Switch and PC users receive a new title belonging to the increasingly recurring roguelike / lite genre, although in this case it is one that has a remarkable level of quality and is endowed with a lot of personality. This is what Blazing Beaks offers us. Analysis.
What was just a very niche genre just a few years ago has now become a fairly standard type of game (at least as far as it goes). I’m referring to roguelike / lite style games , works that at least in the independent scene do not stop appearing for various platforms. The most recent one I’ve had a chance to try is Blazing Beaks , a creation of the unknown Applava team that has quite a bit of charm.
The title basically consists of two very well differentiated game modes, Story Mode and Tournament , which offer us clearly different characteristics and game experiences, as we will see in this analysis.
The first one, the Story Mode, is intended to be enjoyed alone or, best of all, in a local doubles cooperative , being in my opinion the best asset that this entire production presents. And what do we have to do in this mode? Well, be overcoming a good batch of rooms or rooms of good size that are generated randomly … and that, as you will already suppose, are full of adversaries who must be liquidated.
Blazing Beaks, an explosive video game now available on PC and Nintendo Switch
Action and suffering in a twin stick planAt first, in Blazing Beaks we can choose our character among five different ones, although later on, three more are enabled … and to this is added the possibility of using mods to create our own character. And the good thing about this is that each one has their own qualities and virtues, as well as a clearly differentiated style of facing battles . Health, range, resistance and other parameters are clearly determined depending on whether we play with a duck, a species of chicken and other characters (all are birds) available, which adds a special interest to each game.
Without being impossible, the degree of challenge that this adventure proposes is more than remarkable.
The gameplay is as simple as you might expect. Using the two sticks we have to liquidate all the monsters and bugs that are gathering in each room and, when we fulfill this task, we can access the next level. But of course, to this basic formula other additional ingredients are added that add much more interest to each game.
Apart from the weapons and the specific characteristics of each protagonist, it is also possible to use some items called artifacts that come to be very particular enhancers that give us certain improvements but, in turn, when using them they also penalize us in different ways. The best? Skip them during the game (unless we are about to die and have no other left) and wait to find the merchant on duty so that he can exchange them for much more substantial improvements, being able to wield a wide variety of weapons that They range from clipped to freezing rays or balls of plasma or poison.
Thanks to a very precise and well-integrated control system, the game chops its ownOn the other hand, as we play, we can also access various secret rooms that usually contain very juicy loot , collect keys that are vital to reach previously inaccessible rooms and that usually bring us very interesting surprises and, of course, face tough battles against various final bosses. And what happens if we die? Well, you know: we have to start from level 1-1… And I already warn you that you are going to clap many times, since although it is not the most difficult title I have ever played, it is not a walk precisely and especially the first bars are very uphill.
We can choose our character from eight possible candidates (once all have been unlocked) or customize our protagonist.
This proposal is quite entertaining and challenging, and thanks to a very precise and well-integrated control system, the title bites its own. However, it is true that it hardly contributes anything new to the genre and, in the same way, it does not have any kind of narrative that serves as a background and that somehow justifies the fact that we have to permanently kill mutants and similar creatures. . It goes straight to the point, no more.
Along with this mode, which is replayable and attractive, the aforementioned Tournament mode has also been incorporated, which is basically a competitive mode for four players in local mode. And do not think that it is a kind of marginal complementary option because, in fact, it can be more attractive if possible than the previous one.
In addition, this modality includes no less than five clearly different submodes (Deathmatch, One Gun, Skull keeper …), all of them very addictive and, in some cases, relatively original within what is usual in these cases. Thanks to this multiplayer mode, the title wins many integers and, in addition, it becomes a very interesting option to spend wild afternoons glued to the television with our friends. The only big downside is that it does not support online mode, but hey, apparently the intention of the developers was for users to shout together in the same room.
The rooms are randomly generated so each game is a different challenge.
This interesting proposal has been endowed with a lot of aesthetic personality, something that the title is very grateful for. The recreation of the sprites is very successful in my opinion and while I have missed a bit more variety in the randomly generated scenarios, its retro aesthetics and attractive color range make up for this deficiency.
And as for its sound section, it is not the best virtue that Blazing Beaks has at all, but at least the sound effects are strong enough and the soundtrack brings more dynamism to the combats.
“Interesting”
Blazing beaks
A new title belonging to the roguelikes / lite group is seen on Switch and PC. Blazing Beaks is a game that has been endowed with enough grace and aesthetic personality and that, in addition, has as its main value the fact of being able to play its campaign in local cooperative mode as well as access a very crazy multiplayer for four users … again locally . It is not the best, nor the most original, nor the most engaging in its category, but it is a more than remarkable option.
- The gameplay is challenging
- Being able to play campaign mode in the company of a friend locally
- Its four-player Tournament mode is excellent…
- … But it can only be tasted locally
- Doesn’t bring great ideas to your genre
