The Guise PS4 / PS5 Review

If you are a big fan of Indie games then you will have no doubt heard of the publisher Ratalaika Games. They release a lot of fun and interesting games, even if some of them are short affairs. So, when I heard news of a Metroidvania fairytale getting released called The Guise I was naturally curious. Will it be the usual fun, short gameplay or will it be something a bit different. Let us take a look below to see which it is.

When you first load up The Guise you will notice that the unique visuals which look simple but pretty amazing. It is a side-scrolling platformer/action game with a good flow through the levels. You play as Odgen, an orphan who lives with two other boys being looked after by a single woman. The orphanage is pretty cool, but the only rule is not to enter the woman room but of course kids being kids don’t listen and go in. They find a strange, spooky mask that when Odgen put it on he becomes something else…a monster.

Obviously this is not ideal for Odgen spending the rest of his life as a monster so he goes on a quest to return to normal. He encounters a lot of monsters along the way so it is lucky that in this new guise he has abilities to help him fight through. And this is where the Metroidvania part comes to light; every time that he kills a boss he get new skills to take on the adventure with him. This is good news as there are parts of the level you can’t always complete without certain abilities, but thanks to the transporters you can travel back and complete them.

Combat is nothing complicated and you have standard moves like a slash and then to use other abilities when you get them you use different buttons. Also learning the pattern of your enemies is a useful skill to have and will help you defeat certain monsters easily on your quest. There is a really useful move that is not explained in the tutorials and that is you have a dodge button, which is something you will be using a lot on your quest. Bosses always have a larger health bar and require extra skill to bring them down.

Also, there is an in-game currency which is useful for unlocking new things and this takes the form of monster eyes. So the feel is that of your typical platformer in that you run, fight, jump and die at times and here is where the challenge lies. The graphics are nice and simple but look really good. The backgrounds are monochrome looking and the characters and stuff are colour. The sounds are fun and are most memorable, especially during the fights.

Final Thoughts

The Guise is an impressive game and the price tag makes this even more impressive. While it is not a very long game there is enough to make you want to replay it so you can unlock the various stuff that is available. The one frustrating thing is that if you die before a checkpoint no mercy is shown and back you go in the level. But otherwise, a fun game worth playing.