Retro Revengers (PC)
The Retro Revengers have their hearts trapped in the past, but when DOTA, the Demon Overlord of Triple-A, specifically threatens the gaming world, their old school sensibilities might be just what is needed to win the day. While a setup like this where modern gaming is trying to quash the classics feels like it could lead to a game world like the one in Rise & Shine filled with video game references, most of the direct mentions of games only appear in the between level cutscenes and the jabs at more modern games are fairly gentle. Rather than relying on tributes to the past to build up its appeal, Retro Revengers mostly aims to produce a game that matches the sensibilities of the retro action platformers its main characters hold so dear.
The gang of lovable losers known as the Retro Revengers are pulled into a game cartridge to start their journey and quite quickly find themselves separated, each of the five retro game enthusiasts plopped down in a level specifically designed around the unique abilities only they exhibit. A character like Taicho can use his yo-yo like a grappling hook to pull himself across gaps so his stage is built around it, but someone like the old man Ossan’s attacks are purely focused on harming enemies so instead he’s given platforms that rise and fall based on when you shoot a switch so his level stands out despite his more combat focused powers. Each level and character is pretty distinct though and some top quality retro beats play as you traverse them, the unusual heroes you play as finding themselves with abilities that are all pretty good for exploring the world and facing the enemies in their path.
The quintet of quirky heroes are all mostly quite fit for combat, a character like Matchan with his big goofy lips actually fairly potent against bosses and baddies as he fires a rapid consistent spray of energy projectiles at close range. Mao, a dinosaur in a knight helmet, throws exploding vials that send out flames or burn targets hit by them, his attacks a little harder to land than those used by other characters but incredibly useful if used in the right situation. It does make sense that levels built around a specific character accommodate their unique skills in how enemies are designed and positioned and the platforming is similarly accommodating as each one also has a different approach to covering more ground. While most just get a variation on extra midair travel like double jumps, Notchi the cat gets the most interesting traversal tool with the ability to attach himself to ceilings, so while heading to recognizable locations like a desert, lava stage, or clock tower might prime you to expect some familiar play to older classics, Retro Revengers is actually rather creative in what stands in your path and its approach to making monsters threatening doesn’t feel like its simply rolling out what the developers liked to see in retro titles.
One thing you’ll come to expect from the many different monsters of Retro Revengers are large sprays of projectiles. Be it bubbles, flames, or dust clouds, you can expect even the simplest of enemies to suddenly spit out a large burst of damaging projectiles, some of them even lingering in the air and fanning out. You can destroy most projectiles with your own attacks and bosses like the mermaid actually derive their challenge from the fact you’re constantly trying to break your way through her wall of bubbles, but this also helps ensure even standard foes demand some respect on top of more expected tricks like guarding a vital platform or flying about to pester you. All of the main characters feel pretty suited for breaking through this save Taicho’s pretty limited yo-yo skills, even Notchi’s close range attacks at least covering the space directly in front of him fairly well and with a powerful attack to boot. Characters do also have a charge ability that doesn’t take too long to activate too, Mao the dinosaur able to overcome his arc throw by charging up to launch homing fire instead for example. There’s a pretty impressive balance between how powerful the Revengers get to be while still finding the enemies fair foes who pose a legitimate threat, although there is a bit of an odd approach to making the game last longer.
After you clear the first five levels, the next five stages you face will just be those levels again. Portrayed as a cruel trick from DOTA that is meant to embody his modern gaming ideals, it actually feels more appropriate for older games where you’d be thrown back to try a whole game over again if you lost. Luckily, Retro Revengers isn’t cruel with its Game Overs, the player already getting a handful of lives to work with and when you get a Game Over, you only need to pay 100 coins to continue from the start of the level you’re in. Coins are dropped sometimes by enemies and aren’t very hard to find to the point I finished the game with over 8,000 of them, but kindness on the Continue screen doesn’t transfer towards kindness in these level retreads. The levels you faced before are made a bit harder, and while this barely registers in some stages beyond taking more damage, there are a few that do have sections that feel noticeably different as platforms are spaced differently or more monsters are added to the mix. Perhaps the more interesting wrinkle though is now you have access to the full group of Retro Revengers for this second run through the stages and each has their own health bar, meaning that while you are in more danger, you can mitigate it by swapping your current character around. Many levels do still feel best handled with the character they were first designed for, but there are a few times where a different member of the group can find a way around a challenge thanks to their unique powers.
