Review: Remnants of Skystone

Now with this being my first review I wanted to start with something special and I think this Steampunk styled, action orientated MMORPG manages to hit that mark in rather spectacular fashion.

Anybody who has played the more recent 2D Castlevania games will be instantly familiar with the way in which Flipline Studios has combined action platforming with RPG elements such as leveling up and aquiring new weapons. There are three classes to chose from depending on your style; the Aeronaut who has a jetpack (and lets face it, who wouldn't want one of those) and blasters for an agile, long range character, the Crag who plays like a mixture of Simon Belmont and Spiderman thanks to the whip-like grapple arm and the Ferric who can climb walls and do back flips whilst getting in close to do massive damage with their arm blades. Each class plays very differently and knowing your strengths and weaknesses is vital in dealing with the variety of enemies that are going to come your way. And when I say variety I really do mean it. With 6 different bosses during the main game (plus more if you include sidequests) and over fifty regular enemies finding new foes is not difficult and this keeps the combat fresh and interesting. Sadly a few of the later enemies are reskinned and powered up versions of those previously encountered but for the most part even these reskinned enemies have had their attack patterns altered enough to force a change in tactics. The bosses are suitably large in scale and difficult to kill without feeling unfair and power-leveling does not give you the massive advantage it does in some RPGs so it never becomes too easy. The controls are also simple and easy to get the hang of with the directional buttons covering movement and the A and S keys are jump and attack respectively.

As much fun as the combat is though there is just as much emphasis on exploration. As you progress through the storyline more and more areas will become accessible until you are given free roam within three rather large areas, Luckily the map function makes navigating the maze of rooms relatively simple, assuming you can overcome the platforming sections that is.

The quests, for the most part, consist of the usual fetching items, killing monsters and interacting with NPCs, something which you will be doing alone as RoS's multimplayer does not extend into the main storyline but there are several elements which separate RoS from your usual RPG. I won't spoil all of the surprises that some of these tasks create but a good example would be a mission involving the mimic known as an embermite. These little bug-like creatures chase after you and explode on impact but instead of having to kill them you need to lure them through a series of obstacles in order to destroy walls trapping members of your organisation. This changes the dynamic of the game from an action platformer to a puzzler and by introducing such tasks RoS changes the pace and keeps the player's interest firmly in place.

The exploration elements are of course greatly aided by the game's impressive graphics. Each of the three main worlds has it's own appearance and within each world there are subdivisions such as an abandoned factory or a tribal village which again are made distinct from the surrounding areas. This does come at a price however as loading times between the major areas can be quite tedious. As for your own character, the appearance is customisable as you would expect, with more options becoming available as you purchase items or gain them as quest rewards. The initial selection isn't enormous but finding and buying clothing adds a personal level to the game.

Customisation does not stop there though. You are also given a float, basically your very own apartment which you can decorate and furnish as you please and then other players can enter and vote on how well they think you have designed the place. Once again options for this are earnt through quests and shops but there are also trophies to be won for a variety of things such as using a particular weapon or killing a certain number of certain enemy. These trophies can be displayed in your float but also influence the game. The mimic trophies for example once earnt increase the strength of that particular mimic in order to increase the game's challenge which is an interesting feature and one which encourages the player to collect them. The problem with such trophies however is that the massive number of mimics needed to acquire the top ones makes attaining them a grind. Fortunately they are entirely unnecessary to plot line or even the unlocking of sidequests so should probably be considered a reward for the most hardcore of the game's fans.

Now I did mention the multiplayer earlier so perhaps I should expand. The gameplay is similar to that of the main game but instead of exploring a free roaming area on your own you are placed in a mini-dungeon with another player and together you have to fight your way through several rooms before fighting the final boss. Certain parts require co-operation which is easily managed through the game's chat functions but matchmaking can take a while if you haven't already organised a run with another person. These dungeons are changed every week and there is a leaderboard with rewards for the team who achieved the highest score for each dungeon so if solo isn't your style this might be a fun alternative to main game. The weakness with this mode though is that the boss you fight at the end of each run is weak and incapable of fighting back so it inescapably feels like an anti-climax.

There are extra missions, features and enemies available to members but sadly this membership is of the paying variety so naturally I haven't tried it. My suggestion is give this game a whirl and make your own minds up whether the extra cash is worth it for you.


Korenith's Ratings:

Graphics: 9/10 Always looks good but loading times are a pain
Gameplay: 10/10 Fun combat, interesting quests and plenty of extras
Sound: 7/10 Functional but the music quickly becomes annoying
Lifespan: 10/10 There are endless trophies and sprockets to earn for the diehard fan

Overall: 9/10

Badge Hunter's Notes: (80 points available)

Meet n' Greet (easy): General Stanton is the guy in the big hat on the first deck. Then go through each area talking to people. Use the map (not the map screen in the menu but the other tab in the bottom corner) if you get stuck

Nidarian Duty (medium): Just keep doing trailblazing missions. You could vote on people's floats if you prefer but trailblazing is much more fun and helps towards Stanton's second sidequest.

Remnant Reclaimer (hard): Self explanitary. Make sure you're stocked up on health items for the final boss.

Pockets Full of Sprockets (hard): You get these for each mission you do. Always have a full set of sidequests if possible and do them if and when the oportunity arises as you go through the main missions.