If you are among those that have yet to jump into the blocky digital world of one of the best-selling video games of all time, you may be surprised to hear there are multiple ways for you to play Minecraft (and its various spinoffs) for free!
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Minecraft Free Trial
For those wanting to get a taste of the endless hours of entertainment that Minecraft can provide, but are yet unwilling to pay the entry fee, there is in fact a free trial of both Bedrock and Java versions of the game. Via Minecraft’s official website, you can access links that will lead to the download pages for the Bedrock Edition, available on Windows, Android, PS3/4/5, and PS Vita.
In terms of the Java Edition, which is available exclusively to Windows, Mac, and Linux, an additional set of links are available lower down on the same page, with specific instructions on how to download and install each respective version.
The free trial (regardless of the Edition or your platform) is the full game as paying customers would experience it; there is no barred content that will be inaccessible. To ensure this isn’t exploited, you have a time limit imposed once you begin the trial. The time limit varies from platform to platform, but always averages out at around 90-100 minutes, equating to around 5 in-game days.
Whilst the restriction can be frustrating, this is more than enough time to try out the various mechanics in the game, and familiarise yourself with the gameplay loop if you’re uncertain as to whether you’ll enjoy it. If you’re considering buying Minecraft on your preferred platform, this is the optimum way to experience the game a little and know for sure before you spend your money.
Play Minecraft Classic for Free
As part of the 10 year anniversary for Minecraft back in 2019, Mojang released a completely free, browser-based version of the original build of Minecraft creative mode for you to enjoy. As this version is a replica of the OG mode, there are only 32 blocks available to use, it contains all the original bugs that were part of that version. Also, because it’s browser-based, you are unable to save your builds should you close the browser.
Upon generation of a world, you can copy the link it creates and share it with up to nine friends, letting you all play together! Whether you’re wanting a nostalgia trip to where it all began or fancy dipping your toe in for the first time, you can access this free version of Minecraft at https://classic.minecraft.net/.
Play Minecraft on Game Pass
An obvious inclusion for those in the know, Xbox and PC Players who have an Xbox Game Pass subscription can access Minecraft for “free” as part of their subscription, though you’ll need to continue paying the subscription to keep your access to the game. To play Minecraft: Java & Bedrock Edition with Game Pass on PC, you'll just need to install the Java & Bedrock Edition from the Microsoft Store page or from the Xbox app for PC. You can then install and play each separate version from within the Minecraft launcher!
For Xbox players, you can install Minecraft on your Xbox if you have an active Game Pass Ultimate or Game Pass for Console subscription.
Other Minecraft Games and Spinoffs
Minecraft Dungeons, the hack and slash dungeon crawler released in 2020, is similarly available on Game Pass for subscribers. For PlayStation players, Minecraft Dungeons was included as a PlayStation Plus monthly free game for March 2023. If you didn’t redeem the title during its availability however, you’ll need to purchase the game should you wish to play it.
Similarly for PlayStation players, the full version of Minecraft’s base game is not available to download and play via PlayStation Plus. If you wish to play the game beyond the free trial, you’ll need to purchase it via the PlayStation Store.
For those that are looking for a more narrative-focused Minecraft tale, there was Minecraft: Story Mode, an episodic point-and-click adventure from Telltale Games. Minecraft: Story Mode is however unavailable on any/all platforms after being discontinued due to the closure of Telltale Games in 2018. This means that unless you already have the game downloaded and installed on your platform of choice, you will be unable to play this game.
One final game to mention is Minecraft Legends, an action-strategy spinoff that released this year on April 18th. The price for the game varies depending upon your chosen platform, but if you have a Game Pass subscription, the game is available for free.
How Much Does Minecraft Cost
If you're beyond the free trial and don't have Xbox Game Pass but are curious how much Minecraft costs, we have a breakdown for different platforms: The Java & Bedrock Edition Base Game for PC will set you back $29.99 while the Deluxe Collection of it for PC (which includes 1600 Minecoins, 5 Maps, 5 Persona Items, 3 Emotes, 3 Skin Packs, and 1 Texture Pack) comes in at $39.99. The same pricing is also used for the Standard and Deluxe versions on Nintendo Switch.
On the PlayStation Store and Xbox Store, you can pick up Minecraft for $19.99 or the Deluxe Collection for $29.99. Minecraft is also available on mobile devices for $6.99 on both iOS and Android.
