Gifting gore and irreverence this Valentine's Day

The eShop is not short of retro-styled titles that show due reverence to iconic games of the 8- and 16-bit eras. From feisty ninjas in the likes of The Messenger and Cyber Shadow, to high profile efforts like Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon and its sequel, there are plenty of titles that are both throwbacks and very modern takes on genre classics. Another aiming to make its mark soon is Infernax, launching on Valentine's Day (14th February).

This retro-styled tribute has notable pedigree — it's been developed by Berzerk Studio, which brought us the outstanding Just Shapes & Beats. The publisher is The Arcade Crew, too, the Dotemu subsidiary that has helped deliver the likes of Blazing Chrome.

We stepped into a short-ish PC demo of Infernax with confidence, then, but this particular game's influences would potentially be enough to make one take pause. It's drawing from classics, but games that are arguably more famous for being outliers in their famous franchises. Yes, if you were to compare Infernax to 25-30-year-old games, you'd say it shares aspects of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, titles that are skipped over by many when talking about the greats in their respective IPs. These games have devoted fans and have been subjects of reappraisal post-Dark Souls, but they rarely get near the top of 'best of' lists.

To rewind a little, Infernax sets its scene in a familiar way for the new-retro Indie scene. Pulsing chiptune sounds and pixel art tell a tale of a Knight psychologically exhausted after years of war in the Crusades. This 12-13th Century setting sets us up for some medieval battling and locations, before diving off into the familiar tropes of evil sweeping the land in the form of zombies, floating eyeballs and grotesque monsters. So far, so very late '80s.

The initial play draws the most from 8-bit Castlevania, as you walk, jump and bash your way along with a basic horizontal attack. Zombies, annoying little hunchbacked things, eyeballs, scuttling giant bugs; it's all familiar but stylishly delivered. You get an early sense of the game not being overly forgiving, either, with hits taking 2 points off your health bar for extra cruelty. It's clear the developers want players of all types to have fun though, with a 'Casual' setting that gives you restarts with little cost, or a 'hardcore' option that puts you back and makes you re-earn your drops. Whichever way you go, the deceptively simple early screens should absolutely not allow you to relax; the game over screen is never far away.

It's brilliantly put together in this early part, utilising the pixel-based stylings to excellent effect as a brutish monster quite literally batters at the town gate.

After a relatively short amount of monster bashing you arrive in a village, which is where it starts feeling a bit Zelda II, which is a theme we'll get back to later. After a short while doors open up and some characters interact, though in this build — which was emphasized as 'super early' and from last year — not many villagers had much to say. The opening is also pretty linear, too, as you stumble across the town's existential fight for survival against an onslaught of monsters. It's brilliantly put together in this early part, utilising its pixel art to excellent effect as a brutish monster quite literally batters at the town gate.

The demo then introduced the first of three boss fights we played; as this boss was the first of the game it was simple, but the small touches started to shine through. Soldiers fighting alongside you get brutally splatted during the fight, and the monster itself is a hideous creation that is rather gross in the best possible way. The opening 30-45 minutes becomes a quest to hunt this beast down, but the story is both simple and well-told. Brave soldiers go ahead to start the fight, only for you to encounter their bodies and even their brutal murders as you progress. Animation and artwork is top notch, and you soon realise that this is no game for children.

Our demo eventually took us into a dungeon, too, which is where a little more Zelda II influence shone through. We had to track down a few keys and started to meet trickier enemies. Some threw spears — your character does auto-block when not moving — while others had the classic arching axe throws. Then there were foes with shields that required a bit more strategy and patience to defeat. Ideas borrowed from a long-gone age of gaming, but delivered with modern polish and skill.

Though screens don't do it justice (check out the new release date reveal trailer at the top of the page to see the game in action), it also looks and sounds great in this PC build — though frankly, we'd be surprised if the presentation isn't equally good on Switch considering the art style. The music is authentically punchy with its old-school sound samples, and the developers — like many others — have found a good balance between mimicking retro visuals while incorporating modern techniques to suit modern displays and sensibilities.

There's plenty of charm and humour, too. Each death, for example, is gratuitous, as the screen transitions to red and the victorious enemy brutalises your corpse in shadow. Enemy designs are also excellent, and the second boss we encountered was even more revolting than the first, with the developers clearly having fun in their efforts to emphasize the violence and depraved design that lingers in some classic games.

Unfortunately, considering we were enjoying its atmosphere so much, the demo was short. We didn't get to see many of the 'choice' elements of the game play out, nor dive into the mana/magic aspects of our hero's arsenal. We did a few basic level-ups, tackled some foes that felt familiar yet slightly different from the sources of inspiration, and saw a lot of pixelated gore.

We can't wait to see more.

Infernax releases on Switch eShop on 14th February.

Tom has been involved in the games industry for a decade, mostly writing about it or struggling to sell Indie games. Loves reading, writing, hunting Capcom’s fiercest monsters and watching baseball.

