Magenta Horizon- Act 1 Version 0.7.1

Hi,

Please compile your game for Linux. Thank you.

Played for ~60 hours, SSS rank on hardest available difficulty for all levels. Runs here.

Really, really solid piece of work, especially for a game with 2/3rds of its planned content still forthcoming. Considering the game is free, there is no reason not to try it if you're an action game fan.

Magenta Horizon holds a deep reverence for two of the most fundamental pillars of action games: positioning and dynamism. Hollow Knight's influence on the movement (and the game in general) is obvious, but the addition of a diagonal dive and a hook attack that pulls you through enemies makes things significantly more interesting than simply jumping and pogoing around. DMC-like strings with various useful properties also add much-needed nuance and agency to the ground combat. The tension between safety/mobility in the air and options/damage potential on the ground informs almost every decision you make, and you'll find yourself constantly evaluating which is better suited for the moment.

A varied and volatile enemy roster puts this into context, and each disrupts you in different ways with melee attacks, speed, projectiles, or sheer size. The small helicopters are a favorite of mine: their simple attacks aren't much threat, but their spinning propellers will hit you on contact, making aerial getaways from more oppressive enemies deceptively challenging. Arenas filling up with hordes of different foes, all acting independently, gives rise to the delightful controlled chaos that so many of the action game greats are known for. Bosses are also pleasantly dynamic, with varied attack patterns and a Souls/Monster Hunter-style stagger system to keep things fresh. Once you beat the middle difficulty, give the highest a shot, it's where the game truly shines. Each encounter is completely redone, with tough enemies from the last stage suddenly appearing in the very first. Some of the best and most creative fights are found here, as the dev starts to go wild with cramped arenas, oppressive environmental hazards, enemy spawning setups, and synergistic compositions.

Each of the subweapons in the game are distinct, and have multiple situationally useful properties rather than explicitly hard countering anything. Creating the spike in midair will slam you to the ground (invaluable for movement), and the boomerang can be aimed in different trajectories to deal general damage over a wide area or stagger fliers quickly. Some even combine with each other: for example, timing your spike to skewer a boomerang creates a stationary spinning blade that deals massive DPS to anything in reach. A la Alien Soldier, each weapon can be assigned to one or more of 8 possible slots, and each slot has its own meter. The frightening levels of lethality you can achieve by maximizing this brings combat to a blistering speed, especially in later stages where tough arenas reward clean speedkilling.

Artwork and music are both obvious standouts that anyone can appreciate, and lend the game a distinct character. Pinks and purples cover otherworldly vistas, and the enemy menagerie is both delightfully creative and a treat to watch in motion. The progressive metal soundtrack is also fantastic, one of the best in recent memory.

There are definitely still some kinks to be worked out. As a new player, especially one without high-level action game experience, the initial experience is extremely overwhelming with the amount of options and movement you have. Almost nothing can be canceled out of, which works great as a design decision but feels punishing early on. UI needs some polish, and can feel cheap and awkward to navigate. Early level design is both needlessly confusing to traverse (especially since there's no map) and doesn't stand out much in terms of creative fights. Luckily, both of these improve as you get further in. Bugs pop up every so often since the game's still in heavy development, but in my experience these rarely affected gameplay. You can report any you find to the dev and he'll usually fix it quickly. The necklace system (equippables with playstyle-altering buffs) simply doesn't have enough options yet to provide meaningful tradeoffs. The game is also a bit light on content currently, as expected, but what's there is high quality.

Overall, I'm extremely impressed at the level of achievement here so far, especially in the context of a solo dev project. I can't wait to see where the project goes next, I only see things getting better from here.

rebiew    of  Magenta Horizon (act 1)

I should preface this with saying that even though I have finished this game on its intended difficulty you should keep in mind that at the time of writing this, I have not yet played the two of the biggest listed inspirations for it, (Devil May Cry games and Hollow Knight) so take some of what I say with a pinch of salt

Magenta Horizon is like if banging your head against a wall repeatedly was somehow made satisfying, it's a tough game even on its standard difficulty which becomes apparent pretty quickly but I like that the game sets those expectations right off the bat, instead of having crazy difficulty spikes show up out of nowhere (which may be the experience for some but in my opinion it mostly wasn't)

the actual combat system offers a good amount of freedom, with flexible combos, many approaches to different enemy types that each offer unique challenges of their own, for example even the first enemy type you meet can prove to be disruptive in the later stages

MH is confident in its enemy design not only gameplay-wise but visually too, with every little creature looking weirder and more hellish than the last, which surely serves to create a memorable experience when coupled with the general aesthetic of the game (which I believe was inspired by the works of Tim Burton) that succeeds in creating a somewhat bleak, purgatory-like place filled with character, and if the later levels are anything to come by it looks like the atmosphere of the game will only get more interesting from here

the soundtrack to this afterlife is quite good with many solid tracks to its name, and all in all the sound design of it does its job pretty well I'd say

I haven't found a good way to mention the story and the world building but it is definitely intriguing in places, and even though there aren't many answers given to us just yet the main characters are charming enough for the time being and I'm interested to learn more about them

Magenta Horizon is a passion project made by one person and it shows that in the best possible ways, it's frankly impressive how good this game is already all things considered, I can't think of any major issues I have with it at the moment, pretty much all I have is praise so I apologise if this review is a bit boring to read because of that, but I do legitimately really like this game and want to see more of it, and I hope it becomes successful cause it damn sure deserves it

definitely keeping my eye on this

Probably the best action game I've played this year, there's a wondeful chaos to Magenta Horizon's combat. It's remarkable how dense with enemies the screen can get, but fights remain coherent and manageable thanks to the extensive aerial mobility. This isn't a game where you’ll be thoughtlessly mashing out a bunch of interchangeable attack strings, instead careful positioning and enemy prioritization are the keys to success. I'm particularly fond of the encounters that feature a ton of projectiles, as they emphasize the fluid and twitchy movement mechanics that make this combat really shine. A deeply impressive piece of work, I'm excited to see where the project goes next. Also, Blücher is very cute :^)

this should not be free for the Fun i am recieving!!!!!

Amazing game the combat style and soundtrack are great and so much fun 

10/10 

There is a demon train, what more could you ask for?

Anyway review time, cuz itch review system is broken. I might be a bit biased, but this is genuinely one of the most fun games I've played in a while. 

The gameplay is similar to games like Hollow Knight or Dust an Elysian Tail (don't tell Maddi I mentioned Dust), featuring DMC-like style mechanics. Even though, truthfully, some edges of it are still rough, it's still a great experience. Controls are well put together, enemies are responsive and challenging (doubly so for the bosses), the skills and combos add a lot of depth to the learning curve. My only complaint would be the blocky level design, but that's whatever.

Act 1 is not super long. It will probably take about 4-6 hours on your first playthrough, depending on how bad you are how quickly you can learn the mechanics. Current speedrun time is about 40 minutes, if that helps. Then there's also the Reaper difficulty, but we don't talk about that.

Story and worldbuilding so far are very intriguing, and I adore the main cast and their banter. Following acts promise more insight into the Nest and other reapers so that's something I'm hyped for. Too bad they'll probably release about the same time as Silksong or JA's Witcher 3 video.

The music and art are probably the strongest parts of the game, honestly. Each stage has its own soundtrack in two variants, for exploration and for combat, and each one rocks. Same goes for the art. The game exudes its own unique style, especially so in enemy and character design. Just look at Blucher's portraits.

And do keep in mind, all of the above was made by just one person (sans for the cutscene art).