There’s a moment that arrived a few levels into my playthrough ofSaviorlessthat made me want to launch my Nintendo Switch out the window. It wasn’t any of the game’s enemies, nor was it the platforming. It came in the form of a man who chronicles your journey through the collection of hidden pages, which are the game’s collectible. There are six to find in each level, and this chronicler appears near the end of the level for you to hand them in.
If you don’t have them all, he asks if you’d like to reset. But he doesn’t really say what it is he is resetting, not in specific terms. I thought, probably stupidly, that it would send all the pages back to where they were and I could try to collect them again at another time. No. No, that isn’t what happened. Instead, I got sent back to the start of the level losing all progress made up to the chronicler. It was a level that had already annoyed me because of some poor platforming decisions. I turned off my Switch, put it to one side and came back the next day.
Saviorless
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I came back and from that point ignored the loose pages strewn throughout. What is the point of my collecting them from this level when I didn’t get them all for the first few levels? Instead, I decided to focus on the story and the platforming action. The latter we’ll come back to, the former is perhaps the most interesting aspect ofSaviorless.
It’s an interesting way to tell a story. The idea of the narrator’s job intertwines throughout the meeting of new characters who seemingly know Antar’s name, or are already familiar with them. It’s because the story is playing out in a cyclical style and it further breaks down and expands as you play through each level.
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Saviorless
Antar isn’t a good hero in that their moments are clunky, they move too slowly which makes them feel like they’re wading through treacle, and this sometimes runs alongside points where you need to be faster than an environmental obstacle making it a confusing choice. Had Antar moved with some speed, and reacted swiftly, I’d have no complaints.
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There are moments when you’ll take control of another character when the narrators go off the traditional path, and these are welcomed because they add new layers to the gameplay, like melee combat, something that Antar doesn’t rely on. But, because so much of the game is told while you’re in Antar’s shoes, there’s a sense of missed opportunity. Thankfully, the game isn’t very long at all, so while this is a sore point, in the grand scheme of things it’s over relatively quickly and I was left with a fondness for the odd interludes with different characters, set dressing, and accompanying audio design.
Pros: Gorgeous art, wonderful history and subtext to the design, intriguing and original story
Cons: Wonky and lethargic platforming, odd decisions on game mechanics
For fans of: A Highland Song, Prince of Persia, MetroidVanias
7/10: Very Good
Topics:Xbox,Nintendo Switch,PlayStation,PC,Steam
