Short review:

Stunning game that you really need to experience yourself. A very smooth-feeling platformer with a clear polish from the developer’s hard work, as well as an accompanying outstanding aesthetic in terms of art, sound design and level design. Controls can now be remapped which was an initial issue and the later repetitiveness is minimal at best. Seriously, just buy this for yourself. Especially at its price, this is one of the best platformers I have ever played, if not nearing the best. Do yourself a favour and pick this game up.

Long Review (Non-spoiler):

The Messenger is the type of game that I absolutely fall in love with after the first few minutes of playing. You can tell right away when a game has a certain charm to it and a certain unique level of polish that makes it stand out from the flood of mediocre games that flood the contemporary market; when a game has had its developers pour their utmost heart and soul into it. As developer Sabotage Studio’s first game, they have knocked the ball out of the park with this title.

After such a cheery and optimistic introductory paragraph, I am going to delve right into my few issues with the game which are either still present or have been fixed by the developers. The first immediate issue was control remapping; whilst the pc controls never caused too much of an issue to me during my play through, I can most certainly understand why others would become frustrated at the lack of this option. Fortunately, the ability to swap controls was recently added in v1.0.4. Second, the slight repetitiveness of the late-game open, metroidvania gameplay. Whilst many may feel that too much backtracking is needed in this part of the game, I personally found that, especially if you do not aim to 100% the game, this repetitiveness is only minimal at best. New areas were added to explore in this part of the game, and the introduction of a new mechanic that changed not only parts of the level designs but also the entire aesthetic helped keep the gameplay fresh, meaning I never really saw this as an issue.

So, The Messenger is without a doubt one of the best, if not approaching my favourite platformer that I have ever played. I will first discuss the aforementioned charm and overall aesthetic. The game clearly draws influence from its predecessors such as Ninja Gaiden and reminds you of other pixelated platformers such as Shovel Knight, but it is undoubtedly successful in inserting its own unique charm. The aesthetic, in all parts of the game, proves a delicacy for the eyes to feast upon (especially for someone such as myself who loves pixel art), and the level of detail put into the game and the areas is insane for a first release. Oftentimes I found myself admiring the graphics, but more importantly the music playing in the background which not only synergises with the level but remains constantly awesome throughout the entirety of the game. No detail has been overlooked with the sound either, such as with music changing according to whether you are underwater or not. The OST itself is amazing and it’s hard to describe how much I liked it. Each level serves to feel exceedingly unique and succeeds in leaving its own individual impression on the player.

The most important aspect of The Messenger’s polish to me is how smoothly it plays. Most platforms tend to feel rigid and stuck in one way or another, but the incredibly smooth, both momentum- and action-based gameplay of The Messenger served to greatly immerse me within the world of the game. It is clear that the developers worked very hard on ironing out any bugs that appeared in the game development progress. During my entire gameplay, I encountered no bugs or errors, and though I know that this is only in my case, the overwhelming positive to reception to this game and talk on the forums shows me that others are encountering few bugs also, and those that are encountered are fixed by the developers in the next update.

In terms of story, I sincerely love what The Messenger offers. The overall plot with its twists and turns, often clichéd but often written in such a beautiful and ironic clichéd way that really immersed me. Humour is sprinkled throughout the plot, especially with interactions with the other characters, and I found that almost all of the jokes managed to get some sort of a chuckle out of me. Others might not enjoy the humour, which is also fine, as for much of it, you generally have to go out of your way to talk to NPCs to find it; most of the people you see complaining about dry humour can for the most part just skip it – only a small amount is entailed in the actual story. The story also has a very cool and also emotional end part, which I will talk about no more for risk of ruining the experience. The plot is also filled with the occasional reference or joking trope, which makes this a very light-hearted but also serious game.

The gameplay is fun and varied. In a way that reminds me a lot of Celeste (Ironic, as they are both great 2D platformers that released this year), new mechanics are introduced throughout in order to keep the gameplay fresh and exciting; yet unlike Celeste, you keep these new mechanics as you play, especially in the latter open part, which mean that you can control your playstyle to an extent. Each level is designed to bring the best out of the mechanics, especially in the case of the extra collectibles which test how skilled you are at their use (though again, these are completely optional, as is stressed by the game). The difficulty, whilst sometimes high, is never too hard and the vast majority of people should be able to beat the game, albeit struggling on a few bosses, and the punishment for death never feels soul-crushing and can be mitigated quite a bit.

Overall, The Messenger is a blast; a good game length, a beautiful aesthetic, a unique charm and polished gameplay, great plot and humour throughout, and an overall amazing experience. I would have to give this game a 9.5/10, as it succeeds, is of great quality, and innovates, though it doesn’t provide a completely new, unique experience that would make this a masterpiece to be remembered for years to come.

