Grizzland

As Sony and Microsoft look towards a future filled with photo-realistic characters on 4 and 8K televisions, I'm glad that developer Khud0 is going the other direction. Their new game Grizzland isn't interested in showing off millions of colors or gorgeously textured polygonal graphics, because it's a black and white platformer that looks like it originated forty years ago on the Atari 2600. But looks can be deceiving, and Grizzland proves to not only be a fun new spin on the Metroidvania formula, but also one of the best hidden surprises of the summer.

Our adventure begins when a couple of strange dinosaurs dig up a tree in the middle of the night. With very little information to go on, our nameless hero warps onto this this grizzled old planet with little more than a sword and crossbow. But in true Metroivania fashion, things get all screwed up and we find that the hero is helpless in this strange world, not even able to jump around. The hunt is on to uncover a science fiction story about deforestation and unlock the abilities you'll need to thoroughly explore Grizzland.

What you'll quickly discover is that the planet is split into a bunch of vertical stages. The goal of each stage is to investigate the surroundings and find bits of water, which you'll turn around and dump into the nearby tree. But this is no ordinary tree, because once you've fully watered it, you'll be shot up to the next stage, where you'll find new platforming puzzles, harder enemies and the next set of helpful skills. There are also a couple dozen journal entries scattered around the open world, each of which will flesh out what you're doing there and why there's an army of dinosaurs cutting down trees.

If you've played a lot of Metroid and Castlevania games, then many of the skills and abilities are going to look familiar. We get the usual double jump and crouch position, as well as a way to warp through certain walls. Some of the abilities will help you win fights against the wide variety of bosses, but most are there to aid you in exploring the world of Grizzland. I found myself ignoring a lot of the enemies in an effort to track down all of the hidden passages and journal pages. The graphics may be simplistic, but the level designs are complicated and full of secrets to uncover.

Although the game eventually finds its footing, Grizzland can be a bit confusing at first. We're not given a lot to go on and the hints seem purposely vague. It's only after some trial and error that the pieces start coming together, and by that point I was hooked. This is familiar in a lot of ways, but also manages to be unique and set itself apart from most of the games in the over-saturated sub-genre. It uses its old school graphics to paint a world that both looks and feels completely foreign, giving us a taste of what this kind of side-scrolling adventure game would have been like on some of Atari's earliest consoles.

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Thankfully, Grizzland doesn't play like an Atari 2600 game. The action is fast and loose, with the different abilities mapped to the multiple face buttons. The combat is a lot of fun, especially when you're going up against the challenging bosses. For what looks like a simple game, there's quite a bit of depth to the gameplay and action.

Unfortunately, the same can't be said about the soundtrack. Don't get me wrong, I like the music that plays as we investigate the planet, but there simply isn't enough of it. We basically listen to the same song on repeat through every stage, and that started to get to me after a while. It's worth noting that they mix things up with boss fights and underwater sections, but this game is in desperate need of more songs. The musical repetition is probably the worst part of my time exploring Grizzland.

If you've ever wondered what it would be like to play a Metroidvania game on the Atari 2600, then this is the game for you. Grizzland is a fun and imaginative adventure game full of clever level designs and exciting boss fights. It's a mysterious planet full of secrets, not to mention a compelling science fiction story that's worth sticking around for. It's a bit familiar in places and could definitely use more music, but Grizzland is a delightful surprise that proves that sometimes all you need are five colors and a low-res display to make a great game.