“A 2D plant horror boss rush game”. That is not a series of words that I thought I would be typing any time soon, but here it is with Perennial Order.
Created by Gardenfiend Games and SOEDESCO, Perennial Order is another entry in the whole “Soulslike” genre, with a couple of differences. But should you head to a dark and weird world of plants going haywire?
The story is revealed bit by bit, in the traditional Dark Souls style, largely revealed by talking to the many and various NPCs you find lying about the place. There are interesting conversations to be had, giving you a bit of background to your existence. You see, we seem to be an amalgam of a dead body and some kind of tree, animated by some consciousness that wants us to help clear the garden of corruption – mainly by poking them with a sword! Yes, we are reincarnated as a Perennial Knight, one of the defenders of the garden, and so our path is set for us – clear the garden or die trying. And then try again, basically!
The presentation is certainly interesting, with a lovely hand drawn look to things. The backdrops are suitably doom laden, with a real corrupted vibe going on, and the sheer size of the areas we have to explore is quite impressive. The world is split into smaller chunks, and exiting one to enter another does trigger a mini loading screen, where the display just goes black, but this is not intrusive.
The character that we play as is beautifully drawn, animated in an interesting manner. It very much reminds of the old paper skeletons we used to make at Halloween, in the very old days, with joints articulated with pins. This results in a kind of disjointed movement on the screen, which seems perfectly fitting for someone in our situation, to be honest! The enemies are also well designed, and generally a lot bigger than we are.
With the art style described as “painterly”, which doesn’t mean much to me, all I can say is that I like the way that Perennial Order looks. And I like the way it sounds too, especially the low key music and effects which help to build the suspense as we creep through levels, looking for bosses.
I also like the gameplay. Perennial Order takes its cues from the Soulslike genre, with a small character fighting a large boss, generally, and death being no barrier to carrying on. One thing that is nice is that if a boss kills you (and they will, make no mistake), then you respawn right outside the bosses room. No backtracking trying to preserve heals is required here. This lets you get back into the action quickly, without any excuses about forgetting attack patterns or anything!
Another difference between Perennial Order and all the other Soulslikes is the matter of heals – there are none. No, here it is very much one hit and you are dead, whether that comes from a boss or a minion that they summon. If you get hit, you are dead. Start again. This focuses the mind wonderfully, and ensures that discretion is much the better part of valour. See, if a boss needs only one more hit to kill, you are always better to bide your time and avoid the enemies before delivering the coup de grace. In fact, rushing in Perennial Order will only get you killed – you cannot tank a hit, or exchange hits here. To help you stay alive, you have a limited supply of dashes, which are indicated by a bunch of lit up dots that follow you, called Wisps. Each wisp is a dodge, so using them at the right time is vital, as you don’t want to run out at the wrong time.
Another feature is the way that you use your chosen weapon, which seems to be some kind of rapier. You see, instead of attacks being on a button, they are mapped to the right stick, which makes not only aiming an attack easy, but delivers it in an analogue process. The longer you hold the right stick in a direction, the stronger the attack that comes out, up to a point. When you start charging an attack, there is a small meter that appears on the screen, with a small yellow section at the far end. If you release the stick in that section, the resulting attack is a critical hit, doing much more damage. In this way, again, a risk and reward mechanic comes into play – the longer you can stand near an enemy before releasing, the stronger the attack, but would a flurry of light hits do more damage? Experimentation is your friend.
Single player works well, but there is the option for multiplayer Perennial Order action too, with a second player able to be invited, either locally or over the internet. This works well, and having one player able to carry on when another falls is a nice touch. In fact, one of the upgrades you can get is to be able to attack from within your buddy if you are dead, and this is good fun as well. I have noticed no lag or slow down with this mode, and despite a couple of random disconnects, everything else works very well.
Perennial Order does enough to distinguish itself from the rest of the field. The mechanics certainly require you to adjust your usual Soulslike playstyle, but the way that the game unfolds and explains more of what is happening the further you get spurs you on. The bosses are hard, the multiplayer is good, and all in all, you’ll have a more than decent time with your Perennial Order journey.
Perennial Order Blooms with Plant Horror Boss Rush Action – https://www.thexboxhub.com/perennial-order-blooms-with-plant-horror-boss-rush-action/
Buy Perennial Order on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/perennial-order/9nsrcj7xgn11
