Genre: Platforming
Publisher: Over the Top Games
Developer: Over the Top Games
Players: 1
Retail Price: 1000 Wii Points ($10)
Availability: WiiWare
At first glance it would appear that NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits ripped off the control scheme that made WiiWare launch title LostWinds one of the download service’s first success stories. Upon further inspection one would learn this is the truth – the basic gameplay formula is nearly identical. You can’t really blame Over the Top Games for this, however, just as you can’t blame so many developers for ripping off Super Mario Bros. back in the day. Keeping that analogy in mind, however, it stands to reason that the more platformers we see use this style, the better WiiWare will be as a service.
NyxQuest (known pre-lawsuit threat as Icarian, for those keeping score) follows Nyx as she journeys across mythological Greece to rescue the fallen Icarus. The titan Helios has temporarily weakened the Gods of Olympus and is about to wipe the world clean to mark a new beginning. It’s imperative that you reach Icarus before this happens, lest he be erased. Despite the story’s emphasis on a speedy completion the game isn’t timed, so traversing the levels can be done at the player’s leisure. This is good, because the game requires some true patience in its later stages.
Your default abilities are the same you’d find in any platformer. Running and jumping are the name of the game early on, highlighted by the ability to jump five times. “Double jump” indeed. You also have a limited ability to glide through the air due to your wings. The levels are simple enough at first, and mostly brown the whole game through. You’ll jump across chasms and climb ruins to reach the next portal, and thusly, the next level.
As the game progresses, you steadily gain new abilities. You’ll soon be able to use the remote to manipulate certain objects and reach otherwise inaccessible areas, redirect wind currents and soar to new heights or fire lightning bolts at unsuspecting enemies. The game truly shines when it makes you do all these things at once, though the only level that really does so also represents the game’s conclusion.
Hidden in each of the levels is anywhere from one to three relics, of which there are twenty throughout the game. They’re simple enough to find on the first play through if the player is thorough, though players uninterested in detective work can always return to individual levels later should they skip the items the first time around. Searching for relics does add some length to the three or four hours it will take most players to complete the game, not to mention collecting them also unlocks a challenging bonus level.
There’s no questioning that NyxQuest is aimed at a more hardcore branch of platforming fans than LostWinds was. NyxQuest isn’t afraid to ratchet up the challenge level as the game goes on and it stands in contrast to Winds’ carefree attitude. It’s slightly less accessible but shouldn’t be ignored by any means. It’s a well-designed game and hopefully kickstarts a line of Wii-specific platforming titles inspired by this control scheme.
