Being a reviewer over the years has given me the opportunity to play some of the coolest, weirdest and sometimes downright hardest titles I’ve ever seen. Through it all though, I’ve always had a soft spot for games that bring me back to my childhood. Titles like, Metroid, Castlevania and Gunstar Heroes are just a few of my favorites and they have several things in common. They were tough platformers, had awesome boss fights and a whole lot of explosions. These very titles helped lay down the groundwork for modern retro style platformers like KROBON station’s newest platformer, Pharaoh Rebirth+ for PC.
Pharaoh Rebirth+ follows the adventures of archaeologist Dr. Jonathan Banfield, who um…lacks a little Jonesy brilliance. Oh, and he’s a rabbit. Well sort of. You see dear Jonathan and his nemesis Andre Betancourt both got cursed in a previous adventure and this hare and turtle respectively are only adding to their troubles after Jonathan discovers Amshear, the legendary oasis of Egypt. Well to be honest, Andre really set the games’ plot in motion after stupidly opening a sarcophagus and releasing an ancient evil equivalent to Samara getting both of them cursed once again to die in 7 days. Now you have to collect 7 holy relics all across Egypt to free Jonathan from the curse of Sehur the First in time to keep from shuffling this mortal coil.
Yeah, one of the things that I really like about Pharaoh Rebirth+ is its quirky cast and story that you’ll encounter the more you play. I mean what else could possibly go wrong right? Yeah, only everything on your screen trying to kill you is all. Pharaoh Rebirth+ is every bit of the action platformers of my childhood with both its presentation and mechanics. First thing that I will say is that while you can actually play Pharaoh Rebirth+ with a keyboard, I would actually recommend using a controller after you get past the launcher due to the fast-paced nature of the combat and navigation. There is even an option to reconfigure either control option via the launcher before loading in.
Controls for titles like these are important and Pharaoh Rebirth+ for the most part doesn’t disappoint with its fairly accurate jumping mechanics. Jonathan does have a slight lift in his jumps that you have to account for when going from platform to platform and even more so in the “mine cart” driving section. Timing still plays a huge part in Pharaoh Rebirth+ especially during boss fights as I found out early on while trying to take out an armed aircraft. Jonathan’s main attack comes in the form of his ears as you can aim and attack in three cardinal directions as well as perform an aerial vertical pirouette attack hitting everything in close proxy to you. The pirouette attack alone is extremely useful for most encounters, but you are not just limited to those basic attacks.
Our furry friend also has access to sub-weapons like a machine gun that fires tennis balls instead of bullets to give you an edge in battle. Apparently, the main hero “rabbit” shooting enemies is way worse than a turtle in a helicopter trying to kill you with energy bullets and missiles. The trick is figuring out which sub-weapon works best particularly in boss fights as stringing together aerial and sub-weapon attacks can replenish your health. There are various consumables found throughout each level that gives Jonathan a temporary boost to strength like a carrot or noodles to restore health. Checkpoints which also save your progress when you leave the game will also restore health when you press up on the controls.
Pharaoh Rebirth+ wouldn’t be a complete classic platformer without collectibles. While many of them are just treasures to collect some of them give permanent stat boosts. Much like the games that I used to play growing up these treasures are really well hidden often in hard-to-reach places or behind false walls. Some you can’t even get to until you return with an ability gained in later levels similar to classic Metroidvania style games. While it may be a pain to replay each level to get every last treasure the visuals, sounds and music don’t get old at all.
Pharaoh Rebirth+ features a solid visual presence that is vibrant yet still retains the classic design style of the classic platformers of the SNES generation. The music is often fast paced giving you a sense of urgency though there is no real hurry as the levels do not have a countdown timer. The sound effects were also quite on point at every turn and the little details like the clinking of chains when you use your ears as a grapple hook of sorts is spot on. The one thing that may throw off some PC players is that Pharaoh Rebirth+ is often best played in its default 640×480 windowed presentation. There is an option to play it in full screen with scaling, but I found the images to not be quite as sharp. I found that I preferred playing it windowed even scaling it a bit to keep from straining my eyes on a 32-inch display.
It was evident very early on to me that Pharaoh Rebirth+ was going to be an interesting adventure. It’s really one of the most solidly built platformers that I’ve played in the last few years. The visuals and animations really are some of the strongest that I’ve seen since my days of playing some of the old Treasure classics which is impressive. It seems apparent that Pharaoh Rebirth+ was a labor of love for KROBON station and it shows throughout its entire presentation. If you love old-school platformers, then you have to check out Pharaoh Rebirth+ for PC today available now on Steam.