Samuel (Sam) Heaney is a freelance guides writer at IGN and Minecraft expert. He's a typical Brit who loves cups of tea and gin and tonics. Oh, and he's also a huge Marvel nerd. You can find him on Twitter @SamHeaney.
]]>10. Shadow Complex
Hitting Xbox Live Arcade back in 2009, Shadow Complex was the right game at the right time to reinvigorate the Metroidvania genre. An excellent blend of sci-fi action with a compelling story, satisfying progression, and its 2.5-D perspective offered some of the best graphics we’d seen in the genre to date. It was a refreshing update to a beloved style of game that, at least in 2009, seemed to have fallen out of favor with developers and the public at large. It would go on to be one of the highest-selling Xbox Live Arcade games of all time, and a remastered version hit PC in 2015 and consoles the next year.
9. Blasphemous
Blasphemous introduces you to the sprawling and hauntingly beautiful Cvstodia, a 16-bit world teeming with secrets in every corner. Despite its beauty, it is also a world overrun by truly horrific and difficult bosses blocking your path. And to make matters more trying – and ultimately more rewarding– Blasphemous tantalizes players with items and upgrades often dangling just out of reach. These are almost always accompanied by an inactive piece of the environment that becomes instantly recognizable, goading you into a search for a way to turn bundles of roots into bridges, or blood trails into platforms. The quest to uncover these environment-transforming relics are almost as enthralling as progressing through the main story of Blasphemous, ensuring that you’ll rarely want to leave any stone unturned as you explore one of the most memorable lands in the genre.
8. Yoku’s Island Express
Much like olive oil and ice cream are somehow a bizarrely complimentary duo, Yoku's Island Express combines two wildly different flavors of game to create something totally unique that leaves me yearning for more after its delightful adventure. Yoku take's the complexity of a Metroidvania and applies it to the rigid structure of pinball. It forces players to rethink everything they know about "platforming," with movement being a combo of familiar 2D navigation and pinball flourishes, like paddles that send you flying around on your collectible quest. It makes that surprising mix work like a charm while simultaneously drip-feeding teases of upgrades to come through inaccessible areas that whiz by while you're rocketing off a bumper.
The cherry on top of this strange concoction of unusual genres is the setup: you are the brand new mail bug of a small tropical island and, primarily, you're there to deliver mail. The handpainted art style, witty writing, and cheerful tunes keep you smiling all while pulling off careful skillshots to progress through Yoku’s unexpected but memorable world.
7. Cave Story
Cave Story was created by a single developer, Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya. That in and of itself is worth bringing up only because Cave Story is a massive achievement, with a sprawling world, fleshed-out lore, and beloved characters.. From the unique weapons, to an overworld that's filled to the brim with creativity, every part of Cave Story feels lovingly hand-crafted. But don't let the cuddly cast fool you, Cave Story will break your heart and mend it back together by the time the journey ends. Decades later, and Cave Story still feels like a treasure. And as one of the most famous freeware games, it's easy to download and play today, and at an unbeatable price to play a piece of gaming history.
6. Axiom Verge
It’s no wonder fans have been waiting so excitedly for Axiom Verge 2, given how expertly Axiom Verge serves as a love-letter to Metroidvanias of the past. The one-man designed adventure from developer Thomas Happ provides players with an inventive arsenal of weapons and abilities. But this throwback never feels dated as you drill, teleport, and pixel-nuke throughout your adventure on the alien world of Sudra. Combine that with a fantastic sense of progression that makes backtracking and uncovering new areas a consistent joy, and an intriguing and mysterious plot that will keep you guessing, and Axiom Verge is easily one of the best Metroidvanias around. It may be inspired by games released years prior, but it can sit among the best of that, or any, era.
5. Steamworld Dig 2
Steamworld Dig 2 isn’t the only Metroidvania on this list that sends you exploring underground, but it is the one that requires you to dig your way through its sprawling world. That digging gameplay loop is by no means a chore, though. It’s a total blast: bore as far down as you can, return to town to harvest resources, upgrade your gear, and you’re off to (happily) do it all again. It’s so satisfying that it’s easy to fall into the mindset of “Just one more run” turing into four or five. And with about a 10-hour run time, it never outstays its welcome. Upgrades are plentiful enough to be a near-constant reward system, and the various upgrade paths allow for some welcome customization in how you build out your robotic heroine. It also helps that the finely-tuned controls make maneuvering around its caverns as smooth and enjoyable as the act of actually mining in-game. Add in some optional puzzle rooms that reward you with bonus upgrade items and Steamworld Dig 2 is a “dig down” Metroidvania you won’t want to put down.
4. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is the closest we come to cheating the 'no Castlevania" rule, but it’s too good an experience to ignore. Koji Igarashi, a father of the genre, set out to make a new game in the vein of the best-loved Castlevania, and by Dracula he did it. This kickstarter success story takes elements of all the great Castlevania games and combines them into one, wall-meaty package. It uses the equipment system of Symphony of the Night with quality of life changes – meaning the menu isn’t totally ugly – the shard system that lets you assume the magical abilities of enemies a la Aria/Dawn of Sorrow, and more. Add on top of that the option to play as a completely different character after completing it, tons of hidden content, and a slew of other intriguing inclusions — Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night taps into that special late 90s/early 2000s era of Castlevania that is beloved by so many to create something thrilling in its own right.
3. Guacamelee 2
Guacamelee 2 punches up nearly every aspect of the original, expanding on what worked with new skills, a new, ludicrous and meta story, and one damn charming Metroidvania from beginning to end.At the heart of what makes Guacamelee 2 so clever is its combination of level design and its platforming fundamentals. Essentially all of your actions – from uppercuts that boost you upward to sideways lunges – work twofold: the combination of the right attacks against certain enemies is essential to racking up combos and surviving combat sections. But all of those moves are also necessary to pull off the increasingly complex platforming sections. And while you’re exploring Guacamelee 2’s world, uncovering more of its map as either Juan the luchador or Juan the chicken, don’t ignore the optional side challenges you’ll come across – they’re some of Guacamelee 2’s most difficult but purest platforming sections, and they’re some of the most rewarding to pull off.
Throw in a new hookshot ability, unlockable skill trees that encourage you to explore more of its wonderful, vibrant world, and some genuinely hilarious stories, and Guacamelee 2 may have you crying from laughter as much as it may make you tear up from its most challenging levels.
2. Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Either Ori game could have comfortably landed on the list, but the sequel, Will of the Wisps, takes an already stunning game and makes it even more robust. No other series looks or sounds quite like Ori does, with a gorgeous world full of vibrant landscapes and strange creatures complemented by some of the best game music around. Flowing through those areas with its diverse suite of movement abilities can almost become a zen practice, hopping between grab points and whipping dangerously close to death as you do.
Will of the Wisps elevates all of the aspects that made the first game great as well, partly by borrowing some ideas from the number one game on this list. The introduction of equippable items to enhance your preferred playstyle and an adorable little town for you to grow full of friendly faces adds more layer and nuance to the world and your character. Its combat is also more fleshed out, coupled with a story even more grand and ambitious than the original’s. Ori sticks out from what most people usually picture when they think of a Metroidvania thanks to its warm, inviting look, but it’s that unique take on a well explored genre that makes it stand so tall above the rest. Well, except for one.
1. Hollow Knight
Even when compared against actual Castlevania and Metroid games, Hollow Knight would probably still be pretty close to the top of a list like this. It’s a Metroidvania that takes influence and inspiration from plenty of clear places, but combines those concepts with countless fresh ideas of its own to make something truly incredible. And it’s the combination of all those individual parts that makes the whole so much more impressive: its charming hand-drawn art style, its haunting soundtrack, its flexible combat systems, its satisfying movement mechanics, and the mysterious catacombs… the list goes on and on, as all those aspects and more are packed in to work in beautiful tandem.
Hollow Knight is filled to the brim with interesting decisions to make the whole way through, too – from choosing to go left or right first, to deciding whether or not to challenge an imposing optional boss, or to figuring out which of its deluge of Charms you should use to modify your playstyle. As a result, its exploration and unlocks feel personal, providing a natural sense of progression to its meticulously laid out halls. And don’t let the appearance of its tiny bugs fool you – Hollow Knight’s world is a sprawling subterranean maze that gives you enough paths to chase down and creative enemies to fight to keep you exploring for dozens of hours. Hollow Knight is without a doubt, a modern classic. ]]>
Each time I start up a new farm in Stardew Valley or return to my 100-hour save on PC, I feel like I’m going home. There’s a comfort in Stardew Valley that I’ve rarely found in other games. The music that changes with each season perfectly fits the mellowness of the 16-bit countryside town, and all the activities that await offer both peace in my daily routines and excitement in the land’s mysteries. Whether you want to farm, fish, fight monsters, craft, mine, become everyone’s best friend, or do a little bit of everything, this farming adventure has plenty to offer.As we said in our original review, Stardew Valley “beautifully combines farm simulation with RPG elements to create an intriguing, absorbing rural world,” and it’s only gotten better with each massive free update. Multiplayer, new items, buildings, farm types, events, and relationships give Stardew Valley an even better foundation and more of a reason to stick around past the coveted event in the third in-game year.The five new farm maps offer better focus for players than when Stardew Valley first launched. Each of the farms’ designs encourages different types of work – farming, fishing, foraging, mining, and combat. Each map’s activities are a relief from the grips of Joja Corporation, the cold, in-game company that encroaches on Pelican Town.