Tacking a boss rush on after this does feel a little absurd, but Retro Revengers surprisingly doesn’t wear out its welcome despite its flagrant reuse of content. It’s a game you can knock out in 2 hours and it’s pretty fast paced, it not too much of a bother to play the lightly shifted stage designs considering how you rarely linger long in level sections in the first place. There are secrets to find like treasure chests that only appear if you head to the right spot, although since some require using an ability in a certain way to make them show up, they can be a touch arcane at times. You are able to select individual stages later if you want to secret hunt and there are some more substantial ones to find as well as speedrunning and perfect run achievements, and considering the levels already don’t rub against a player too much when their repetition is mandatory to see the credits, it’s not too hard to imagine diving in to try and grab a few. Even with the return to the previous levels though, the game does make it worth fighting your way through round two as it tops off with a pretty great multi-stage final boss where you feel out the best Retro Revenger for the job and need to keep the whole crew healthy to overcome the tough gauntlet.
THE VERDICT: Retro Revengers’s goofy game humor and good music are nice touches, but the needle it threads best is its approach to level design that feels familiar but not too closely derived from any old school influences. The five heroes don’t feel like they’re too often directly copying any platforming powers or attacks, and even where some inspirations are easier to spot, the level designs still feel like they test those skills in their own way. The Revengers almost all have some situation they’re enjoyable to play as and enemies make progress suitably challenging, but while the game decides to rehash its first five levels, the brisk pace and some small shake-ups mean the content recycling doesn’t drag the game down, especially with the complex final boss wraps up the adventure with quite a highlight.
And so, I give Retro Revengers for PC…
A GOOD rating. It really is a shame that Retro Revengers decided to extend its runtime with the mildly altered retreads of the first five stages, but it doesn’t sting as much as it might with other games. There are certainly old school games that would already make you replay a stage of similar size just for dying at all, but Retro Revengers would have definitely been better served by just keeping up its energy with additional creative stages, perhaps even ones that encouraged ability mixing instead of just letting you occasionally find situations where a character might thrive in another’s level. Going through them at first does bring out the best in all five of the lovable losers you play as even if you’ll likely bench Taicho once you can swap characters on the fly, but the fact four of them have distinct niches and advantages is what gives stages and boss battles their enjoyable flavor and the retreads a way you can speed things up as you weave around an obstacle with a trick that wasn’t initially available to you. Considering the conflict between retro games and modern ones is mostly just there for some comedy in the cutscenes it does feel a bit strange that otherwise the game just feels like its trying to fit in with old games rather than making the monsters have some thematic tie to the narrative. Besides some conveniences like the generous continue system though, Retro Revengers feels like it does at least try to tap into some of the appeal of older action platformers, it finding a good balance for each character being distinct but uncomplicated so you can keep up with the action fairly well. Manami Matsumae, the game’s composer, also has roots in games like Shovel Knight and Mega Man, this giving Retro Revengers some DNA its heroes would certainly be proud of but more importantly it builds up this style while the game isn’t afraid to remove some of the older ideas like punishing game overs or limits on the visuals that would have technically made it more retro.
Retro Revengers was wise in carving its own path in how its action unfolds and not trying to directly mimic specific older titles, but it could also be said its desire to fit right in also kept it from being more ambitious in its design. Retro Revengers does provide a quick and entertaining experience where you need to use the different skill sets of the odd heroes to overcome some varied levels and pesky monsters, and its gentle ribbing of modern gaming doesn’t come off as bitter despite the story premise. Goofy, bright, and energetic, Retro Revengers doesn’t fit too squarely in the mold it desires to imitate and that’s mostly to its benefit, its little ideas to shake things up perhaps not huge draws to pull in players but those who do give it a shot will find it well constructed enough that none of its odder choices get in the way of a good time.