Should You Buy Phoenotopia Awakening? An (Over-)Ambitious Indie Zelda
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ส.ค. 2024
- Releasing on August 20th after six long years in development, Phoenotopia Awakening aims to capture the wondrous sense of adventure of the Legend of Zelda games. Featuring Zelda II-inspired sidescrolling gameplay, this 20+ hour adventure game also sneaks in elements and mechanics from more recent games, including Dark Souls. Does this odd hybrid work in the Phoenotopia's favor, and should you buy Phoenotopia Awakening at its $20 asking price? Find out in today comprehensive Phoenotopia Awakening Review!
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*IMPORTANT UPDATE:*
After my and other reviews were published, the developer immediately went to work on a patch to address many (most!) of the issues I've mentioned in this video. As of 9/15/20, the patch is out! I'll continue to come back and update this comment as I get more time with the updated version, but the short of it is: After the patch, the game is MUCH improved, and I'd very much recommend it to Zelda fans now! BUT, keep the following in mind:
The developer worked with reviewers and early players who gave feedback, myself included, to create a comprehensive patch for every major issue. In my case, the developer and I had a lengthy, productive email chain - my feedback wasn't alone the reason for many these changes, but it certainly had an impact. I'm glad to have provided even a small assistance to such a promising game; but in the interest of transparency, I want all of this to be clear so that there's no risk of a personal bias affecting your purchase decision. Some of my smaller criticisms still remain and as such I'll leave the review up, but the addition of a new Normal difficulty goes a massive length.
Original comment below:
Thanks for watching! Here's that Bloodstained video I mention at the end: th-cam.com/video/yjX-J55aTzM/w-d-xo.html
Thats great to hear because at its core there is a very good game underneath all those glaring flaws
I've watched a few other videos on this game,and they all essentially say how frustrating parts of it are(like you did) and I appreciate that,people need an honest review..I'm still planning on purchasing this game because it reminds me alot of one of my favorite games for the NES Zelda 2..I usually am not interested in pixel art graphical games,but I recently bought "Chasm" and I'm enjoying it and the graphics in this game are beautiful..I'll wait a few weeks for that game patch though(and because I have some bills I have to pay first,you know "adult stuff")..this game is a definite buy for me 😊👍
I'd like to see a new review once it's patched. I've been playing and can't say the issues you've mentioned are that bad aside from combat. But that's only been problematic for the first dungeon.
I've enjoyed it a lot more than other games in the last few years that baby the player or are severely lacking. Good examples - Mario Odyssey and Smash Bros. For $60, I've found both extremely disappointing.
@@MagicWonder425 My biggest dissapointment ever is Pokemon Sword and Shield. It's so bad lol.
The patch is out
This review is *spot* on with my feelings on this game. I'm constantly frustrated by most of the design decisions (stamina management for attacking, little to no i-frames, the economy, no auto save system, which isn't a deal breaker but at least have it that save points heal me, the food system, pressing up twice to enter most buildings, can't remap controls, etc.) but I can not seem to put this game down. It's something special and if they fix/tweak/remove some of the infuriating and needless mechanics tied to it, I genuinely feel it'd be a game of Hollow Knights quality.
The double-press up to enter rooms is actually something I figured was so minor of a nitpick that _nobody_ besides me would really get it, so thank you for showing me I'm not crazy! Thankfully most if not all of these are looking to be addressed in the first patch, and at that point I should be able to heartily recommend the game!
the wait is finally over. they haven't changed the doors yet, but now there are options to turn off stamina costs, instantly eat food, and increase i-frames. saves now heal you, statue'd saves fully heal you, money is easier to gain, prices are lowered, and some enemies are nerfed.
@@andyzhou8151 wait, really? I saw that the game was updated a few days ago but when I turned it on, I didn't notice anything changed. Gotta give this a shot when I get the chance.
@@GeekwithSwagg you actually need to manually update the game. go to the game settings and check the version. update it from there.
@@andyzhou8151 Well, for some of those things you talked about, you need to go into the Accessibility Settings and turn them on manually. But you're right, they have made improvements to make it easier while still allowing you to try your hand at all the beast mode it's got to offer.