Stardew Valley’s story is a simple, yet satisfying one. You inherit your grandfather’s farm after leaving the grind of your job with the Joja Corporation. Once settled on the farm, you then have to decide whether to support the local Joja Mart or rebuild the decaying community center. This conflict is the driving factor in the two or so years that span Stardew Valley’s story, but once that’s all completed, befriending and learning about the townspeople introduce other contained stories.The residents of Pelican Town and beyond are a charming bunch.
“The residents of Pelican Town and beyond are a charming bunch, though improving your relationship with each of them is rather superficial. All you have to do is give them presents they like twice a week to slowly earn their trust and affection. Giving them items they dislike can lower their affection level, so that at least encouraged me to try and figure out what each person enjoys most and to get creative with my gifts once I had some expendable resources well into my second year. That's right, Maru — you've been upgraded to pepper poppers.
Despite the system’s simplicity, it’s still rewarding to learn about each person's dreams, passions, and challenges living in Stardew Valley. There’s a friendly monster who just wants to sell his merchandise to nice people, an artist who’s a little too shy to share her artwork, a bitter old man who’s hesitant to make connections, a scientist who studies the valley’s wildlife, and plenty other interesting folks.
After reaching certain friendship or romance levels, a special character scene plays if you catch them in the right time and place. The 12 romanceable characters have more scenes than others, and if you choose to marry one, they move into your home and actually help around the farm every now and then. It’s a welcome benchmark for the late game. NPCs are also the key to learning certain food recipes and crafting blueprints, so there’s value in befriending them beyond discovering their interests and personal conflicts. They’ll even send a small gift back to you occasionally.
Sprouting Charm
The changing of seasons in Stardew Valley is perhaps one of the most exciting events. Where summer has plenty of sunny days with a few useful thunderstorms here and there – with the right tools, you can make batteries with the lighting! – the snow-covered ground in winter prevents any crops growing outside, leaving the season’s activities a little more up in the air if you’re primarily a farmer. Every season has its own enjoyable pace that comes with the varying weather, crop types, NPC schedules, birthdays, fish, and fun festivals that keep things engaging. Each season runs for 28 days, so figuring out how to best spend them is a great challenge as each in-game year passes. By the time I reached the end of my second year, I felt confident in my daily routine and farming strategies.
Farming isn’t overly complex, but the methodical nature of it is relaxing. It does take a fair bit of time in the first year to make enough money to get a good number of the best seeds, optimize your farmland, implement a watering system, and figure out a routine to take care of it all. Stardew Valley has levels for each main mechanic – farming, fishing, mining, combat, and foraging. Figuring out how to make the most of my days was a great challenge early on when I had a low energy meter for executing actions like chopping wood, tilling soil, and using the watering can, all without extra farming bonuses from my level. But even when that energy meter grew and I earned farming specializations, the difficulty and enjoyment I found in farming came from managing more land and deciding whether or not to process the farmed goods to make them into more profitable artisan goods or do something else with them entirely. For instance, I could sell all my grapes, cook them for my own consumption for energy and health, or I could save them to make jelly or wine with the craftable preserves jar and keg. Adding farm animals to the mix made for even more welcome diversity in my daily farming routine.Even with the big updates, Stardew Valley still has the mild problem of having so much to do with little explanation for how to do it, but there certainly is a joy to creating your own routines and discovering what works best for how you want to play. The in-game TV show Living off the Land provides good tips on mechanics and seasonal changes, but there’s not a whole lot of help on how to use some of the less straightforward items. For instance, a great new item picks up all products from goats, cows, and sheep, but I had to use a guide to figure out how to actually get it to work. On the other hand, new items like the planter pot make the early game a little easier. It allows the player to grow any plant per pot indoors regardless of the season, making it especially helpful for completing some early important challenges and requests from villagers that are easy to miss once a season ends.
