Nexomon has the incredibly difficult challenge of escaping the shadow of the gigantic franchise it emulates. As a monster taming adventure that borrows heavily from the Pokémon franchise in terms of gameplay elements, premise, and art design, Nexomon manages to part the darkness of that shadow, stepping forward with a beaming light of something that truly sets it apart from its inspiration. Story.

While at its core the concept of capturing a crazy number of cool monsters, training them, and battling them against others is familiar, Nexomon puts its own spin on these to try and make it feel different but it’s what it does with the story and its characters that truly make the experience memorable and stronger than its Poké-counterpart. Full of heart, charm, and humour, Nexomon is an absolute joy and feels less like an imitation, and more like a genuine alternative that in many ways is superior.

Despite being a port of a 2017 mobile title, Nexomon is the first title in the series but the second to make its way to consoles. Nexomon: Extinction (Review HERE) launched last year and is a sequel to the mobile game, therefore this iteration on console is a prequel to that. As such, Extinction has a few gameplay mechanics and features that are absent in Nexomon but that does not detract from the general joy of this experience.

Nexomon tells the story of an unnamed, blue-haired protagonist that embarks on a mission to stop the Nexolord, a malevolent tyrant hell-bent on resurrecting Omnicron and his children, powerful Nexomon that almost brought mankind too its knees millennia ago. With its premise rooted in a sense of destiny and a scope that puts the weight of the world on the shoulders of a child, the story of Nexomon unravels in ways that offer suspense, twists and moments of genuine shock that captures its players in a way that Pokémon hasn’t yet managed to do.

The story has a purpose, its characters all have vital roles to play, and nobody is present for the sake of it. Injecting the narrative with such grandeur, scope, and destiny allows the stakes to feel as though they matter. By the time the story reaches its end, the conclusion feels satisfying and warrants a moment of reflection to digest how cleverly it unfolded.

The game opens with a cinematic depicting the epic battle between a brave group of people who brought the fight to, and defeated, Omnicron and his children. Until now, there has been peace. Humans and Nexomon have grown in harmony and have enjoyed a time of prosperity that once seemed unachievable. In the present day, the player is instantly thrust into an evil plot that seeks to end these peaceful times and is presented with 7 Nexomon to choose from as their partner.

Every Nexomon has an elemental type which has its own strengths and weaknesses against others. For example, water is very effective against fire while the electric type is not very effective against the ground type. Understanding the elements is the key to victory and by compiling a team full of various elemental types is essential to overcome the variety present in the opponents.

The protagonist feels important, despite never uttering a single word. How characters react to and converse with them establishes their role and strength, reinforcing that the battle against the Nexolord, Omnicron, and all their faithful minions can’t be stopped by a lesser Tamer. A Tamer is someone who captures Nexomon with Nexotraps and raises and trains them. These Tamers are scattered throughout the world to be battled, proving who is the better Tamer and whose team is the strongest. Yes, it sounds familiar to those who have grown up with Pokémon and for the most part, Nexomon plays like that catalogue of titles too.

Battling Nexomon against each other is simple. Each Nexomon has a health bar and when it is depleted, the Nexomon is defeated, and another will be sent in its place until one Tamer has had their entire team defeated. A maximum of six Nexomon comprise the player’s team and enemy Tamers will have anywhere from one to six, rarely will an opponent have a full team.

Every Nexomon has four skills. These skills are comprised of offensive and defensive abilities, all of which consume stamina. Each Nexomon has a stamina bar, and the player must be mindful when planning their moves so as to not find themselves defenceless. If a Nexomon does not have enough stamina to perform a skill, they will rest for a turn to replenish some, leaving them open to attack from the enemy Nexomon. Stamina and health can be restored by using items that can be found in world or bought from stores.

Moving patches in the environment indicate that a Nexomon is in there, ready to be battled or tamed. Weakening the Nexomon by using light attacks, combined with status effects such as paralysis, burning or sleeping, will leave them weak enough to be captured using a Nexotrap. Sometimes the Nexomon will break free, and the player can either attempt to weaken them further or continue throwing Nexotraps.

If the Nexomon is caught, it can either be added to the players team or sent to a storage box that can be accessed in the Healing Centre present in every town. The rarity of every Nexomon is displayed during the encounter under their character bar, indicating whether it’s common or mega rare for instance, possibly influencing the player’s decision to either defeat them for experience, or attempt to catch them without running the risk of struggling to find them again.

Success rates of catching Nexomon seems pretty low, even when they only have a sliver of health remaining or are under the effects of status ailments, they tend to break free with an alarming rate. Golden Nexotraps can be found that guarantee capture but these are certainly best reserved for the Legendary Nexomon in the endgame.

With every battle, Nexomon gain experience. This experience contributes to a levelling system, and when Nexomon reach certain levels, which differs between all Nexomon, they will learn new skills or evolve into new forms. Yes, this formula is still sounding familiar but there are also parts of it unique to Nexomon.

When new skills are learned, existing ones aren’t overwritten. Instead, players able to freely equip any of the skills they have unlocked outside of battle. This freedom allows players to customise their Nexomon, experiment with different skills and their respective element types without forcing the player into a decision that can’t be undone later.