The patch is now out guys! This fixes money problems by lowering required costs and making money easier to earn. This also includes healing upon respawning, healing when getting a heart container, enemy nerfs, aerial attack buff, and more! There are options to basically solve most stamina problems, eat instantly, and increase damage invincibility. You can even make cooking and fishing easier. Make sure to manually update it from the homepage.
I'm glad to see it's live! The developer was very receptive to the feedback they received from both reviewers like myself and early players, and I'm so glad to see many of my biggest issues addressed in one fell swoop! (I wasn't the only one to bring up many of these issues, of course, although I believe they'd said I was the only one to bring forward a couple of them!) I'm happy to have been able in some very small way to fine-tune such a promising game, even if these talks with the developer may mean that some feel my neutral perspective is now skewed!
I bought this game in January and I really enjoyed it. However this was after all the patches and updates to it and on the easiest difficulty.
I tried it on the hardest difficulty and it was just not fun. Why would you make basic attacks drain stamina in a 2D game like this? Part of the fun in a game like this is being able to rapidly attack the boss while it's vulnerable like in a Zelda game! Though I have seen players play on the highest difficulty and not take damage so I guess leave the option for the pros. But having this as the default was a bad idea.
The food thing, I kinda get I guess. Some people get a high from not knowing if they'll be able to eat it in time before the boss strikes but me personally, the boss is already challenging enough, and I would like to be able to consume the food item in my menu like a Castlevania game.
As for the money complaint, yea if you're a new player going in blind, this would definitely be a turn off... the reddit helped me avoid that fate by telling me to buy the fishing rod first to farm but most players aren't gonna know that unless you place an NPC that hints that...
That early in the game, the player should not be struggling with money, they haven't figured out efficient methods to find money and haven't understood what they will need to survive the upcoming challenges.
If they want the game to do better in sales they need to consider every type of player getting into the game.
It sucks that because of this lack of foresight in design, poor marketing, publishing deal gone bad and covid led to this game's failure. And unfortunately the dude gave up. He's no longer interested in making Phoenotopia 2.
I really wanted this game to succeed and see that sequel but it's a pipe dream now.
Great honest review. I actually like all the difficulties that come with this gem of a game
Sign of a great review, you sound genuine and you talk about what was frustrating as well as what you loved. I'll be subscribing for more!
I've been enjoying the game myself and loving the art too, but combat can be punishing sometimes, I agree.
Your review actually made me interested in the game, unfortunately this game won’t be available in Australia for 3 or 4 weeks
Honestly, there's a not insignificant chance that the game may be patched by then! If so you'd be able to experience a hopefully more definitive version of the Phoenotopia experience - with just 5-6 changes it probably ends up being one of my favorite games of the year!
@@TheGoldenBolt I have had this game since launch in August and didn't realize there was even a patch. I got frustrated after almost 10 hours and stopped playing. Honestly, I could overlook the terrible money drop rates and other smaller issues if the combat was well done/balanced/fun. You get the tiniest weapon ever in a video game, and it seems the bat is the only melee/main weapon you ever get in the game. The enemies hit like trucks, are fast, and don't have the handicap of stamina like you do. You don't even get abilities to make combat funner and more manageable, such as how Zelda II gives you the down and up thrusts for example. You have to get SO close to enemies to even hit them with you bat that 99% of the time you WILL be hit/touched by the enemy sprite, especially when they just move so frenetically. If the combat was heavily overhauled to be fun and fair I wouldn't even mind grinding money through killing enemies, because the world is immersive aesthetically.
Anyway, my intention originally wasn't to go that much into detail about why I hate the combat. I was wanting to say that I did forget about the game after dropping it, but the other day I remembered it and loaded my game up to give it another go. I quickly started remembering the things, especially combat, that made me stop before. I see this video today saying there was a patch back in September but I guess that since it is merely a "Normal" mode (funny since the original mode should be normal but I guess they didn't want to make people feel bad for playing an "Easy" mode) that I would need to start a new game and pick the new mode to experience any of the changes? That also means the combat is just as bad as it always was. I truly feel the only issue they really need to address with the game to make it significantly better is a complete overhaul of the combat.