When I wasn’t farming or petting farm animals, I was foraging for the season’s natural goods (which is as simple as walking around and picking them off the ground) or fishing. Stardew Valley tracks everything you’ve had in your collection, so there’s definitely an incentive to try each main activity. Unlike farming, where you need to buy seeds to grow the next thing on the list, there’s a strict schedule to when certain fish are available, and some of them are incredibly difficult to catch. The fishing minigame itself is easygoing fun for the small fries but can be a little frustrating for some of the more rare fish. Still, that challenge is something I’m looking forward to conquering eventually once I craft enough of the right tackles and stock up on bait to lure the rare beasts in.Stardew Valley really has a thing for collecting, and I’m very into it.
“Mining and combat, on the other hand, are a little more straightforward. The main mine has a handful of enemies that progressively get stronger with each of its 100 levels, and an additional cavern in an unlockable area houses even more difficult monsters and a seemingly infinite number of floors. Spelunking through the main cave is a dangerous endeavor early on, but obtaining better weapons and armor through the shop, chests, enemy drops, or through reaching new combat levels make it more manageable. The combat consists of simple button mashing to swing a sword, so pairing monster fights with the challenge of descending into a mine makes it a lot more fun and rewarding. The added difficulty of getting out of the mine before your character passes out at 2:00 a.m. also puts the pressure on for making it through the caves as efficiently as possible. Then, there are challenges from a group called the Adventurer's Guild to clear a certain number of the more popular monster types, so there’s yet another incentive to descend the mines to slay monsters. Oh, and there’s even more collecting involved as you mine old and strange artifacts that can be donated to the local museum for even more rewards. Stardew Valley really has a thing for collecting, and I’m very into it.
Regardless of their varying complexity, progression through all five skills is constant and rewarding. In addition to that basic fulfillment, just about every skill level has some sort of craftable reward and helps build your proficiency, or lowers the amount of energy required to use a tool. At skill levels five and 10, you get to specialize your character further by choosing professions that give bonus stats to certain actions. For example, a rancher gets more gold from animal products, but tillers sell crops at a higher price. That profession is refined further at level 10. I’m halfway into my third year in Stardew Valley and I still haven’t finished getting all my skills to level 10. Like with real life, there’s potential to do a lot in a day, but how it’s spent is entirely up to you. When you add someone else to your farm, though, those days can be a whole lot more productive.
Ripened Co-Op
Multiplayer is a fantastic addition to Stardew Valley that entirely changes how the game can be played. As expected, it helps you accomplish far more in a day if you have a cooperative farmhand, but does so without feeling too much like a cheat code. When a friend joins they get their own home (that the main player can enter and customize) and have to start a new character from scratch. This means they have low energy, weak starting tools, hardly any crafting recipes, and no skill perks. While it would have been nice to have the option to import a character with all its stats and upgraded tools – maybe even at a cost – starting fresh is the more balanced trade-off for having multiple people on a farm.
You share money with up to three farmhands/friends who can meddle in your belongings, so it’s not entirely too difficult to get new players up to speed if you’re adding them to an established farm. Still, having to support others’ endeavors out of your pocket helps multiplayer maintain that balance between difficulty and power, and you can even change the profit margins for your co-op save if you feel like you’re making too much money. The updates added some incredibly useful but expensive items, so I definitely haven't complained about making more gold every day. If you’re starting a new farm together, I could see how splitting up each task could make that first challenging year easier to take on, and maybe even more fun. Someone who prefers to fish or mine could focus on that while someone who likes farming could look after the crops.
Farmhands have ownership over their cabin and relationships with NPCs in your game, too, which is an important incentive for helping out a friend on their farm since it gives them both a stake in your land and in the rest of your game, too. They can upgrade their home and even get married to your character or an NPC you haven’t romanced. It might be a bit tedious to have to go through the whole courting process again if you’ve already unlocked everything on your primary farm, but I appreciate that it offers a chance to start a new romance with a different character and to essentially establish a new life on a farm that can progress while you’re not there if the primary farmer chooses to play without you.
My friend was incredibly helpful in kicking off the summer farming season as we toiled away for days leading up to it, calculating how many seeds of a specific fruit we’d need. Communication happens through a simple in-game text chat that’s equipped with plenty of great emojis. It ended up being an expensive season because of all the seeds I had to buy, but that investment my friend suggested has definitely paid off. Though his farming suggestions were helpful, spelunking with him was even more fun. Together we slayed plenty of monsters and got further in the challenge cavern than I had before. The easygoing nature of Stardew Valley also creates a wonderfully pleasant space to hang out with friends, which is a nice thing to have when so many multiplayer games are set in rather tense situations.
