Review: Red Goddess: Inner World

Posted by Collin on July 16th, 2015 | 0 Comments | Tags: Red Goddess: Inner World , Yanim Studio

Red Goddess: Inner World can be a two-headed beast at times. At times it can be a fun platformer, and other times it’s a frustrating and time consuming trudge. Most times however, it can be the latter. Red Goddess is a Metroid style game that incorporates many ideas from the games in its genre. Power-ups, backtracking, and special abilities are all present and the overall concept of the game works well. However, multiple difficulty spikes in gameplay and long load times hurt the overall experience.

After waking up and not remembering who she is, Divine, our hero, begins her journey as she is taken to her inner world. This inner world is in her mind, and she must explore it and collect red crystals to fully restore her memory to recall the events that happened before the game. You’ll notice a ghost that leads you from section to section that leaves small hints of what happened. It’s a simple premise, as you’ll interact with other characters and find upgrades that will in turn shed more light on the story. Early on in the story you’ll find the Rage and Fear upgrades. With these upgrades, Divine is able to engage in combat. Rage turns the character into a red monstrous creature, in which you’ll need to break red blocks and fight red enemies. For Fear, you’ll turn a monstrous blue creature where you’ll need to fight blue enemies and break blue blocks. The system of switching between the creatures works well, as they are tied to the L1 and R1 buttons. You’ll encounter other upgrades further into the game and you’ll notice these upgrades on Divine as the game progress. It gives players a sense of satisfaction and progression throughout the game.

With the game being a Metroid style platformer, you will be doing a lot of platforming in your voyage. Some sections can be fun and enjoyable, and some sections are infuriating. The difficulty spikes in the platforming sections have multiple problems. Divine has a health bar that can be increased with coins you collect in the world, but sadly, most platforming sections has you encountering one-hit-kill spikes and lava pits. One touch and you are sent back to the nearest checkpoint, which sometimes can be far away, leading to replayed sections and frustration. When you die, the loading times can be painful. Occasionally I encountered loading times close to 30 seconds long. Dying isn’t a problem, but waiting for the game to load each time you die from a one hit kill platforming section can be painful, as it kills any momentum you had before you died. Some deaths can feel cheap as well. After you jump down to a new section, spikes you couldn’t see can come from the ground to kill you in one hit, leaving the health bar to feel irrelevant.

Combat is simple, but can be rewarding. In the Rage or Fear modes, you’ll punch and uppercut your enemies while trying to pull off combos. Later in the game, you’ll find upgrades that gives the Rage and Fear mode a special move, but isn’t all that special. These moves will use up mana, which can also be upgraded by finding coins and visiting a local shop. The combat can come down to button mashing as some enemies will take punches until they are vanquished. When encountering tougher enemies, you’ll need to make use of the dodge roll that is provided. Rolling out of the way, upper cutting an enemy to lead into more punches can set up satisfying combos.

The presentation can be a mixed bag. Before the current patch that is available to download I noticed some serious framerate and level loading issues. After the patch, the level loading issues were non-existent, but I still noticed a few framerate issues. The issues were not as serious as before the patch, but was still noticeable. A glitch that was not related to framerate or level loading was also found. Few times I found myself on the other side of closed walls in which I was supposed to defeat all enemies on the other side. Other times it also happened to enemies. I found myself reloading checkpoints due to not being able to progress in front of walls that block off the next section. Visually the game looks impressive. Colors pop and environments look unique. The music fits the mood of the game well but is ultimately forgettable in the end. Multiple skins for bosses and Divine are available to find in the world, and there is an option for cheat codes if you are willing to find some.

Red Goddess: Inner World can be enjoyable, but the infuriating one hit kill platforming, long load times and difficulty spikes ruin the experience. The multiple upgrades and the Fear and Rage modes can feel satisfying to use, but are mostly overshadowed by the game’s low points. Red Goddess can be entertaining if you are willing to sit through the long load times after deaths, but I would recommend waiting for a sale if you have interest in the game.

A copy of this game was provided by the publisher for review purposes. For more info on our review policy click here.

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