That looks really, REALLY good!! I am not usually very forgiving when it comes to retro styled games, but this one really does seem to tickle me quite nicely.

very interested in this game. Zelda II and Castlevania II are, to me, two shining examples of misused potential due to hardware constraints. very intriguing to see those games' ideas in a modern time.

This looks INCREDIBLE. “Sorry, honey… I know it’s Valentine’s Day but…” :: boots up switch in handheld mode :: :: eshop purchase chime is heard ::

Looks great, hopefully will have a physical release

Haha, that sexyphone music at the end is perfect! This looks really cool, I'll add it to my wishlist as soon as I read some positive reviews

This is amazing, looking forward to it.

I just completed Zelda II a couple weeks ago and been replaying it ever since, I cannot stop heeeelp!

@Bunkerneath There’s already a physical up for preorder on limited run

This is looking very promising. That's one of the great things about indies, great looking games regularly appear from nowhere and rarely do we have to wait long to play them.

@ChrisWubbs The pre-order closed on the 2 January Missed it

Hmm, the buzzwords really sold me on it. Might give them my money.

One screenshot and I’m sold! Have played maybe an hour each of Zelda 2 and castlevania 2 .but never went back to. Has anyone here completed these games without using a guide? Is that possible xxx

Thats EXACTLY my type of game! Zelda II is one of my favorite games, Castlevania II was a bit rough but had a lot of potential with the open-world design and the day-night cycle. I'm really looking forward to this.

@noobish_hat Funny, whenever Zelda II comes up, there are people who will rant how terrible that game is, yet I've never heard a substantial argument beyond "It's different from other Zeldas" or "it's hard".

@Dragonslacker1 Castlevania II was too difficult for me, though I loved the vibe it gave off. It's too flawed for me to play it now without having the rose tinted glasses of nostalgia, which I do own for Zelda II, which I did love, played to death but beat only many years after I first played it.

Best final battle I ever had too!

Don't think I used a guide, but yeah, it was difficult. Lots of trying weird things, using items on weird places and whatnot, which is kinda what I loved about it. I was very young though.

I also really loved Faxanadu and Wizards and Warriors 3, which were also similar games, so I may be a bit biased.

This looks great! Definitely one to add to the wish-list.

This one looks quite impressive at a glance, have to keep this one in mind.

Jesus Christ, the game almost had me but the flashing red and white death screens killed it for me. Is there an option to disable that in the demo, ‘cause that’s pretty irresponsible to have in 2022 and not at least be able to shut it off. Yes, I saw the epilepsy warning. Yes, it should still be a toggle.

@ChrisWubbs Sadly, that physical preorder is sold out. They stopped taking orders on January 2.

@chipia I don't hate Zelda 2, but it sure does seem to hate its players. It's not just that it is hard, it is full of random cheap shots, it has some obtuse puzzles, and some frustrating combat mechanics. My least favorite bit is the difficult to find "extra lives" that are actually consumable, never to be used again.

That said, I really like a lot of the ideas and the side view take on the Zelda formula had many fun implications. They really paid off better applied in Metroid which is also heavily flawed, but a classic in my book.

Bummer that Limited Run already closed preorders on this. I saw it right before it closed, said, “This looks cool! But I’ve heard nothing about it!” and proceeded to NOT buy. They could’ve gotten way more sales if they’d left it open longer. Ugh… Limited FUN, am I right? 🤷🏻‍♂️

As awesome as the trailer looks. Probably gonna hear about it up to release and then never again.

I got my pre-order from LRG secured It looks amazinggggg!

Looks like an easy purchase for me.

It looks like those of us that don’t desire a physical release have a date for Valentine’s Day…

You saw what I did there

@chipia It’s obtuse, poorly translated, the text types out painfully slow, the magic system is cumbersome, the dungeons all look the same (Japanese version) it’s got a lot of running around for pointless fetch quests, are among some complaints I and others have made. I liked the game as a child, but adult me enjoys the game more with QOL romhacks. Playing the original is highly tedious.

Zelda II and Castlevania II are among some of my absolute favorites in their respective series, so I'm down for this one.

I am excited for this one it looks up my alley. I am building a game that is a mix of Demons Quest/Crest, Super Ghouls n ghosts with a sprinkle of Castlevania.

Zelda 2 just doesn't get enough love. Such a fun game, and that was before the internet could answer your questions in 3 seconds.

Game looks alright, but with so many games already it's hard for me to want to spend time on retro titles.

@Jokerwolf That sounds like it has the potential to be the greatest game ever made. Good luck!

@OldManHermit We are about 7 months into development now and it's going pretty good. We're still pre-alpha but it's coming along more every day. Once we have a proper alpha build that we all sign off on we're going to show it off in a year or so to the public. The tentative title is Knights & Demons.