Verdict
Stardew Valley is a beautiful, fun game that, when all of its parts are pulled together, make for a wonderful countryside adventure. Whether it’s rainy, sunny, snowy, or dusted with pollen drifts through the air, each day offers an abundance of great activities ready to be collected or mastered and new friendships waiting to be made. Even 100 hours in with three in-game years in the books, I still feel like I have so many mysteries to discover, and plenty of items to collect. New items, goals, and events from all the updates since its launch make Stardew Valley more welcoming for new players and extends its life for seasoned farmers, too. The fantastic multiplayer is just the cherry on top of the cake to this marvelous farming RPG.
]]>Right from the start, Half-Genie Hero disarmed me with super-saturated colors and Saturday-morning-cartoon charm. Even ostensibly mundane stuff like the stage-select screen or running around town to talk to NPCs carries an air of unashamed, childlike fun and silliness. And Shantae herself is the force driving it all. Even when you put the controller down, she stands there bopping jovially to the beat of the music, and it's hard not to join in.And I mean really hard. The music runs the gamut from high-energy action fare to down-tempo chill jams, but every track is rhythmic and highly danceable. Fortunately, there’s a button for that. Tapping the triangle button stops time so Shantae can get her groove on while you choose from an array of different animal forms to take. The monkey, for instance, can leap high into the air and cling to walls, while the mermaid gives Shantae full underwater mobility. After you’ve unlocked them, it’s like playing Super Mario Bros. 3 with unfettered access to every suit at all times.
Each appreciably large, well-designed stage has hidden collectibles and enhancements to find, many of which are stuffed away in nooks and crannies you can’t reach until you get the appropriate animal form. It still feels more like a traditional action platformer than a full-blown Metroidvania, but there’s certainly no shortage of backtracking to do or power-ups to buy in town.Since there’s no set order to when you buy or find different powerups, progression can sometimes feel a little muddled, both for Shantae’s power growth and in terms of advancing the story. You might need to go back and find a hidden area in a level you’ve already completed in order to find the item you need to complete story-critical objective in another area before unlocking the next level, for instance. You can drop into the bathhouse for a hint if you’re stumped, though, so it’s never more than a minor inconvenience.
Verdict
You could likely beat Shantae: Half-Genie Hero in a couple of sittings, but the platforming action is so varied, and the levels so explorable, it’s worth playing well beyond that. While it’s neither innovative nor high-concept, its hand-drawn look and toe-tapping music successfully channel a joy and enthusiasm that has become far too rare in modern video games.
]]>“It’s a shame that in order to appreciate their design I had to consciously remind myself to look at the center of the screen when not solving a puzzle or in battle. Severed’s first-person perspective makes it difficult to focus on walking. I mostly watched the minimap in the top corner of the screen to find which direction I need to go – not exactly the most fun way to play a game. Looking at the center screen and moving between rooms too quickly made me feel nauseous because of a weird fade transition. This made backtracking for secrets and collectibles a little tiring as I ran through cleared temples.
Swipe Strategically
One of my favorite moments in Severed was when, while trying to get a collectible, I pulled a switch and fell through the floor into a pit of about six fungi coral monsters. I was constantly turning and damaging them to keep them from growing their spores that’d blow up in my face if ignored, and it took me a few seconds to figure out my plan of attack.
Severed steadily becomes more challenging as you encounter more enemies in a single battle and new enemies with different defenses and attacks. It was exciting to learn the attack patterns and discover weaknesses. Some enemies charge their attacks, while others are passive until they’re attacked or randomly decide to strike. Managing the new information can be hard at first, but is easy to learn.The manic slashing approach can have significant repercussions in combat.
“Thankfully, taking the Fruit Ninja-style manic slashing approach has significant repercussions in most situations. Severed requires you to be tactical with the touch-based slashing combat. Enemies do a ton of damage, and blocking their attacks is the key to surviving fights. Attack monsters as they block and Sasha is briefly stunned. This sometimes gives enemies the opportunity to get a hit in, and when you're dealing with three or four enemies, that one mistake can cost you the battle. Time management is key, and it was satisfying to harvest my foes’ body parts for crafting when I was victorious.
