A Pixel-Art Platformer That Keeps On Giving
Lovish has an idea that would improve every game ever made. After each level, you get a few comic book panels about what the main character does between the levels. In Lovish, Sir Solomon gets eaten by mimics, accidentally trips up wizards and takes a well-earned holiday. They’re lovely little skits, totally meta and they became a reason to keep playing. I want FIFA Career Mode to roll with the idea, interspersing matches with little scenes where the main character finds themselves in a Panini sticker pack, does errands for their mum, and spots Jadon Sancho down their local pub.
It’s emblematic of what Lovish is. This is an action-platformer where the action and the platforming are just okay – slightly better than decent. But everything that surrounds the slightly wobbly core is fantastic. It’s as if the developers completely disregarded the old adage of ‘get the basics right and everything else will follow’. Lovish is all about the extra stuff.
A Tale As Old As Time
The story is nicely tongue in cheek. Sir Solomon and his gang, the Saviors of Light, are on the way to the castle to save the Princess. But Sir Solomon has an existential crisis on the way in, worrying that the Princess will fancy one of his mates instead. So, he dumps them in the moat and heads in solo.
That sets a neat tonal yardstick for everything that follows. And what follows is 70 levels of reasonably difficult (sub-Celeste, more challenging than a 2D Mario) precision platforming. All of the levels can fit on a single game screen, so they’re compact little challenges.
As we’ve said, the action and the platforming isn’t anything special. I’d put the platforming above the action: there’s a generous arc to the jump and a similar generosity in take-offs and landings. You can feel like you’ve left it too late and still reach your destination. In terms of the combat, I can’t help feeling that it was nerfed at some point in development. There’s such a long cooldown between attacks that it can feel like you’re playing World of Warcraft and your moves are all on cooldown. It’s a tad slow.
Lovish also starts the player with the bare minimum, a jump and a sword attack, and that bare minimum feels mediocre for slightly too long. Upgrades come along (more on them later), but the damage is already done. Sir Solomon needed to be more powerful than he was, certainly for some of the more tedious, bullet spongey bosses.
While a little bit wanting, the action and platforming are just enough for everything that follows. Neither are wholly bad, and you can merrily wander through the opening levels, killing or hopping over enemies on the way to a gateway exit. If you’re like us, you will be mowing through the levels with speed.
That speed soon slows down. The walls start moving in. Lovish enjoys making the jumps tight, the enemies erratic (damn you, bubble-frogs and jesters) and the ceilings low. You need to start mastering all aspects of the game, and perhaps start unlocking some upgrades that will make life easier.
Bells, Whistles And Lots Of Coins
It seems like a good time to talk about all the frills that surround Lovish. Because there are oodles of them, and they step Lovish up from a serviceable platformer to a very good one.
Coins litter the levels, and they can be spent in Purin’s Shop. This shop gets unlocked in Lovish’s little comic book segments, and it’s the first indicator that the narrative moments won’t solely be narrative-focused. You get genuine rewards too. In Purin’s Shop, you can buy gameplay upgrades and quirky cosmetics. If we have a recommendation, it’s to buy the Thunder Spell first (applies a Master Sword-like projectile to your sword) and the Dash Cap second.
Each level also has two collectible crowns to collect. One is gained for a pacifist run through the level. If you can complete it without hitting a single enemy, you get the crown. When the levels are as claustrophobic as we mentioned, that becomes a challenge. Another crown is more mysterious: you might earn it by killing all enemies, finding a secret wall, or snuffing out all the wall candles, Simon Belmont-style. Each level becomes a puzzle, and we’re still searching for a few of them. Those crowns can be cashed in at a Crown Key Room, which hides even more levels and secrets behind their doors.
Tickling The Funny Bone
And, of course, there are the comic book segments. They’re more than just throwaway jokes: some hide genuine progression and gameplay. We’ve been wondering how to get extra coins, only to find that the comic book tosses us a bone of 100 coins in a chest. Fairies appear to give extra lives; entirely new items are handed over. There are crossovers with other games and movies, which made us wonder how the licensing agreements worked. There’s even an entire Zelda-like dungeon to find and complete.
The presentation deserves its laurels, too. The in-game pixel art is fine, but the comic sections are animated with as much charm as a Saturday morning cartoon. The soundtrack is awesome, invoking Castlevania and Zelda interchangeably. And the Super Mario World-style 2D map has its own secrets.
My takeaway from Lovish was that I couldn’t recall a game that had this much disproportionate care lavished on it. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that half of the development time went on the platforming, and half on the polish. Because there is a ridiculous amount of polish here. We could see our face in Lovish.
To Be Loved
It didn’t end up mattering all that much that we disliked the bosses and found the combat stop-start in Lovish. Because those slightly wobbly foundations were supported by some elaborate cutscenes, upgrades, surprises and collectibles. Your time isn’t just respected in Lovish: it’s thoroughly rewarded. After a level, you’re just as likely to raise a chuckle or coo at a new upgrade.
It meant that we ended up loving Lovish. No need for the -ish.
Important Links
Lovish – 8-Bit Action Powered By Love And Bad Decisions – https://www.thexboxhub.com/lovish-8-bit-action-powered-by-love-and-bad-decisions/
Buy Lovish from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/lovish/9NXF610Q2P1D/0010