Also DLC pls Sabotage :)

Short review: Stunning game that you really need to experience yourself. A very smooth-feeling platformer with a clear polish from the developer’s hard work, as well as an accompanying outstanding aesthetic in terms of art, sound design and level design. Controls can now be remapped which was an initial issue and the later repetitiveness is minimal at best. Seriously, just buy this for yourself. Especially at its price, this is one of the best platformers I have ever played, if not nearing the best. Do yourself a favour and pick this game up. Long Review (Non-spoiler): The Messenger is the type of game that I absolutely fall in love with after the first few minutes of playing. You can tell right away when a game has a certain charm to it and a certain unique level of polish that makes it stand out from the flood of mediocre games that flood the contemporary market; when a game has had its developers pour their utmost heart and soul into it. As developer Sabotage Studio’s first game, they have knocked the ball out of the park with this title. After such a cheery and optimistic introductory paragraph, I am going to delve right into my few issues with the game which are either still present or have been fixed by the developers. The first immediate issue was control remapping; whilst the pc controls never caused too much of an issue to me during my play through, I can most certainly understand why others would become frustrated at the lack of this option. Fortunately, the ability to swap controls was recently added in v1.0.4. Second, the slight repetitiveness of the late-game open, metroidvania gameplay. Whilst many may feel that too much backtracking is needed in this part of the game, I personally found that, especially if you do not aim to 100% the game, this repetitiveness is only minimal at best. New areas were added to explore in this part of the game, and the introduction of a new mechanic that changed not only parts of the level designs but also the entire aesthetic helped keep the gameplay fresh, meaning I never really saw this as an issue. So, The Messenger is without a doubt one of the best, if not approaching my favourite platformer that I have ever played. I will first discuss the aforementioned charm and overall aesthetic. The game clearly draws influence from its predecessors such as Ninja Gaiden and reminds you of other pixelated platformers such as Shovel Knight, but it is undoubtedly successful in inserting its own unique charm. The aesthetic, in all parts of the game, proves a delicacy for the eyes to feast upon (especially for someone such as myself who loves pixel art), and the level of detail put into the game and the areas is insane for a first release. Oftentimes I found myself admiring the graphics, but more importantly the music playing in the background which not only synergises with the level but remains constantly awesome throughout the entirety of the game. No detail has been overlooked with the sound either, such as with music changing according to whether you are underwater or not. The OST itself is amazing and it’s hard to describe how much I liked it. Each level serves to feel exceedingly unique and succeeds in leaving its own individual impression on the player. The most important aspect of The Messenger’s polish to me is how smoothly it plays. Most platforms tend to feel rigid and stuck in one way or another, but the incredibly smooth, both momentum- and action-based gameplay of The Messenger served to greatly immerse me within the world of the game. It is clear that the developers worked very hard on ironing out any bugs that appeared in the game development progress. During my entire gameplay, I encountered no bugs or errors, and though I know that this is only in my case, the overwhelming positive to reception to this game and talk on the forums shows me that others are encountering few bugs also, and those that are encountered are fixed by the developers in the next update. In terms of story, I sincerely love what The Messenger offers. The overall plot with its twists and turns, often clichéd but often written in such a beautiful and ironic clichéd way that really immersed me. Humour is sprinkled throughout the plot, especially with interactions with the other characters, and I found that almost all of the jokes managed to get some sort of a chuckle out of me. Others might not enjoy the humour, which is also fine, as for much of it, you generally have to go out of your way to talk to NPCs to find it; most of the people you see complaining about dry humour can for the most part just skip it – only a small amount is entailed in the actual story. The story also has a very cool and also emotional end part, which I will talk about no more for risk of ruining the experience. The plot is also filled with the occasional reference or joking trope, which makes this a very light-hearted but also serious game. The gameplay is fun and varied. In a way that reminds me a lot of Celeste (Ironic, as they are both great 2D platformers that released this year), new mechanics are introduced throughout in order to keep the gameplay fresh and exciting; yet unlike Celeste, you keep these new mechanics as you play, especially in the latter open part, which mean that you can control your playstyle to an extent. Each level is designed to bring the best out of the mechanics, especially in the case of the extra collectibles which test how skilled you are at their use (though again, these are completely optional, as is stressed by the game). The difficulty, whilst sometimes high, is never too hard and the vast majority of people should be able to beat the game, albeit struggling on a few bosses, and the punishment for death never feels soul-crushing and can be mitigated quite a bit. Overall, The Messenger is a blast; a good game length, a beautiful aesthetic, a unique charm and polished gameplay, great plot and humour throughout, and an overall amazing experience. I would have to give this game a 9.5/10, as it succeeds, is of great quality, and innovates, though it doesn’t provide a completely new, unique experience that would make this a masterpiece to be remembered for years to come. Also DLC pls Sabotage :)