Battles usually last no more than a minute or two, and Severed is better off that way because longer fights are both tedious and physically difficult to play. The second boss fight in particular seemed to drag on forever, and while that’s usually not a problem with most games, having to constantly swipe is tiring. I actually had to pause and take a short break because of the discomfort of furiously rubbing the Vita screen.
Unsatisfying Challenge
After defeating the second boss, you gain a cool ability to steal status effects from enemies, though due to its high mana cost, you can only use it once or twice in a fight. Monster can get faster attack timers, more defense, higher attack, magic resistance, and health regeneration from a skull monster that, after charging for a short period, emits a random buff that’s shared with all of its allies. The skull monster provided another dimension to fights as it doesn’t attack, but it’s existence stopped mattering once enemies started appearing with buffs, with or without the skull monster.
By the end I was facing three or four enemies with multiple buffs. I’d enter the fight with a sigh, and end it with a sigh. Severed leans too heavily on buffs to make fights more difficult instead of utilizing its untapped strengths: traps, environmental dangers and enemy variety. Occasional rooms filled with poison or blinding crystals had potential, and though most of the late-game enemies are variations on early ones, they still introduce new tactics that make them feel refreshed. Their varied attacks and defenses felt played down as the buffs stole the focus of late-game battles.
Verdict
Severed is at its best when it features short, tactical fights in its eerily beautiful dungeons, but those battles largely lose their appeal by the second half. Combat becomes tedious due to boring buffs instead of introducing new ideas in order to make battles more challenging. That blow to the combat’s longevity wouldn’t have felt so bad if exploring the bizarre world weren’t so tedious.
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After the wheel-spinning disappointment of Episode 4, The Vault of the Traveler wastes no time in a runaway approach to the finish line. The stakes reach new heights as Fiona, Rhys, and company have to come to terms with the destruction they've caused and really ask themselves, "Has this all been worth it?" After a series filled with so many hilarious moments, I was honestly surprised at how impactful these emotional, contemplative moments truly were. I spent much of the episode looking back on the choices I’d made throughout the season, and genuinely wondering if I'd made the right decisions. Telltale has always been at its best when its stories deal with shades of gray, and Tales From the Borderlands absolutely captures that.
Truth and consequence
I’m really impressed at how Episode 5 takes the entire breadth of your choices into account in a more impactful way than any Telltale game in recent memory. Everything from how much mercy I showed in Episode 1, to how I treated an ally in Episode 3, to how much money I spent along the journey (which, up until now, seemed to be a frustratingly useless mechanic) funneled into the final act in meaningful way that gave me a really great sense of authorship over the finale. Knowing that how I chose to have Rhys and Fiona act toward those around them had actual ramifications retroactively made me like and appreciate previous episodes even more.
I also really love how my expectations for the finale were completely subverted. Over the course of a single, incredibly written and acted scene, characters I had hated became powerfully sympathetic. Likewise, players who were relegated to comic relief throughout the series suddenly and effectively gain emotional, dramatic weight. I was really happy that every character I’ve grown to love, from Handsome Jack to Loader Bot, all got a moment to shine.
Even the action scenes — generally a weak point in Telltale games — pop with energy and excitement. The third act culminates in a massive battle ripped straight from an episode of Power Rangers, but infused with Telltale’s patented humor. Though they still basically amounted to quick time events, it felt like my choices actually mattered. It reminded me of the great scene between Bigby and The Woodsman in The Wolf Among Us Episode 1, which made me feel like I was choreographing a gigantic Hollywood action sequence.
While the style and soundtrack have remained consistent throughout this season of Tales from the Borderlands, The Vault of the Traveler delivers by far my favorite opening credits musical montage. The sense of hopelessness in Rhys and Fiona, all set to the tune of James Blake’s Retrograde sets an effective tone for the rest of the finale.
Past, present, and future
The Vault of the Traveler is also packed with effective nods to Borderlands past, present, and future. For example, depending on your decisions, you might have a run-in with some of the series’ most iconic characters. Also, this episode does a fantastic job of setting the pieces for what the world of Borderlands 3 might look like. Because of the events of Episode 5, I have theories on possible playable characters, settings, and enemies, which makes me very excited to see how Telltale’s series intersects with the Gearbox sequel.
If there's one knock against Episode 5, it's that it tries to cram so much into its brief duration that I was oftentimes left hoping for a quiet moment to catch my breath and gather my thoughts. Storylines with Valerie, Handsome Jack, the Vault, and the mysterious stranger in the framing device are all wrapped up, which is great, but it certainly feels a bit exhausting at time. This bullet train rarely slows down, and it really demanded my full attention in order to piece together exactly what was happening and why.
