REVIEW : The Guise (PC)
The Guise is created by Rasul Mono and published by GameNet is another game that appears to take inspiration from games like Ori and The Will of The Wisps and Carrion, however, it nevermore feels like it quite nails the same feeling like either of these inspirations.
For those that don’t know, a Metroidvania is a play that draws motivation from games like Metroid and Castlevania, where players explore a world, gaining new skills and bonuses that allow them to further explore new areas from past sections of the play. Over the past several years, there have been numerous games that have given new life to the genre such as Team Cherry’s Hollow Knight.
The Guise has a fairly alike premise: some kids that live at an orphanage decide to creep into their caretaker’s mysterious room one night while she’s out. Inside this room, they find a witch-like lair complete with a creepy mask and cauldron. One of these kids, Ogden, chooses to put on the creepy mask where he immediately is turned into a beast, thus beginning the player’s journey and quest to revert to humanity.
Ogden’s quest is not an easy one, but players can obtain new skills along the way that should make this journey easier. These skills can be achieved through a few distinct methods. Some, like the Acid Spit, are gained by defeating bosses, while others, like Shadow Kill, are gained by completing side hunts in the world.
While the battleis possibly the biggest part of The Guise‘s gameplay, it’s also where the game disbalances the most. It appears that the intent with The Guise‘s combat is to be challenging, but it ends up being more frustrating than challenging. There are several times where it seems like the hitboxes for Ogden’s attacks are slightly off, which can make fighting even the simplest enemies stressful. This can seldom lead to circumstances where the gamer will want to avoid fighting by any means to guarantee they have as much health as possible going into the boss battle.
Exploration can also feel slightly laborious and not completely planned out as well. Early on, players receive a side hunt from a child named Maynard. He tasks players with retrieving apart from a ruthless monster to demonstrate his bravery to the other kids. Players then fall off a cliff, fight the aforementioned scary beast as the boss battle in the very next segment, and receive the important beast part. However, there is no space to go back up the cliff to talk to Maynard. If players wish to return in this quest quickly, they need to throw themselves into the nearby water to respawn at the top of the cliff to turn the quest in.
While the fight is lacklustre, particularly when compared to other recent Metroidvanias, The Guise does have some redeeming factors. The artwork, in particular, is very attractive and provides players with a comparable vibe to that of the Henry Selick movie, Coraline. Enemies’ visual designs also feel unique with a wide variety that players can find on their journey to free Ogden from his curse.
The music and audio design are other highlights of The Guise‘s package. The sombre piano music that plays as Ogden is exploring the world is also quite striking, particularly compared to the powerful score that swells as players face down the game’s hard bosses. Sound effects feel visceral and practical, giving players an extremely clear mental image of what various abilities would sound like if it were occurring right in front of them.
The Guise‘s script is also usually quite strong. In particular, the witchy caretaker’s conversation with the orphans and Ogden feels genuine to life and encourages players to know her level of affection for the children in her care.
