The cautious and methodical exploration in Prince of Persia wowed players with its rotoscoped character animations back in 1989. In 1992 the award winning Flashback won critical acclaim and commercial success. Jump to 1997 and Abe’s Oddysee brought the genre to the next level with innovative gameplay and epic storytelling. Now in the age of 3D games, Lunark returns to the classic roots of the 2D cinematic platformer pioneered and perfected by the aforementioned games.
Flashback to a lost genre – Lunark
A debut title by Canadian developer Canari Games, its Kickstarter campaign success story not only funded the creation of the game but also brought the new indie studio into existence.
Played here on PS5 the game is also available on PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Steam. Standard and Deluxe physical editions are also available.
Gameplay
Playing as Leo, your world is thrown into turmoil with an act of terrorism aimed at framing you as the culprit. Run, jump, shoot and explore your way to the answers not only about the attack but about your own mysterious origins. Along the way, you will have some puzzles to solve and bosses to beat.
True to the origins of the genre is the game’s use of checkpoints and saves. Some may find this harsh and punishing but it gives an authentic feel to the game. A nice quality of life improvement over the titles that inspired it is the ability to jump up to a platform when facing the wrong direction. This makes for some nice responsive movement when the timing is critical – when an enemy attack is incoming for example.
Rewards for exploration are upgrades to your gun and health as you journey through this futuristic adventure.
Where this game does a really excellent job and where others often fall down is the dialogue is kept snappy and to the point. Interactions with characters serve to drive the story forward and not hamper it with excessively long conversations.
Having said that the game does suffer a slight pacing issue. I felt level 11 took the wind out of the sails just as things were ramping up to a climactic final act.
Some issues with platforming controls also popped up on a couple of occasions. What sometimes felt like input lag seemed to be more to do with positioning not quite lining up with platforms. In one instance the animation for a running jump played out with Leo standing suspended in mid air off the edge. These were definitely anomalies as controls felt very responsive for the most part.
Graphics & Audio
The 2D pixel art is really nicely done with colour used to great effect to enhance the tone and atmosphere. Where this game really shines visually though is with its animations. Captured using the rotoscoping technique used in both Prince of Persia and Flashback it gives the character motions a unique realistic smoothness. Oh and yes you can pet the dogs!
The same technique is also utilised in the cutscenes giving them some very realistic looking motions.
Music throughout Lunark is great with a varied soundtrack and some really excellent beats. At one point I swear that I could hear that iconic jingly sound from Back to the Future. Once I had heard it I couldn’t help thinking that Leo resembled Marty McFly. I couldn’t unsee it.
One outlier on the soundtrack for me was the music playing on completing the game. It just didn’t seem like it fit with the vibe of the rest of the tunes.
Longevity
With just one mode of 12 levels to play through with no real drawing power to go for subsequent runs after finishing the story.
For players on the hunt for trophies, there are 34 to earn – 5 bronze, 27 silver, 1 gold and a platinum. A new game+ and a level select would be a welcome addition to bag some of the missed trophies.
Final Thoughts
Lunark is a brilliant throwback to a genre that has been lost to the ages. While tipping its hat to its inspirations it also manages to carve out an identity of its own.
While there are certainly a few little quirks, the visuals, sound, story and gameplay combine for an enjoyable sci-fi adventure.
This one firmly grabs the Thumb Culture Gold Award with both hands.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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