Verdict
Tales from the Borderlands Episode 5: The Vault of the Traveler finishes off Rhys and Fiona’s journey in impeccable fashion. From heartbreak to hilarity, it runs the gamut of emotions in some really effective ways. All of the questions and mysteries from the previous four episodes pay off in wonderful fashion, while Episode 5 simultaneously introduces a slew of new, intriguing possibilities for the future of the world. I’m bummed to say goodbye to Telltale’s adventure on Pandora, but I’ll be damned if it wasn’t one hell of a ride.
]]>From one screen to the next, Child of Light commits fully to its hand-crafted aesthetic. Each stunning, water-color backdrop looks ready to be framed and hung in an art gallery. That's not strictly because of the high level of overall quality, but also due to how warm the characters and environments all feel. Dark silhouettes of gnarled, ancient trees scroll through the foreground, adding a sense of depth to painterly forests, and oppressively dreary caverns give way to towering windmills amidst rolling hillsides.Each area possesses a rare, naturalistic beauty that words honestly fail to capture.
The endearing, if slightly forced Shakespearean iambic pentameter reinforces the fairytale sensibilities of the plot, but it also kept me from getting fully absorbed in the characters. There’s a travelling jester who can’t figure out how rhyming works, a love-sick mouse archer, and most importantly, a young girl named Aurora who’s trying to save her father rather than the other way around. None of them adhere to the overly worn, widely accepted conventions of powerful men and sexualized women, and the motley cast is all the more memorable for it. Aurora’s transformation from a frightened child to the hero of her own story is framed relatably by filial strife, making her journey feel deeply personal despite the broad strokes it’s painted with.
This feeling of warmth and sentimentality can be seen in every aspect of Child of Light, from the character portraits in the menus, to the lovingly detailed hit animations in battle. The net result is an experience that feels less like a power fantasy, and more like the cherished memory of a childhood bedtime story.
Some modern RPGs suffer by either abandoning too much of the choice and depth that first made the genre interesting, or by piling on needless, bloated systems that don't add anything to the experience. Child of Light makes neither of these mistakes, striking a near-perfect balance across each facet of its gameplay.
Its biggest success is the combat system, which skillfully mixes turn-based and real-time elements. Icons move along a bar at the bottom of the screen, indicating when you and your opponents get to act next. Scoring hits on an enemy who's winding up for a big spell interrupts them, canceling their move, and sending them back on the timeline. This creates a constant tension, forcing me to plan two steps ahead while looking for chances to interrupt, and keeping enemies from doing the same. That fusion of big-picture planning, and second-to-second awareness kept me feeling like a tactical genius battle after battle.
Your spritely helper Igniculus also plays a vital role in combat. You (or a friend in co-op) control him independently with the right stick, slowing down foes, healing allies, and grabbing health and mana pickups when necessary. You’re doing all this while switching characters in and out of the fray to capitalize on their assortment of well-tuned spells and abilities. Enemy encounters, especially the boss fights, are balanced tightly around the tools you've been given, so while the tool box isn't huge, every piece of hardware has an application. Armor spells actually add a noticeable amount of survivability, and crowd control abilities like Hinder, and paralyze work 100% of the time, even against bosses. Every card in the deck feels like an ace when you use it at the right moment.
Even great RPGs struggle to make what happens between scraps interesting, but Child of Light nails this too. Giving us the ability to fly almost right away is a smart touch, one that invited me to explore constantly for mini-boss encounters, side-quests, and collectibles. Igniculus proves useful here again, helping you solve puzzles, stunning enemies, and lighting your way through dark caverns. Granted, most of this will look and feel familiar to RPG veterans, but it all worked well enough to hold my attention outside of combat. Like everything else in the 12ish-hour-long adventure, it does just enough to be engaging without feeling cluttered or ungainly.
Verdict
Every aspect of Child of Light has an unmistakably artisinal, organic feel to it. None of it feels focus-tested, or designed to appeal to the broadest possible audience; rather, it always comes off as exactly the expression its creators intended. The artwork on display is stunning, and the combat is constantly engaging, and the characters openly defy genre convention. But perhaps the best thing I can say about Child of Light is that I was often unsure as to whether I was headed in the direction I was supposed to, and I never once cared. I just wanted to fly to every corner of the world, take it in, and smile.
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