With so many sci-fi indie games coming out this year, this review covers Unsighted, whose demo is still available.
Unsighted is a pixel art action adventure game with RPG elements and Metroidvania sensibilities developed by Brazilian LGBT devs Studio Pixel Punk and published by Humble Games (Humble Bundle’s publishing arm).
In Unsighted you play as Alma, an amnesiac guardian android who wakes up in an abandoned lab, remembering only flashes and a name of a friend. It takes her some time to even remember her own name. After fleeing a giant monster that interrupts her exploration, she finds herself in the ruins of the city of Arcadia, not all that long after a lengthy war with humanity.
While the exact nature of the plot as a whole isn’t clear from the demo, as we once again have a game that’s keeping its cards close to its chest, the demo itself is pretty straightforward. Alma must fight her way through the robots who’ve gone feral, while meeting a little pixie bot and a dog, in an effort to get to the other androids and get answers.
Combat wise, Unsighted is fairly straightforward and relies largely on a sword and a basic gun in the demo, with more varied and complex weaponry in the full game. You’ll want to keep on your feet and to be ready to use the block ability. By and large the gist of the combat is easy enough to grasp. The challenge comes more from the number and variety of enemies than from the complexity of the system.
Its overall mechanics are rather straightforward as well. You can acquire points towards healing yourself at any time by defeating enemies, though you’ll occasionally find vats of the stuff in the map. You can also acquire upgrades throughout to increase your stats, though you can only equip them at specific locations.
Movement is likewise simple, though you’ll want to use a controller (in a nice touch, the Steam version has full support for PS4 controllers, convenient and sadly still rare) for the best control. You’ll be walking, dashing, and jumping as you explore the map, traversing the ruined city.
There’s a very Metroidvania element to the game overall, as much of it’s blocked off by walls that you need to find equipment to unlock. Additionally, there’s switches that can only be activated by hitting them, keys to be found, and other such obstacles to making it through. Unsighted is focused on horizontal movement, rather than vertical. Not that there’s no moving up, just less than is common for full Metroidvania.
Aesthetically, Unsighted has a very distinct style, and a very pretty one as well.
While it is all pixel art, the sheer level of detail in the environments and lighting are downright gorgeous in this game. Character designs outside of menus and cutscenes are simple but distinct and excellent. Keeping track of enemies and objects is easy enough, and figuring out what I can and can’t interact with was rarely difficult, something some other games struggle with (looks pointedly at Doom Eternal). Even figuring out what was and wasn’t breakable was fairly simple, another element many pixel art games struggle with.
I genuinely loved Unsighted, to the point where I’d wishlisted it before even actually finishing the demo. It was a fantastic time to play through, and I honestly can’t wait for the full version to come out. If you like action adventure games then give the demo a look, you won’t be disappointed!
Images Courtesy of Pixel Punk Studio and Humble Games
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