The world is full of quirky characters to interact with and joyfully, many of them offer humorous or sarcastic quips that make these interactions entertaining. As well as characters to speak to, there are Tamers to battle, items to find and, of course, Nexomon to catch across the nine diverse regions, each offering specific types of Nexomon and typically some favouritism of certain types by the local Tamers.

Travelling between the regions is initially on-foot, though once a certain part of the story is reached, the player can fast travel between certain locations by interacting with warp totems.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of Nexomon is the humour. Whether it’s the characters that accompany the hero, random NPCs or even the villainous characters, sarcasm and wit come across more often than many would expect. It keeps things light amidst the heavy themes of global conquest and offers a playfulness to the interactions that make them worth initiating. Nexomon is very self-aware, on many occasions referencing that the experience is a video game in ways that always managed to make me laugh.

The art design in Nexomon is vibrant, playful, and striking, yet simple and familiar. Comparisons will always be drawn to Pokémon, whether it’s the character models, Nexomon designs or general presentation of the environment. Despite arriving over two decades after the famous franchise that paved the way for Nexomon, this experience looks, sounds, and feels like a faithful homage that has cherry picked some of the best elements and incorporated them into a game that works in 2021.

An energetic score and cheerful sound effects are well implemented, and in some cases, the absence of music altogether allows for some of the bigger dialogue and story moments to have more impact.

Nexomon is an excellent addition to the genre and one that succeeds in many ways of standing apart from the iconic franchise that established the genre in the first place. With a fun variety of Nexomon to find, battle, tame and train, there is no shortage of replayability. By packing in a story that is full of heart, depth, and charm, Nexomon is a refreshing alternative to Pokémon that its fans or new players will be able to enjoy and appreciate.

+ Great story

+ Clever writing and use of humour

+ Gorgeous visuals and art design

+ Excellent score

+ Fun, yet familiar gameplay

+ Replayability

– Tamers are surprisingly few and far between, not many overall

– Capture rates seem inconsistent

The post Nexomon Review first appeared on Games of DAYNE.

Within the Blade is a stealth action platformer that tells the pixelated tale of Hideaki, a ninja of the Black Lotus clan. Tasked with slaying rival clans, rescuing prisoners and restoring his village, the player embarks on a rather challenging adventure where the blood shed is just as likely to be your own. Featuring a surprisingly deep skill tree and variety of abilities, weapons and gadgets, Within the Blade is a retro experience that will likely satisfy fans of the genre or frustrate casual players depending on their timing.

The pixelated world playfully blends shadows and flashes of vibrant colour, particularly when blood is spilled, as the player jumps, wall-runs and platforms throughout the 25 levels. Each unique enemy type is easy to identify upon first glance, ranging from archers, common katana-wielding samurais and heavily armour-clad variants that won’t budge. Taking advantage of the battlefield by jumping, dashing and dropping to lower levels add an interesting flavour to the many combat encounters. Initially it is very easy to die, and death will send the player to their last checkpoint which unfortunately are few and far between.

Frustration will likely settle in early until a few levels can be passed and coins can be collected to spend on a plethora of skills that add new abilities or increase stats like health. Even with a few upgrades under your belt Within the Blade feels constantly challenging – maybe that’s due to my limited experience with these types of titles but  some of that can be attributed to some touchy controls that may lead to some unresponsive actions in the heat of battle. On several occasions an attack or jump wouldn’t seem to register. At first I thought this was on my end but switching my controller for another had the same result. These issues would regularly lead to death in battle and as the checkpoints aren’t very forgiving, this grew tiresome quickly.

Each level has primary and optional objectives to complete such as rescuing prisoners or characters relevant to the story, killing all enemies or avoiding enemy detection for example. The level cannot be completed until the primary objective has been completed. A map of sorts rests in the bottom left of the screen, similar to those from dungeon crawlers, showing which rooms have been entered, any objectives or items of interest and of course rooms not yet explored. Even after death the map remains intact as far as what has been explored, which is very helpful given the number of deaths players are likely to experience.

Various items can be found in chests or destroyable objects such as boxes and barrels that include weapons and throwables. As swords break down over time it is worth smashing everything to ensure you have a healthy supply of bombs and throwing stars to keep combat more varied and ranged than having to resort to fists, which in my experience almost always resulted in death.

Assassinations can be performed by hiding in the shadows or tall grass which nets more XP and additional coins at the end of the level which can be used to unlock new abilities in the skill tree or items from the shop in the village which acts as the hub world that can be visited between levels. Crafting can also be done in the village with resources found with exploration. Recipes can be discovered or can be blindly crafted by combining the right ingredients.

A plethora of environmental hazards such as fire, explosive barrels, trap doors, spikes and giant concrete columns that raise and lower in piston-like fashion keep the platforming and combat busy, requiring awareness of surroundings at all times in order to progress and avoid death. Having to consider all of this at once almost non-stop throughout Within the Blade adds to the layer of difficulty of the overall experience. Boss battles are also fairly difficult with each having large health bars and devastating attacks that must be avoided at all costs. Trial and error is a heavily emphasised point in this title and the boss battles are no exception.

