Nyxquest - Kindred Spirits
... well i think she is goddess of the night, and that would also make sense, but to that, we will get later. Nyxquest on Nintendo's Wii console is different from what you expect. I have seen quite a lot Wiiware games, and most of them were not made for me. Actually there are two titles that stand out of the crowd. The first one, and i have to admit still the most impressive one for me, is Wolrd of Goo. And the other one is now Nyxquest - Kindred Spirits. The gods have blessed this game and since only like 4 people were the main creators(read something like that on wikipedia) and (at least i say so) they, or the creative guy, were blessed with great taste and a sense of honor when it comes to details, it was not possible to destroy their vision by some marketing people from hell.
I have good taste - yes i have.
Some people will argue that taste differs, well it does but there is bad taste, not relative but absolute! - like an irrational fool i will stand and defend this important bastion in the war of intellect - emotion.
There was not one part in this game, not in the menus, not at some cutscenes, where i was not happy and surprised (positively) with the quality that runs in the veins of this game.
(Note at the side, I don't like pretentious ART games)....more side notes: How not sexy to call a game art, that reminds me of some folks standing in a museum in front of an ugly painting and discussing the moral implications and social factors of some, uffff....brrrrrr, such a cold thought.
Simple enough, look at some screenshots of the game and if you like them you will not be disappointed with the game in it's graphics.
Play with her
You play Nyx and your quest is to find your beloved Icarus. Why and how is explained by an intro made of stills and text. You are a winged creature which can make about six flaps with it's wings to gain height and some limited time of gliding. So far, not that special, but for what do we have a wiimote? Right, you will have to flap with your wiimote like a madman to play this game, and while you get a soar arm you have to shake the nunchuck for forward movement - please don't leave this review just now, i was only joking. This game, you can actually play well with the wiimote and also use some of it's abilities in a good way. You are in a burning hot greece where the sand in this desert with ruins is too hot for Nyx's feet. So you must at least try to hop from platform to stone and further to stairs and on more platforms. And there are some dark shadow like creatures flying their routes between platforms or above them sometimes - you should avoid them. Too much harm even makes this goddess hurt. These are the obstacles for the first level out of 12 + 1 bonus (if you collect all hidden relics in the other 12 levels). Of course, that is not all it has to offer. The point and click from your wiimote is also used. You get powers from gods who help you on your way. The power to slide certain blocks around, like in a telekinetic way. Also if the stone block is not too big, you can use it to catapult yourself up and then jump even higher with it's help. Some very creative ways that add to the gameplay - like sliding two blocks, one in your walking plane, on which you stand so your feet don't get burned, and one in the background, to shield you from an gigantic eye ball that sets the world in flames if it sees you. You will also learn how to control the winds, drawing winds and changing them, so you can ride along them. you will even defend against the sun - Helios.
In later levels the difficulty and the great gameplay alike will come from trying to do both things at the same time, walking Nyx in the front and at the same time solve some point and click and drag things along her way. And it works really well. Some passages have the potential to frustrate you, but they are few, and the next in-level save point is not too far away.
How the gods talk
How do you create a conversation with a deity when you have no big budget? - Right, you make them speak in a low voice in a breathing fashion without any language of words - like in Okami. If your resources are limited you have to be creative and sometimes the result is even better then if you had the money to make speech for the game. No speech, yes, or at least i don't remember any - but still, that did not destroy any atmosphere.
Is there nothing bad about this game?
Well one time i had a bug and i had to replay a whole level - now mind you, that i could not reproduce this bug and it could have been that the batteries were so low and just at the moment when a new level was being loaded, the wii menu wanted to pop up.
Then, it is difficult at some passages, or at least i had to play some passages twice or at one time exceptionally even 15 times (i wanted to ram a sword in that gigantic eye in the background by then). Play time is about 4 hours - with relic collecting possibly more. I would say the average gamer can get out up to 6 hours if he wants to finish everything.
It's a game created with heart, putting it on another level then most of it's brethren.
What do the numbers mean to me?
7/10 = A well done game, it did certainly not bewitch me but it was worth my time. Oh no - i don't regret it. Unless... i paid more then about 20 euros... i know, like a money hoarding dwarf.
8/10 = What can i say, like this game. (Between 7 and 9).
9/10 = When i hold the game in my hand i am happy just to hold it, i don't even have to play it and still it makes me remember all the nice moments in the game. Feeling nice, just the thought of playing it.
10/10 = Imagine, years have passed and some day you remember the game. All you want is to play it again and you would even go through a long search for it and financial expenses to be able to. Sounds like love, especially the part with the financial expenses.