I believe it was my suggestion (I'm sure others had it too!) that they don't just call it "Easy Mode," because it implied in this case that Normal was the proper way to play, and in this case the "proper" way would have ensured people didn't get very far before tuning out! I'd suggested something like "Adjusted," vs "original" to avoid tying difficulty to the modes
@@TheGoldenBolt I just started a new game and noticed there wasn't even a difficulty option. Seems some of the tweaks are applied to the game no matter what, while some of the other changes are just tied to toggles in the options?
thank you for a honest review, I watched 2 videos before this one and all they did was praise the game the whole time and casually mentioned the game had retro style difficulty
I wouldn't exactly call the difficulty "retro-inspired" personally - it's got some semblance of being old school hard, but the issues come more with the more modern design elements. You wouldn't get outright bounced around the stage like a ball when getting hit in a classic Mega Man, for example!
If anything, I'd _prefer_ if Phoenotopia aimed more at being old-school hard, because then I wouldn't have to worry about my bombs being kicked back at me or about needing three seconds to heal!
@@TheGoldenBolt Mega man was built for battle. Gail is a young girl. They are gonna react differently when you get hit. Also, you can negate the rag-dolling effect if you use your tech skills and time it correctly. I do have an issue with the stamina bar filling so slowly though. I wish they would eliminate the lag before it starts refilling. I think it should start refilling the second you stop using actions that burn stamina.
I love the game after the patches!! It's still pretty hard - which I'm normally not into at all, but the visuals and overall design was so stunning that I had to try and I fell in love!
If it hasnt been said yet, you will be fully healed after u die if you use a save spot next to an angel statue... dont ask me why or what the story is behind that cuz the game never told me
That would make a lot of sense! I feel like I ran into a couple save points early on (before dungeon 2) that had an angel statue nearby and _didn't_ fully heal me, though, so it may not be consistent? I was early enough in that I may not have noticed the heal upon death, too - either way, that's a great catch!
I believe the developer noted that post-patch, all saves should fully heal, but that may be locked to the new difficulty mode!
I haven't played the new Phoenotopia Awakening, but I did play the original Phoenotopia. The requirements you described to get into dungeon 2 sound like a pain. The original one had a few requirements, but not that many. All you had to do was:
- buy a talkalot potion for 10 rai
- give it to bandit to learn location of bandit hideout
- ask Lisa interesting places to visit and she gives you the bomb maker's address
- go to address and find bombs
And that's it.
The patch is out, and the rin requirement is lowered from 60 to 40. Some of the gear is cheaper and money is easier to get now!
I'm really interested to see what they work on next after this game, based on your review.
You and me both. With a little bit of conceptual polish, this team has the ability to make something truly special!
@@TheGoldenBolt The creator of Phoenotopia is intending to make a sequel (at least, I think so...) he was making it before the remake actually, but decided to remake the game to reintroduce it. I think he is intending to continue it once he knows that this game is in the clear.
Very good review. Hopefully they'll rework some of the problems in a patch then I'll give this one a chance.
I'm hoping along with you, my friend. If a patch does happen to address even a few of these issues, I'd be the first to recommend the game at that point!
@@TheGoldenBolt How about that Samurai Jack?
Also a huge problem is the lack of any range and variety in the melee weapons
I really hope they fix some of these issues with an update, it feels like the game is one or two thoughtful patches away from being amazing. I can say the primary issue for me thus far is that the stamina system is horribly implemented, it doesn’t fit the style of the game. Removing it entirely and increasing the range of the bat would fix most of the problems with the game for me. I can deal with loss of progress, difficultly, backtracking, padding, all of that no problem. But hamstrung, unfun combat? That just kills it.
Apparently they're planning a patch affecting difficulty according to a Reddit post made by the creator, but they're going to wait for other feedback first. I doubt stamina will be outright removed because the game is balenced around it, but hopefully they'll be some improvement
I'm coming from chatting with one of the developers a moment ago, I can confirm there'll be a patch developed to address many of the issues I highlighted. I don't want to dive into specifics just yet because they very well may change, but whenever it hits, the patch should push me from lamenting its promise to recommending it more fully, based on what it's sounding like it'll be!
Really appreciate the follow up. Subscribed!
