By Angela Espinoza, Arts Editor
4/5
The RPG genre of video games has evolved drastically over the years. With more powerful consoles and changes in graphics came significantly better games. Indie developers Shiro Games took this concept and in 30 hours created what is now known as Evoland Classic for the Ludum Dare 24 competition last year. Since then, Evoland’s full version has arrived, and you can see right away it was a labour of love.
Released on April 4, Evoland takes the player on a journey from RPG’s humble beginnings of green and white 8-bit adventure into a 3-D epic! You take on the role of a Link-a-like, fighting bats and octorocs and searching for treasure. As you progress though, you realize there’s actually a story going on, and with your faithful lady healer, you try and vanquish the evil of the land once and for all.
Evoland is a love letter to the RPG genre as it’s developed over the years, and it’s incredibly fun to play. However, there are two big issues with the game that cannot be overlooked: it’s very easy (no harder modes are available) and it’s horribly short. You could probably beat this game in less than six hours, and that is almost never a good thing.
With that in mind, Evoland is still a game that needs to be played. Evoland is very fun and to say it’s nostalgic would be a gross understatement. The game is currently available on PC and Mac for $10 (as always, wait for a sale).
