Metroidvania is a genre that most independent game developers take hold of, and who can blame them? Most of the time, they don’t require many resources and if pulled off correctly, they could be as successful as Axiom Verge or Guacamelee. Leinzo’s Hunter’s Legacy is one of these games that fits into said genre: exploring a 2D world on a 2D plane, fighting various creatures and acquiring many skills to defeat the main villain.
Players assume the role of Ikki, the Great Huntress of Un’Amak, in a medieval world full of anthropomorphic felines. The story is the definition of straightforward and nothing more: evil is afoot and the Huntress must stop it. Anything that unfolds inbetween is uninteresting to say the least. Despite its animated art-style and upbeat tone, the characters and NPCs are none of that. They have little personality and only serve as exposition. It’s clear that the developers had to sacrifice some effort put into story in exchange for some otherwise solid gameplay.
The game doesn’t hesitate to throw you right into the action after a brief text-based cutscene modeled after ones from the NES and Super NES days. Armed with dual-blades, Ikki can slice and dice her way through enemies and, of course, grass to find health and currency. Enemy variety is moderate for a game of this caliber, with the slow-moving ones that simply hurt by touching you to the lizards that are experts in archery. Some of these foes can only be taken down with correct timing if they’re using a shield to defend themselves. In a sense, the enemies have been crafted in the simplest of forms but not too simple to the point where you’d get bored to death.
Bosses on the other hand can be an immense challenge the further you progress. Earlier bosses are easier with little attack patterns and then later bosses increase their attacks and strengths. Some of them require exposing a weak point while others demand you dodge their strikes before even coming close to theirs. Fans of old-school boss battles will find a lot to appreciate in these designs.
Hunter’s Legacy runs virtually the same on both console and PC being a game that only uses 2-D graphics and runs on Unity. If you’re on PC, I would recommend using a controller because that’s how these games are meant to be played. I personally don’t know anyone that uses a mouse and keyboard for these kind of games, but if that’s you then do you!
The map in the game is organized into sections, and you’ll be able to warp to each section using teleporters once that section has been completed. I commonly found myself to be underwhelmed by the design of each section due to the seemingly random nature of platform and enemy placement, which sometimes feels like they threw something at a wall to see what stuck. I would go off the beaten path for a bit to see if there was a secret I could find all to no avail. The most I found was some currency and health, which I guess served a purpose, just not the kind I wanted. However, one level that really impressed me was one set near a volcano. There were little rock creatures in it that would surround you, but first they would gather up heat by touching lava or get colder by touching ice. Both of these elements will hurt you over a period of time, unless you’re standing on the opposite element that cancels it out. If you’re walking through a scorching hot area, it’s best to gather as much ice rocks as you can in order to prevent yourself getting damaged for a set period of time. It’s moments like these where the game shines.
Final Reaction
Hunter’s Legacy is not a sleeper-hit by any means, but there is definitely something in here worth looking into. Even though it has its mediocre moments with the story and level design, it makes up for some of that with good platforming and unique ideas such as the element system I mentioned in the last paragraph. For only $6.99 on Steam, PSN and XBL, it couldn’t hurt to give it a shot and support an indie developer. To say the least, it’s worth the price.
Rating: 3/5 Atoms
from Nerd Reactor
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