Within the Blade is challenging, surprisingly deep in terms of its gameplay mechanics and the overall pixel presentation feels a little lost amidst the blood soaked experience. Make no mistake, a lot of the bloodshed in Within the Blade will be your own and the trial-and-error emphasis on the gameplay is just as likely to infuriate casual players as it is to satisfy those that long for a challenge.

+ Cool pixel art design

+ Surprising depth of gameplay

+ Violent animations and bloodshed

– Pretty challenging

– Checkpoints feel too far apart

– Often unresponsive controls

Developed by: Ametist Studio

Published by: Ratalaika Games

Release Date: July 16 2021

Platforms: Xbox One/Series X|S, PlayStation 4/5, Nintendo Switch and PC

 * A digital code was kindly provided by the Publisher for the purpose of this review *

– Additional Links –

For more of my reviews, click HERE.

To see this review and other multi-platform content from my associates at BG4G, click HERE.

For this and additional reviews, latest news, trailers and more from the rest of the team at Xbox Gamer Dad and One More Game, click HERE.

To see all the latest news and reviews from the team at Game News Aus, including this review, click HERE.

Don’t forget to also follow Games of DAYNE on: Twitter, Facebook and YouTube!

The post Within the Blade Review first appeared on Games of DAYNE.

  *Disclaimer: This review was originally written as a member for One More Game and Xbox Gamer Dad, edited by co-founder Adam Potts and/or founder Matt Brook. A review code for this title was provided by OMG/XBGD. This review was written from my perspective with editor input. Click HERE to read this review as originally published on onemoregame.com.au*

Distraint 2 begins with a brief cinematic recap, bringing players up to speed as it picks up almost immediately from where the first entry left off. As with most series, playing those titles that came before offers more insight and attachment to the story and characters but thus recap explains enough to let this sequel stand on its own. !!! Distraint 1 spoiler warning !!! – the closing moments saw player character Price put a shotgun in his mouth in remorse of his actions as a property reclaimer racked with guilt and emotional instability. This 2D psychological horror adventure again follows Price in his attempt to restore hope and find his purpose within the confines of a deceivingly playful art style that is layered in devilish charm. 

The gameplay is simplistic, limited to nothing more than walking around interacting with the environment, obtaining items to be stored in the inventory to be used for light puzzle solving situations and progression of the text driven conversations with the interesting and unusual cast of characters littered throughout the approximately two hour experience. The simplicity here is not a flaw; instead it helps the player push forward with ease and eliminates any complication with accessibility.       

Saving occurs manually by interaction with glowing green orbs that are generously scattered throughout and this feature is encouraged to be done regularly to avoid having to retrace steps upon death. Price is not alone on his road to redemption and creepy monsters stalk the halls, devouring the player if they are unable to enter a hiding place in time. Adding to the tension of monster encounters are disturbing visual effects that range from glitchy, distortion like animations and the screen turning darker with blood dripping from the top until the monster has passed. Menacing sound effects accompany these creatures that also act as an audio cue for safety, disappearing when the monster is no longer in the area. 

The environment is typically dark and gritty, spread out across creepy building interiors, creaky hallways and rooms while occasionally veering into the light in flashback sequences. The flashbacks serve to remind Price of significant moments from his past that will aide him in solving puzzles and interacting with items more important than they may appear. The puzzles present are not difficult and generally rely on a nearby item to solve or a board of tiles that needs rearranged to form a picture. They are simple enough to not be troublesome and varied to prevent repetition.  

Emotions such as Hope, Greed, Reason and Agony to name a few are represented as characters that act according to their name towards Price. The bigger picture of these emotions and characters is cleverly paid off in the final act that leave the player possibly only realising in retrospect the significance of their roles. It’s well executed and adds a dimension to the title that may not be expected. 

The art style is unique and quirky, particularly with character design and accompanied by appropriately eerie music, this grim experience oozes a surprising amount of charm considering the dark and bloody themes, animations and environments. 

Explicit language and graphic sequences appropriately land this title a mature rating and a younger audience will likely not understand the themes and messages the story tells. 

Developer Jesse Makkonen delivers a surprisingly powerful message in this unexpected follow up and capitalises on what made the first such a great experience in the first place. The simplistic nature of the gameplay is made up for in its gritty narrative, proving that bite sized experiences such as Distraint 2 have the ability to tell stories that matter and incorporate mental health themes in a way that players may relate to. Price is a man that has made mistakes and seeks redemption to find meaning for his existence. That statement is not something I would have expected a small independent venture like this to explore but Distraint 2 is a competent sequel that delivers a compelling story and a resonating conclusion. 

Final Verdict: 

+ Fun art style 

+ Simplistic gameplay allows the story to breathe 

+ Powerful message and themes 

– Text based dialogue holds back emotion 

– Plot is a little complicated 

Games of DAYNE Rating

Developed by: Jesse Makkonen

Published by: Ratalaika Games

Release Date: July 10 2020

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC

The post Distraint 2 Review first appeared on Games of DAYNE.