Played for about 2 or 3 hours
My issues:
B to jump and A to attack is something that personally throws me off, controls can’t be remapped
Don’t like the stamina or healing system
Think the range of the bat is too small without charging. The range is more punishing with the stamina system
Controls do not feel tight as say hollow knight which I consider to be the golden standard for indie 2d games these days
Hope they fix these issues, I REALLY want to like this game. I think a few tweaks could make it really fun but right now I feel like I’m forcing myself to enjoy the game
Any way great review, all the other reviews I watched had few criticisms
You nailed most of my combat issues down, absolutely. With a few tweaks it could knock it out of the park, but as of right now it's as flawed as it is promising.
The Golden Bolt glad I’m not alone in these feelings, I honestly feel disappointed after getting so excited from the trailer
Also want to comment on your souls like critiques, I’ve played every fromsoft game except demon souls and In those games the stamina system feels fair not limiting like it does in this game
Agreed, that was part of what I was trying to get across - I've only experienced a small handful of Soulsborne games and Soulslikes but in every proper one, the stamina and game pace felt fair. This felt like more of an appropriation of those concepts that missed the key points behind those games' designs!
The Golden Bolt dude we are so on the same page! I subbed btw I’ll definitely be checking your reviews if there’s a game I’m interested in from here on out
But to vent just a little more that’s what made hollow knight so amazing.
There were no limits on movement options and basic attacks from the nail but the soul meter was a well implemented mechanic. Some boss fights it’s nearly impossible to heal but for the most part it doesn’t feel awkward and you can heal when you observe an attack pattern or you deal enough damage to get a heal break
Yah know, I feel like a pro right now because I managed to beat the game, not hundred percent it, before the update. What you said was true though, which really disappointed me because I'm an old fan. I hope that the patch will sway you, and others, to enjoy the game more. Thanks for the review.
there's something I noticed with the game play, and while this probably won't fix a lot of the issues you have, I want you to know that you can eat food faster if you mash the button.
I mentioned this in a reply to another comment, but early on I did this by accident and didn't notice a significant speed-up in eating times, so I didn't think much of it. After all, in a game where you get the little pause sound effect even if you press pause during a cutscene, a random sound effect for pressing A was unassuming enough!
@@TheGoldenBolt it's not the A button, it's the Y button.
thats probably why it didn't speed up that much, you were pressing the wrong button
@@TheGoldenBolt also i think that sound is actually the sound effect for "unable to pause"
Such a great review. I 100% agree. I do like this game but it's as if it wants me to hate it a lot of the time
Gonna buy this game after I beat Batbarian (maybe sooner).
Played the demo and loved the "slow" combat for its methodical nature and the puzzles were a perfect palette cleanser for everything in between.
Honest review, but I remember that the devs said that when gail eat something if you mash the "A" button you will eat more rapidely. Also the game have a fast travel option with fran sidequest.
In my experience, mashing A didn't help to a noticeable degree - I just happened to do it once or twice though, because I didn't see it mentioned in-game! And you're correct on the fast travel, I mention that in passing when I talk about the Moonstones. However for the first several hours you won't have access to that, which is the main point when you'll likely need to grind money!
@@TheGoldenBolt You don't need fast travel in the first few hours. While I'm making a comment, I'll say: How can you complain about filler missions/events when you reach a new town? What do you expect? The game wants to gate you in your latest area to experience it for a while. Weirdest complaint I've ever heard.
You are right about the recycler, though. They could've bumped up the selling price of each item by a couple rin. That's including any merchants, as well.
@@tvoyager7with the new patch item value are higher in the recycler. 😁
WHAT IF I DON'T WANNA SUBSCRIBE, GOD YOU ASK ME EVERY VIDEO FOR FOUR YEARS NOW. NO MEANS NO
lel nice
[SPOILERS] I do agree on some things, just make sure that you mention the [spoiler] who will give money.
Second merchant. There is a second merchant who will buy food from you in forms of fish and there’s also golden gram pieces that can be exchanged late game. It is true that early on Money can be an issue, but I sometimes find myself getting more money from the progression of certain side quests.
What more I’m frustrated about is how some subtle hints for certain progressions can be. Some are so subtle that they almost don’t exist. Once I managed to open a songstone from random guessing. I kid you not, I was just mashing the flute and got lucky to open the door because I couldn’t find any hints within the surrounding area.
