Iconoclasts (PS4)
An iconoclast is someone who tears down an institution or religious belief, sometimes even through force. The platforming adventure Iconoclasts doesn’t choose to use that word as its name lightly, because more than anything else focused on in the game, the establishment of its fictional society and its faith as well as how the cast reacts to it is given more love and attention than any other part of it. There is definitely room for some action and puzzle-solving, but more than anything, Iconoclasts wants to bring you into a world to see how some people want to build it up while others aim to tear it down.
In Iconoclasts’s world, a religious society known as the One Concern aims to control most aspects of its citizens lives in order to keep its hold on a precious resource known as Ivory. While it is vital for powering machines, Ivory is also able to enhance humans, giving them incredible strength and powers with those the Ivory has most gifted become leading religious figures. In this regimented world you play as the heroine Robin, a mechanic who tries to work outside of the prescribed job system so she can aid people since Ivory shortages have lead to those deemed less important not receiving enough to get by. When Robin’s unsanctioned activities are exposed, she ends up needing to fight for her freedom, a task that takes her across the world and has her gradually uncover the depths of what Ivory is and how the One Concern treats its people.
Robin is a silent protagonist, having emotional reactions at certain points but never speaking her mind. However, because she’s the only one who doesn’t speak up, she can be a bit of a paragon in a world of deeply flawed individuals whose issues can fail to make the changes they seek or hold the power they crave. One of the earliest important characters you encounter for example is Mina, a woman from a pirate group who exists outside the One Concern’s settlements, and while its easy to empathize with her rebellious spirit, she does an awful job of seeing things outside her own perspective. She alienates people she cares about as she prioritizes her own concerns, but even when she’s able to deal with people within the One Concern who might be wavering in their beliefs, she refuses to give ground and shuts down what could have been moments of apotheosis because it doesn’t entirely align with her world view. Mina is actually one of the more morally clean characters in the cast but there are certainly a lot of tragedies to be found. Royal is being raised to replace the Mother who presides over the world religion and is snobbish and entitled as a result, but at once his social isolation means when he has his views challenged or ends up treated kindly he almost enthusiastically latches onto this escape from normality. At once he can only express himself through what he knows yet he clearly yearns to be something better, but trying to parse the path seems near impossible for someone never given the tools and who gets repeatedly shut down or diverted as he nears revelations that could have helped him.
Even the outright villains are compelling characters because so many cutscenes give you time to learn of their distinct personalities and the underlying layers that make them complex characters. Sometimes the text boxes do fail the writing a bit as they make grammar mistakes and there is a lot of philosophical and emotional discussion that really doesn’t deserve to hit a hitch. General Chrome is a curious yet captivating character, a shirtless cowboy whose devotion to the world religion is absolutely authentic. His priestly nature and commitment to the Scriptures stands out amidst self-interested rule benders or those who use the faith as a means of power, and Chrome’s fascinating aloof behavior not only avoids him slipping into zealot stereotypes, but also makes him a good foil for other characters like Agent Black who absolutely loathes every situation she finds herself in and her bitterness can serve as a source of sarcastic comedy or painful sadness. Not every character is so deep and robust, the game even rolling out a few seemingly just to flesh things out so a world organization isn’t suspiciously small, but it’s hard to lament Iconoclasts breaking from the action so often with its cutscenes because it spends so much time carefully crafting it’s iconoclastic tale.
Complex characters with layered philosophies are the show stealer in Iconoclasts, which is appreciated because the gameplay doesn’t always do the most to stand out. Iconoclasts is sometimes labeled as a Metroidvania, but the exploration-focused platforming elements don’t feel strong enough to earn it that genre title and it can feel more like a platformer that does you the courtesy of letting you return to earlier areas once you have your full ability set to earn some extra goodies. Instead, a lot more focus is definitely on the straightforward adventuring where puzzle solving is perhaps the biggest focus in terms of what you’re doing. Robin has a few tools for opening up the game’s many puzzle rooms to earn you rewards or make a way forward. The wrench is a bit of a flexible one, being used to turn bolts and interact with devices but it also can be used to swing from latch points, ride rails, and eventually generate its own electricity. You do have a stun gun useful in normal combat that eventually gets upgrades like a bomb you can fire, and a lot of Iconoclasts will involving utilizing these abilities together to remove obstructions, safely cross hazardous areas, or reshape a room’s layout so you can properly reach your destination. Thankfully, Iconoclasts’s puzzles rarely feel too large so you won’t find yourself too confused, the biggest ones often instead a sequence of small actions that will contribute to the bigger issue with their individual solutions. Some areas like a tower can involve a little too much back and forth movement to carry the key you got from one puzzle over to start the next area’s puzzle, but there are definitely designs that are fun to solve as well as ones that feel fiddly when timed elements take precedence over thoughtful action.
