The 16-bit genre has always been a particular phenomena when it comes to gaming; There have been masterpieces that have been derived from an otherwise obsolete form of design, whether Undertale or even Blasphemous, but for the most part, a large chunk of them fail to do anything special. Unfortunately, and while wrenching the heart that pens this review, Residual falls into the latter when it comes to 16-bit retro-esque games, as it just seems to lack direction. While being a gorgeous entry with multifaceted layers of exploration, this title, developed by Orangepixel and published by Apogee Entertainment, it failed to live up to the overall genius start. Skimming the story in order to avoid entering spoiler territory, the game begins with the player character crash landing upon a ship and must forage for survival, but here’s the thing, 2-D side scrolling games almost never lend themselves adequately to the survival genre, and it gleamed painfully throughout my time with the Residual.
What is apparent at first glance is the beautiful pixel art that ebbs and flows in the background, a nice ambient soundtrack that punctuates every step, and a simplistic UI that displays health and hunger (occasionally energy). The controls are fairly simplistic, a typical jump button and other hallmark controls of the genre, but with no real innovation upon any gameplay concepts, other than trying to implement survival needs. However, the survival aspect of this title proves to be more damning than engaging. After about 10 or so minutes of adventuring throughout the many planets Residual boasts, you are almost required to return back to your resting point to regain energy, or you will be forced to walk at 25% speed until you do. This provides a sense of monotony and repetition, as it sort of bottlenecks the exploration aspect of the game, as you constantly need to return home to rest for a minute or so. While earlier, there was an description of a simplistic UI and while that remains for the usual health bar and the like, the inventory system is a mess as the player will constantly need to shift through a needless amount of tabs when needing to do something tedious, like eat or grab a tool.
Onto the gameplay aspect of the title, it fails to do anything new and consigns itself to a game that, as stated earlier, lacks direction. It is as if Residual is trying to find a line to walk upon when it comes to a 2D survival foyer, and it, sadly, fails. There is no sense of urgency within Residual, death has no consequence, the movement feels outdated, while also being slippery (like on ice), and the opening level had me wincing at every tedious task it had me take. Mining for material is also made tepid, as the player must wait a while to garner material needed to craft, taking as long as 2-3 minutes for 3 pieces of the item. While 2-3 minutes may not sound as dire as its made to be, it induces dissonance within the player, causing them to lose interest and to just drone on. The platforming, while being pretty good and fun, is also a little janky when it comes to vines; while a long jump works wonders and gives a feel of fluidity to the player, a short one is a death sentence, as the player character will almost always tap their head upon a ceiling due to the wonky controls.
While there are many aspects of the game that were disappointing and lackluster, there are some redeeming factors that benefit this entry greatly. The music is nice and calming, the story is enthralling, and the character voice acting is fantastic! While Eady P (your robotic assistant) comments on almost everything (It could be a tad bit irritating with constant reminders to eat and sleep) he has a plethora of hilarious one liners that kept me playing. The exploration aspect of the game is also something incredibly redeeming, as gameplay aspects aside, exploring the various caverns and planets offered an almost metroidvania-like open world experience which was very interesting to play through.
Overall, I really wanted to enjoy Residual and while I can chalk it up to difference of palate, I will score Residual a 6.5/10 as the pixel art is fantastic and a few ideas work, the verdict cannot be higher due to the litany of issues that plague the game. I would highly suggest if one is craving an experimental survival experience to check it out, however.
Check Out the Residual trailer – https://youtu.be/8m75rufioGQ
For more information, please visit: https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/residual-switch/
Nintendo Switch Review
Whether it be diving deep into uncharted oceanic depths, wading through knee-deep pools of demon blood, or taking a leisurely walk through a fictional western frontier, I am always eager to explore previously unknown sectors of the creative space, impatiently overturning every stone begging to be flipped over. Dabbling in both speculative and realistic fiction, with a sprinkle of journalistic fanaticism, I enjoy any game that displays narrative magnificence, or if it's just plain fun!
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