Some of the hints are so clever that I feel incredible when I solve them, but others like you touched on may as well be ripped right out of Zelda II, it's simultaneously fascinating and frustrating!
Which game is harder ?cuphead or phoenotopia?
The art style looks amazing. Doesn't sound like the gameplay will be for me at all and based on your comment there is some fixes coming to improve the game so that's reassuring for those on the fence.
When the eventual patch hits, I think it'll live up to its potential as a killer Zelda II inspired game, although the pacing issues will still be there a little bit early on no matter what!
I like this game a lot but I speak of games in general when I say this. The market is now saturated with survival games and mechanics in games that it are making them kinda boring. I know I don’t speak for everybody and this game only has a little survival element to it with cooking food but I just struggle to get into games with this mechanic because it seems like a chore. When I saw this game I got super pumped, then I saw you had to cook food and was like “well this went from a 10/10 for me to like a 7/10.” Again, I don’t speak for everybody this is just my opinion but I would’ve preferred an easier and quicker healing system.
To some extent, I actually agree on that! Thankfully there is a patch in the works that'll optionally remove the heal-delay, since that mechanic simply doesn't make sense when accounting for the rest of the game's mechanics. It won't remove cooking of course, but it's good to see that the developer is listening and receptive to the critiques that many have had!
The Golden Bolt that is all we need in the gaming industry. A developer that listens.
Oh, cool. It's Zelda 2-2
My favorite stage in Mario
Man, this game looks really good!
Also, 1:32 Jimmy Neutron?
Y'know, now that you mention it you're right, that's gotta be a Jimmy Neutron episode plot!
@@TheGoldenBolt That's the plot of the movie
I'm at the second town (Altai). My trick for gold. Buy the fishing road. Catch some fish, cook it and sell it in the recycler at rhombus chekpoint, west from Altai City. Each cook fish is like 10 gold. It's easy money for now, but don't know for later.
One of the issues there is that you'd need to grind 150 coins for the fishing rod, which would mean you _definitely_ have to grind afterwards for the required objectives in Atai. Some rebalances will be coming with an eventual update so hopefully there won't be a need to grind that much if at all for money soon!
@@TheGoldenBolt I have enought money to buy the fishing road ane the lantern the first time I was in Altai. After the first temple I had at least 350 golds. Chest and secret area give a lot of gold. It's a exploration game after all. But after my purchase I have like 20 gold lol. But after your review, the devs tell me they will patch the game, but it will take some time, because it's complicate with Nintendo.
really good review thanks, I saw another review and the reviewer said that is biggest error was not to buy the fishing rode first because selling fish is the easiest way to get money, so in the review he said buy the rode first.....
Thankfully, a full patch is in the works to address the drop rates for money/the coin drops from chests/etc., along with pretty much most of my other issues. It sounds like it'll be a few weeks until it's certified by Nintendo, according to the developer, but they've been super receptive to the feedback they've gotten from me and other players and reviewers! From the patch notes, it should completely turn the game around from very promising but full of issues, to a game I can fully recommend!
@@TheGoldenBoltgreat news, I'm in europe hopefully when the game comes out here, it will be with this patch.
This is an amazing game that is also exhausting. It needs a better map system
Wonder how this game doin nowadays
The ending sucked, all that build up and then... It suddenly ends. It felt rushed, unfinished. They were doing it soo weeell, it was magical 😢.
Music, atmosphere, wonder of adventure, they nailed it!!!!
Yes the battle system is frustrating
Annoying at times but yeah, buy it
Buy the fishing rod first. Go fishing and sell your fish. Helps a little
this is actually one of my favorite game I played the flash version, so if you have any questions you can always join the discord server for help
Playing it can't find the flute 😭
The Ouroboros prisoner in Atai has it, but he's the one you need the wine for so you'll have to spend 60-70 Rin to see him, get the ID from Gail's friend, dye your hair, buy the wine from the bar, and give it to him.
I thought you were saying "she can attack with her flu" I was like wtf how
2020 has shown us that anything is possible!
Man, I freakin' loved everything you criticized in this game.
