Infernax Review – PC

Infernax caught my attention before I even played it. As I continued to play it, it kept its grasp on me until I felt completely satisfied. The 2D gameplay is simple but adds on complexity with each skill, or ability you acquire. The visuals and soundtrack give you an early Castlevania arcade feeling. Plus the replayability is high with the multiple choices and endings that can occur. There is so much to love in Infernax and very little to fret about.

The plot is pretty simple. You play as the Duke of the land who has come back from a crusade. His land has been corrupted by an unknown evil and needs to be cleansed from the Earth. This is where the simplicity ends. As you progress in the main quest, you learn that you have to make several different decisions. The first one has you deciding if you should kill a man begging for death or try to save him from whatever is happening. These decisions affect what side quests become available, how characters will react to you, and of course how the ending of your choices. Something you do not really see in most AAA titles.

The difficulty comes off as hard at first. Once you get used to how the world of Infernax works, it begins to become easier. Each area brings in new enemies and the dungeons have their own unique enemies as well. Most enemies will die in a couple of hits; however, you can be just as easily fragile depending on how you play. You will use your experience to increase your damage, mana count, and health count. You will then use money you earn from quests and killing enemies to upgrade to better weapons, armor, and magic that will make your journey easier.

The settings of each area gave much homage to Castlevania. Dungeons are filled with spikes and skeletons as floating eyes swarm you. In the background each dungeon brings its own flares. The first dungeon has zombies bleeding in cages as spikes and javelins are thrown at the player. The overworld areas get darker as you move further away from the main hub. Dead trees and corpses fill the land, and you watch helplessly as characters are murdered near feet away from them. Infernax also took a play from Castlevania’s book with a fantastic soundtrack. The world may be filled with constant danger and death, but you can conquer everything with arcade-themed sounds as you bash heads in with your mace. Everything including your deaths is well thought out and sounds well placed.

Infernax can become a little confusing in some spots. For example, to continue the main quest, you have to explore several areas and talk to some characters to learn how to find the next dungeon. Not only does it require you to visit the few friendly faces around the game, but it requires you to explore the dungeons entirely and utilize the tools inside of them. Even side quests make you find people and do not give you a great sense of where to go to find them. These are not deal breakers and even lead to some amazing quests once you complete a lot of them. My favorite quest was defending a city from the evil of the land.

What kind of Metroidvania would Infernax be without coming up against progression blockers when you’re out exploring. High walls, weak walls, and even the out of reach areas force you to explore the areas you can access for ways to overcome them. As you come across these hurdles and the abilities to overcome them, your mind will begin to race as your paths begin to open and diverge. Not only are they great motivators, but you can progress in whichever way you’d like. This can also be a lesson if you finish dungeons met for later in the quest.

Infernax was an instant classic on my growing list of games. Constantly checking back in with characters to see if your choices had unlocked more quests to take on or how you are being perceived is refreshing. Becoming the hero the people need, or being swallowed in the darkness of the land, there are plenty of reasons to try for multiple endings. Infernax does take a little time to get used to but turns into an instant classic as you quickly forget the issues that plagued you in the beginning. If you want a Metroidvania mixed with The Legend of Zelda 2, Infernax is the best and bloodiest option to pick on February 14th!

Author: Josh Coffman

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