It’s been almost a year since NanoApostle slashed its way onto PC and now, it hits consoles. Is this self described boss rush game worth your time? Or should it have stayed confined to one platform and forgotten?
Bio-Weapon Bizarreness
Often in games, when the developer describes the game as a boss rush hack and slash, I am wary that the story will take a backseat and fall by the wayside and sadly, NanoApostle is no different. Developed by 18Light Games and published by PQube Games, the story puts the player in the shoes of Anita, a girl who has been created via some form of experiments in an ambiguous facility. As Anita wakes, she discovers she has been bonded/ augmented to a mysterious entity known as Apostle, who Anita affectionately names Kuro. Along with this entity, Anita is also befriended by an AI system, taking the form of a girl named Wenny. It’s an interesting start to a narrative but it becomes apparent extremely quickly that there is not much meat on the bones regarding the narrative.
To put it simply, Anita wants to escape the facility she was created in, and the only way for her to escape is to face other experiments and defeat them one after the other. I understand that games of this nature tend not to focus on the story but I do find it so disappointing how little effort was put into this particular narrative. It’s a short tale that tells a story of Anita’s fight for freedom and understanding, but one that could have been so much more. Poor cutscenes interrupt the gameplay after fights, whilst the data logs and database are intended to be interesting features, it’s all too barebones to offer real depth for players to discover. It’s not all bad however. The conversations Anita and Wenny have are endearing and ended up being the main highlight for me. It’s a shame the developers didn’t make more moments for these characters to interact and converse. Overall, its a shallow plot that does nothing to excite or engage and feels rather simplistic. .
Don’t Stop Slashing
Whilst I have a fair few issues with the narrative and plot of NanoApostle, thankfully, the gameplay knocks it out of the park- mostly. As mentioned before, the developers have described this game as a true boss rush experience and it’s backed up significantly in combat. The core gameplay loop is fighting boss after boss, learning and understanding their skill set and move set along the way. Make no mistake, this game is difficult and frustrating at times but that’s the point. You fight, fail, learn and overcome and it’s highly addictive. Each boss even has optional objectives you can complete in order to grant Anita additional abilities and upgrades, which is an ingenius way of freshening up abilities and skills in games. Each attempt at the boss also carries over the progress to said objective, making every fight worth while.
Combat and movement in NanoApostle feels smooth and responsive. Anita can combine combos, dodge, weave and shoot projectiles allowing players to mould Anita to their skillset. Each boss requires a different approach which forces you to attempt to master each combat style. While some styles are not for me, I can really appreciate the developers making this choice to force the players to understand all aspects of combat within the game. Although the hack and slash combat of facing boss after boss is the main focus, you can also unlock obstacle courses that require the player to speedrun through levels, dodging different hazards along the way. This is a fun distraction from the main combat loop of the game and gave me a chance to take a breath amidst the chaos. If you’re looking for a game with responsive controls and addictive melee combat, NanoApostle doesn’t disappoint. Just prepare to die a lot, but if you have the stomach and commitment to overcome this, it’s so much fun. Adapt and survive.
It’s A Grey Old World
NanoApostle seeks to define its visual style as one of a computer world and to a certain extent, it succeeds. Developers 18Light chose a pixel art style and for the most part, it looks sleek and polished. All of the levels look detailed, yet simple in their design. The story takes quite a bleak look at Anita’s life and fate in this mysterious facility and this is reflected in the art style and colour pallet. It’s very grey, black and dingy but it succeeds in trying to portray a grim fate for the main character. The main element of presentation that really stands out to me are the flashes of light from a swing of a melee weapon, or the explosion of colour from a projectile being fired. It really illuminates the screen, making it an impressive sight to behold. It’s also worth mentioning how smooth and sleek the animations are for Anita as she hacks and slashes, gliding across your screen like a performative dance; it is quite mesmerising! Unfortunately, there are some negatives: cutscenes are extremely basic and look incredibly boring which affected my interest in these moments along with the dreadful menus and UI.
Finally, audio design and soundtrack does a solid enough job to not warrant too much criticism, or praise for that matter. The sound design is important in this game as I relied on sound cues to warn me of an incoming attack from a boss. Bullets and projectiles firing sound dangerous and bombastic, whilst hearing a sword clang or slash through an enemy is highly satisfying. The game’s soundtrack is a solid effort by sound team KUSHIH who have created a blend of techno and electronic, mixed with orchestral music that feels like it could have come straight from a JRPG. The only major downside to the score is how it gets in the way of the main audio design. You rely so heavily on audio cues that the music can become a distraction.
Verdict
NanoApostle is a perfect encapsulation of the struggles indie developers face in today’s market. Like other games, the developers have had to focus their main efforts into one area, to the detriment of the rest of the game. The movement and combat in this game are fantastic and will keep players hooked as they take on terrifying boss after boss. In conclusion, sadly, a story that is non existent and inconsistent presentation prevent this game really standing out amongst a sea of indie titles. There’s fun to be had, but at what cost?
