MythForce PS5 review. Some the fondest memories of my childhood come from the veritable cavalcade of cartoons that would so often fill up what would otherwise be an aimless Saturday morning. From the epic struggles of He-Man to the effortlessly compelling stories that were frequently imparted in each episode of ThunderCats, Saturday mornings were always something of a treat for me in the 1980s (less so now though, owing to a not-so great combo of creaky limbs and general life annoyances, but I digress). So it stands to reason that MythForce, a first-person roguelite action RPG which proudly wears its Saturday morning cartoon influences on its sleeve would appeal to me – and appeal it does, though it’s certainly not without its share of issues and a heap of untapped potential.
MythForce PS5 Review
A Beautifully Nostalgic Roguelite Action RPG With A Lot Of Untapped Potential
After a beautifully animated introduction which keenly recalls the style of cartoons such as He-Man and ThunderCats, we’re off to the races as MythForce unfurls its straight shooting tale of a band of heroes that have come together to take down an evil vampire lord and his minions, lest the realm is thrust into the darkness. You know the drill.
Once into the game proper, MythForce has you and up to three friends – via online multiplayer only – choosing which of the four heroes you wish to take control of, with each hero having their own archetype (tank, long range damage dealer, melee damage dealer and so on), in addition a raft of special and ultimate abilities which serve to distinguish them from each other further still.
Naturally, it isn’t long before MythForce’s in-game tutorial manifests itself, though its implementation leaves a lot to be desired. Rather than an active tutorial which provides insight into the various mechanics of MythForce on the fly, you simply get four static pages of the game UI with a series of arrows and text providing perfunctory explanations of what everything does. So yeah, it’s not great. Thankfully, MythForce is a straightforward effort to play so the fact that the tutorial is so uninspiring and barebones isn’t quite the death knell it might otherwise have been.
A first-person perspective action RPG with roguelite elements, MythForce has up to four players rampaging through nine different themed episodes, laying waste to monsters, conquering bosses, scooping up loot and bolstering gear. While that concept in and of itself is hardly a unique one, it’s really in the execution that MythForce both soars and falls in almost equal measure.
Essentially each area that you wander into is a series of interconnected rooms which in turn boast randomly generated layouts with enemies that spawn from predefined areas, with the goal being to eradicate all the enemies in order for the gate at the end of area to open and thus allow you to progress on to the next area. Those looking for more sophisticated objectives or side quests (side quests in MythForce are more like challenges instead where you have to kill X number of enemies and so on), however will be left wanting since MythForce a monster masher with roguelite elements at its core and doesn’t stray at all from that design bedrock.
In addition to a veritable gaggle of enemies that must be defeated, there is also a range of traps which must be avoided too, such as flaming cannons, exploding mushrooms and much more besides. Happily, I can also report that these traps can also be used against your enemies too, making overcoming them a lot easier as a result.
Sadly, this is a symptom of the somewhat dumb AI that the bad guys in MythForce find themselves cursed with. Seemingly, it seems that 95% of the time the various skeletons, fungal creatures and more have two modes of behaviour – they either rush you, or if they’re a spellcaster, they’ll hang back at range and run away if you get too close. It’s a shame really, not least because it makes combat much more predictable than it otherwise should be – with the only real dynamics being how many enemies there are and how good you are at breaking the line of sight of your foes. The boss fights sadly too aren’t that memorable either, with many of the big bads in MythForce exhibiting similarly predictable behaviour – albeit with the added spice of occasionally summoning mobs for you to deal with as well.
Ultimately, it’s a shame that the enemy AI leaves so much to be desired because the actual combat which serves as the bedrock for MythForce is both surprisingly satisfying and sophisticated. Though the ranged and spellcasting classes are both enjoyable to play, it’s really the melee classes that feel the best, thanks to a deft mixture of satisfying blocks and parries, which when pulled off perfectly can stagger enemies and prepare them for a devastating counterattack. In addition, MythForce also permits melee classes to perform charging attacks, dodges, power strikes and more besides. Elsewhere, a stamina system also features prominently, forcing players to conserve their stamina and not overcommit with a barrage of attacks that could leave them exposed and vulnerable to an enemy assault.
When taken in tandem with a variety of special attacks and abilities that are all based on cooldowns – including an ultimate ability that hilariously causes “MYTHFORCE!” to be bellowed by some off-screen announcer – it soon becomes obvious that the combat in MythForce is a whole lot of fun and possesses significant latitude for players to master it over the course of many hours.
As good as the combat is in MythForce, it finds itself slightly undone by the level design. As part of its design makeup as an action RPG roguelite, MythForce leverages seemingly randomised level layouts throughout its campaign. The problem however, as you can probably already guess, is that those level layouts repeat a whole lot – and occasionally straight after each other – absolutely ramming home the notion of ‘well this looks familiar’ like a Tyson Fury right hook to the temple. Not only that, but there isn’t much in the way of secret areas and treasure to discover either. So much like the other stumbles that MythForce makes this is something of a shame, not least because the potential is here for a really, really good roguelite action RPG with style to spare – but it just isn’t there yet.
Nonetheless, it is worth mentioning that MythForce does become (as with most games) a lot more fun when played with friends, not least because the drop-in, drop-out co-op seems to work pretty flawlessly in my experience, while the brilliantly 1980s cheese-covered banter which erupts when you have multiple heroes fighting together also never fails to elicit a chuckle in amongst all that monster bashing.
In sticking with its roguelike design principles, MythForce predictably doles out buffs and perks in-between each area which not only helps to keep you competitive with the bigger and more capable hordes of foes which you come across, but so too does it provide some incentive to reach the end of each area too. Further afield, when it comes to the wider progression side of things, MythForce certainly doesn’t skimp at all in this regard. Not only is there a chunk of different loot that can be collected in each area and also bought from the randomised vendor skeleton which occasionally shows up from time to time, but so too can you collect various glyphs that can be used to upgrade buildings in the game’s hub which can then be used to develop your character further still.
Arguably the most appealing thing about MythForce however, is the absolutely cracking audiovisual presentation which does a fantastic job of evoking those halcyon days of Saturday morning cartoons. From the colourful and brightly detailed cel-shaded character models which look like they’ve leapt from a CRT screen and into my living room, through to the slightly muffled and gloriously cheesy voice samples which cement the nostalgia of the experience yet further still, MythForce absolutely looks the part and is one of the most stylish looking efforts I’ve seen in a good while.
The only real drawback to the presentation side of things is that there is a mottled visual filter in place that can prove quite distracting at first – occasionally making the visuals look like they have video macroblocking. Even though this filter has likely been implemented to reflect the 80s stylings that MythForce seeks to emulate, a toggle for this would have been welcome nonetheless.
There’s no denying that MythForce absolutely laser targets old crusties like me that used to sit cross-legged in front of a boxy CRT, with cereal pouring down my face as I sat agape at the Saturday morning heroics that were playing out in front of me. Peer beneath its attractive audiovisual presentation however and though a satisfyingly enjoyable roguelite soon reveals itself, it’s also one rife with flaws which hint at an offering that has a wealth of presently unrealised potential.
MythForce is out now on PS5.
Review code kindly provided by PR.