Heart Forth, Alicia is coming to PS4 (and Vita, day one!) and bringing charming visuals and super-tight gameplay with it.
“Metroidvania” gets tossed around a lot (see Axiom Verge, Chasm, Guacamelee), but the RPG elements give side-scrolling Heart Forth, Alicia a unique flavor. Item and spell use can aid a player with less refined reflexes, side quests offer plentiful diversion, and main character Alicia periodically levels up. You can equip accessories for customizable stat boosts. The intricate storytelling belies a narrative worth investing RPG amount of time into.
That story breaks from traditional world-saving fare to tell something a little more intimate. Alicia, the last of a bloodline of wizards, is knocked from her village in the sky by her friend, who’s possessed by the Spirit of Light. Far below her floating island, she discovers the Old World–all the land and sea that broke away long ago and fell into a void beneath the clouds. In a strange land, she must find a way to return home and free her friend of possession.
The action along the way should be instantly familiar and incredibly satisfying to igavania fans. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night’s influence is all over this game, from damage counters to backtracking with new abilities and Alicia’s primary weapon: a magical whip. In at least a few couple ways, Heart Forth, Alicia exceeds that seminal classic. Movement is pitch-perfect, with a really satisfying jumping arc and the freedom for quick mid-air manipulations. And the game wasted no time tossing me into interesting scenarios: within the first few rooms, I had solved two block puzzles, killed dozens of enemies, and manipulated the environment to reach new heights.
That’s to say nothing of the game’s gorgeous art. Unlike something like Axiom Verge, there’s a softness to this pixelated look that gives it a vibe of entrancing artwork. Rather than stark red-on-black contrasts, Heart Forth, Alicia’s color palette runs the gamut, accurately conveying things like glowing mushrooms in a cave system or the lushness of plants that surround a village. These levels are rich with both artistic and environmental detail. In Alicia’s village, after a bout of detailed, well-written NPC dialogue (this Metroidvania really is reaching farther with its story than most), I found several optional doorways into homes I could enter. These spaces probably exist more for flavor, but in an RPG, what’s more important than world-building?
Igavania fans will be glad to know Heart Forth, Alicia also offers considerable challenge. Within minutes of starting the game, I had to use my only potion, which left me to tackle the first boss fight with skill alone. It took three attempts to finally down the creature, who transformed into several mini-phases before the fight was done. It was a real test of dodging and pattern recognition, not an RPG number toss-up.
In that sense, there seems to be something for everyone with Heart Forth, Alicia. PlayStation Vita simultaneous release? Check. Metroidvania exploration and combat? Check. Light RPG mechanics with a special focus on storytelling? Old-school challenge that demands your attention? If any of the above trips your interest, stay focused on mid-2017, when Heart Forth, Alicia should be entering the final stretch of development. Follow Alonso Martin’s Kickstarter for transparent, detailed updates.