When it comes to using your weapons like weapons though, oftentimes the enemies in your path are going to be quickly dispensed with or exist as parts of a puzzle or brief navigational challenge. You might have something like a bug that drains your electrical charge if you get too close complicating a mechanical puzzle, but the world is also just populated with plenty of unusual animals and monsters that attack you on sight to make traversal less quiet. You can parry some attacks with your wrench and sometimes it’s required to even harm certain foes, and this can make encountering some enemies rather slow waiting games. Bosses are surprisingly abundant despite the lesser combat focus and some even have some puzzle elements, although those can become waiting games as well on occasion. Most boss fights do evolve over the course of the fight and there are even some creative designs that make use of more than Robin. Robin’s companions can join her for a fight or even end up under your control, requiring coordination or swapping between their unique abilities to overcome a tricky boss. Some fights are going to be about dishing out constant damage as you avoid elaborate attacks while others are a nicer match for the game’s clear focus on thinking about your actions rather than hectic action, boss fights doing their job as a test of your abilities and understanding while normal enemies can occasionally feel like annoying walls by comparison since they can be oddly resistant to your attack methods.
When it comes to optional rewards you can find by doing side puzzles or going a little off the beaten path, most of them are blueprints and materials that contribute to the Tweak crafting system. Robin can have up to three Tweaks set, and as you take damage, one by one the Tweaks will break. Fixing Tweaks requires getting resources by defeating enemies, breaking objects, or doing some mechanical work, and usually the game is just the right amount of generous with them compared to often having pretty abundant chances for health refills during boss fights and tough segments. Tweaks are often small bumps to your abilities like longer electric charges for your wrench, greater air when swimming so you don’t need to surface so often, or a bit more attack power or running speed. There are some unique ones like a dodge roll though and the order you put your Tweaks can allow you to prioritize having certain ones in more dire situations. Most of the truly impactful ones with noticeable effects are locked behind side activities that you won’t be able to complete for quite a while, so Tweaks can end up feeling a little inconsequential since it will be likely you won’t get the interesting ones until rather late and their effects are otherwise a bit understated.
THE VERDICT: Iconoclasts has some well designed puzzles and imaginative boss battles that help you overlook the less exciting moments of navigation and dealing with standard enemies, but it is certainly the story that will keep a player hooked most of all. A range of complex, unique, and deeply flawed participants in the plot pull you into a complex fictional world where morality and ideology don’t doom someone to a range of typically heroic or villainous character traits. There are all too believable tragedies of inflexible hearts and people so close to meaningful revelations yanked away by realistic reactions or obstructions from other people facing their own struggles. The gameplay can all too easily fade from memory despite usually being entertaining enough, but Iconoclasts at least tells a tale that can leave you ruminating on the interesting fates of a layered cast of characters.
And so, I give Iconoclasts for PlayStation 4…
A GOOD rating. Reflecting on a character like Royal or Chrome after the fact can be an interesting exercise, the character concepts rich with elements to consider and the well realized world of Iconoclasts also raising its own set of intriguing questions. It is a narrative designed for deeper scrutiny and evaluation and it doesn’t shy away from harsh turns as part of building up this more intricate narrative to unravel, and thankfully many of the characters speak in interesting ways with strong personalities so it can weave the philosophical and societal questions into their behavior rather than rely on direct pontification. Where Iconoclasts could use a bit of editing beyond cleaning up some writing errors then is the gameplay side, it not as easy to get invested in certain aspects because of its wider range of quality. Puzzles feel like the game’s strongest suit and a puzzle platforming adventure may have been the way to go, especially since it seems the minor and not too satisfying Metroidvania qualities have often attracted players who aren’t too pleased to find a game so story heavy. Enemies that work often serve the game’s puzzles better than as some sort of danger, and often when you do need to face a basic foe that isn’t a pushover, it can end up slow or your abilities feel like an oddly poor fit as you’re left swapping weapons to whittle down an enemy that isn’t complex enough to be an interesting challenge but still durable enough not to be negligible. Bosses vary even more wildly in terms of their design and yet they often can feel more cohesive because they usually choose one focus and stick to it. One might be more about dodging as you get in your hits where you can while a different one is slower and more about figuring out a puzzle element, so when it commits to a direction, Iconoclasts can cater to action or just embrace a higher pressure puzzly design.
While the word “iconoclast” isn’t the most common term, it feels like a fitting name even if it might not properly prepare players unaware of its meaning for the game’s heavy story focus. Iconoclasts crafts a strong world and tries to put believable yet extreme personalities into it, ones who are intriguing to watch and not quite as predictable because of the depth they are given. Its lovely pixel art and weaker exploration elements may feel a bit at odds with its tone and general design respectively, but Iconoclasts succeeds pretty often when it focuses its attention, be that on unique boss battles, large but manageable puzzles, or its rich narrative that unfolds at an effectively measured pace that keeps the mysteries strong and allows its cast to grow in compelling and heart-breaking ways.