complete it (in a couple of hours, unless you get stuck in one of the puzzles and without skipping the conversations, of course) there is not much else. to do. Of course, while it lasts, it seems to us a really enjoyable experience, which has also been accompanied by a fairly solvent and suggestive aesthetic facet.
The adventure lasts for an afternoon and little more, unless you get stuck in one of the puzzles it proposes, something very unlikely.
As you can see, this is the umpteenth production that pulls pixel art to represent its graphic appearance. Fortunately and without reaching masterful levels, the truth is that the graphic presence is very remarkable . The backgrounds have multiple scrolling planes and are extremely beautiful, while the animations of the protagonist are very smooth. The least achieved is the appearance shown by the sprites , very basic as a whole, as well as the limited variety of the decorations, which simply change certain elements of the backgrounds a bit … and little else. We also liked the sound quite a bit, especially for the soundtrack, which slightly reminded us of certain compositions from Fez… And everything that remembers that little wonder wins credits.
The pixel art aesthetic is very careful and is one of the main attractions of this work.
An interesting but very brief adventure
As long as you like classic platform adventures with puzzles in between, this work by Maitan69 will most likely catch your attention … at least while it lasts, which is an afternoon and not complete. The narrative gains a lot of weight , so much that it even becomes the main claim of Evan’s Remains. There is a lot of text to read (in Spanish) throughout the game, conversations that have to do with a mystery that surrounds both the island where the adventure takes place and the (rare) characters that hang around it. A story that at least to us has seemed quite suggestive, although it is fair to point out that the way to unravel it is somewhat clumsy. And in terms of their playable approach, platforming puzzles have their grace, although they fall short and they are not the most ingenious ever designed . All in all, a good aesthetic aspect and a well recreated sound atmosphere end up giving shape to a very entertaining title but one that could have given a lot more of itself.