Pressing R3 for anything is a crime
Truer words, my friend. Truer words.
Yes of course this game is not for everyone. Much like Zelda II likes to slap you in the face and punch you in the stomach. You kind of missing the point here. We need more games like this to spice things up for hardcore players.
Idk some stuff felt like they were definitely not playtested enough like for a particular boss with bullshit attacks
I'm glad I waited and got the game after the patch. But I absolutely loved it. The ending was pretty wierd though
guys be honest has anyone actually played zelda 2
o god i forgot i was logged in to this channel
It took a second to click in my head, god
Patch is coming in September. Change a lot of bad thing that you adress in your review. 😉 docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1_8IMQrC9rO36bIMhiBjLolksnIck8tswt9NQ8fhYlzk/htmlview#gid=158980402
I am out with a required gold grind.
You and me both! I mean, if there were a clearer way to grind, like a fishing competition or something, I'd even be fine with that, but if there is one, it's too late and too out of the way to have an impact.
money is now easier to come by and the only required gold grind in the game which you are on got reduced by 33%
phoenotopia awakening might be the best metroidvania-rpg of this generation.
Is this an RPG? I have seen no signs of it.
It's funny how every critic complains about the short bat range... In a game without contact damage!
You can be wacking the enemies right on top of them if you want, just jump out of the way when their attack animation begins. Doesn't even require stamina.
Game is awesome btw, and way underrated. A total shame. If you like jRPGs and Metroidvanias this is a must.
Instead of complaining about reviews, you should roll back to the launch version of the game and play it the way we did, before the developer agreed with every critic and extended the attack range. I spoke with Quell (the main developer) extensively after my review published, and it's thanks to all the feedback he received from the early players that he comprehensively rebalanced the initially kinda broken game over the course of - and I just checked their own patch notes - half a dozen patches in the last year!
That roll you said doesn't require stamina? Guess what - it used to! Most enemy attacks came out much faster and dealt far more damage than they do now, and you couldn't just heal in the item menu - you had to eat slowly and stand still, hoping you wouldn't get bodied by the aggressive enemies. Roll back to 1.0, my friend, let me know how it goes!
I played the game before any patches, and I've played it a bit more every time I notice it's been patched again just to see what's changed, and it's a completely different game, as I even noted in the pinned comment that you probably skipped!
I wish your review came out sooner before i got this game and rugate it I was so pissed off for wasting money on this game.
This guy clearly plays everything on easy lol
Hi, I've beaten every classic Mega Man game, reached at least the final dungeon of Zelda II naturally without using proper save states (I don't recall if I beat it though, because it was so long ago!), and regularly played games exclusively on hard as a point of pride...until I realized that was a really stupid thing to care about or pride myself on doing when I'm also working two full time jobs and could better spend my time playing more games, instead of grinding in fewer games.
Since you missed this in the video, difficulty is nothing here, _bad design_ is the issue - to the point that the developer himself agreed with these criticisms. When mechanics don't work cohesively together, it's not "waaah it's so hard," it's "this is poorly designed and needs adjusting for this game to reach its potential." If you like poor game design though, good for you. Nice try on the bad insult, take care!
Looks like a lovely game with some inherent design flaws that will make it very irritating. I've been burned by enough overly frustrating indie games at this point. Pass.
Good review.
Thankfully, the developer confirmed publicly and to me that there's a patch on the way that should address most of my issues outright - the ones that are easy to hotfix at least! If that patch shapes up to be what it's sounding like, I'll hopefully be able to fully recommend the game soon - that's how much just a handful of adjustments can do!
What a lame Review.
I have the game, its awesome.
You're right, it's awesome _and_ filled with problems that would turn the vast majority of players off of the game! That's why I'm glad the developer has been listening to feedback from reviewers and buyers alike, and is working on quality-of-life improvements so that it lives up to its potential!
The review definitely isn't lame though, you're just being a jerk to a stranger online instead of funneling your frustration positively. Take care!
Did he say anything that wasn't true?
I don’t agree that this review is lame. I think it’s informative and all the criticisms are reasonable. This video probably helped encourage Cape Cosmic to work on the accessibility patch, which would help the game sell more.
More like what a lame comment from you