Just Shapes and Beats made me a fan of these devs so I'll definitely give this a try.

Can't wait for my Collectors Edition to arrive. Really looking forward to playing it

I am delighted to see the NES ARPG getting its due.

I imagine that games like Zelda II and Castlevania II are at the same level as current gen ARPGs like the Witcher 3. That if the people who made those NES games had the tech we have now they would strive for something like that. But they didn't and working within their limitations created a unique style. And now devs are going back to that, without the technical limitations but with the artistic style. Games like this are the games I imagined those original NES games to be.

Not bad. It reminds me of a mix of Astyanax, Castlevania, and Shovel Knight more then Zelda.

I'm not one for retro-styled indie games (Shovel Knight is mayhaps the only exception?) but this looks like lots of fun!

@Daniel36 cool thanks for the reply will try Zelda 2 properly soon. I remember as a kid when I got a new game I would play the hell out of it no matter what, or how tricky and obscure something was, but today I see things like that as a barrier to entry. Will try Zelda 1 properly one day as well xx

@Dragonslacker1 Yeah no prob. I doubt you will like Zelda II much, though. I didn't play Zelda I much when I was a kid so today I won't really enjoy it, but I will happily replay Zelda II because I enjoyed it so much back then. Same with a game like Battle of Olympus, while I will skip Metroid I because again, I didn't play it back then.

I also gave Startropics a go, because so many people have such fond memories of it, and I got pretty far into it too, but it's just too old for me now. It's all about nostalgia, these games.

Zelda II and BotW are my fav Zeldas... Castlevania II and SotN are my favorite Castlevanias...

These older gems have been my favorites for years, and anyone who didn't like them are, and always were, absolute cowards.

Just when I thought I had enough retro and metroidvania, a pitch perfect title gets announced.

@Daniel36 I liked Castlevania II -before- this patch came out, but now that this patch exists, I don't play the vanilla US game anymore: https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/1032/

@ChrisWubbs yep , I have my copy for the Switch preordered ..

@ChrisWubbs Really!? to the PurchaseMobile!!

Zelda II - I loved the hell out of it, and did play it to completion as a kid without any guides. It's such a hard game to talk about, because all the stuff that people dislike about it are the things that made it so special to me. The cryptic, obtuse puzzles and odd translations only added to the mystical, otherworldly feeling of the game. In a way, the entire game felt like a secret to be uncovered. Which is perfectly in keeping with Zelda I. I remember the RPG systems being pretty hard to understand and hidden from the player as well, but that also made the game interesting! Also, yes, it had a high difficulty, but the challenge really made the game especially worth tackling, and it was never so hard or unfair that I never wanted to even try. Tackling a difficult dungeon felt like true victory, in the way beating a boss in Dark Souls feels. It really is a proto-Dark Souls and sincerely felt that way when I played it upon release. I think it was a miraculous game and for me it ranks among the best entries in the series. If there's one Zelda game that's begging for a very thoughtful modern remake that keeps all of these strong qualities while introducing enough balance and QoL for modern gamers to not quit it immediately, it's this one. (Failing that, the Soulsborne games scratch the same itch - but imagine the almighty Nintendo returning to their weird, difficult roots and nailing it even better than From!)

I bought the CE from LRG. Looking forward to playing it!

@naxuu Amen. The controls in Z2 were so tight- if you died, it's because you messed up. Link did what you told him to do, you just happen to suck.

The Dark Souls comparison is on point!

Tap here to load 45 comments

Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...

Jack Move Is A Cyberpunk RPG With Traditional Turn-Based Mechanics

Aspyr Is Bringing Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic II To Switch This June

Includes The Sith Lords Restored content DLC

Hands On: Mario Strikers: Battle League Makes A Furiously Good First Impression

Where Mario can kick Yoshi in the face

Hands On: Final Vendetta - The Ultimate Love Letter To Final Fight And Streets Of Rage?

Klonoa Collection Frame Rate, Resolution And File Size For Switch Revealed

Every Nintendo Switch Online SNES Game Ranked

Nintendo Switch Online - Every NES, SNES, N64 And Sega Ge...

Pokémon GO Spotlight Hour Times: This Week's Featured Po...

Every Nintendo Switch Online NES Game Ranked

Mario Strikers: Battle League Will Be Supported With Free...

Every Nintendo Switch Online N64 Game Ranked

Kirby And The Forgotten Land Codes: Full List Of Kirby Pr...

Pokémon GO Community Days 2022: May Community Day - Alol...

A New Limited-Time Pokémon Sword And Shield Distribution...

Nintendo Expands Its Switch Online SNES And NES Service W...

The Official Pokémon Diamond & Pearl Sound Library Will ...

Nintendo Reveals Character Concepts For Switch Sports, In...

Join 1,310,940 people following Nintendo Life:

© 2022 Hookshot Media, partner of ReedPop. Hosted by 44 Bytes.