Friday, April 27, 2018

Take a nostalgic trip to Another World [Retro Review]

Another World is still a daunting challenge for gamers over 25 years later.

I'll admit that I totally missed out playing Another World when it was initially released in 1991. Granted, I was three years old at the time of its initial release but still — no excuses. Another World was one of the more celebrated independent games of the early 1990s — an era of gaming that's known for creating some of the most notoriously difficult games.

Another World absolutely falls into this category. Released as Out of this World for its North American release, this is a cinematic-style platformer that was widely celebrated by critics and gamers at the time for its art style and story.

Having never played the game despite it being ported and released on over 20 different gaming platforms, I decided to look through the Google Play reviews for the 20th Anniversary Edition released for Android back in 2011 — the general consensus seems to be "wow, this game was amazing when I was a kid, but tough as nails then and still tough as nails to play today."

Lacking the nostalgic connection from my childhood, would Another World draw me in? To start, the story focuses on Lester, a scientist who is accidentally transported to an alien world when an experiment goes wrong. Lester must figure out the rules of this strange new world, avoid the many deadly creatures that inhabit it, and find a way to escape.

It was a super cool concept back in 1991, and still is over 25 years later, but this the game does you NO favors when you're just starting out. The game barely explains the controls, which default to intuitive touch controls with an option to switch to on-screen buttons. There's also no directions given as to where to go or what to do, so you're kind of left to figure things out through trial and error. When you discover your blaster pistol, you're kind of left to figure out on your own that a single press shoots a laser, a medium press puts up a force field, and a long press can destroy walls.

I'll admit, I almost gave up on this game in the first few minutes because I couldn't figure out how to get past the first big enemy. I immediately commiserated with all those poor kids who struggled with this game back in the day.

Fortunately, one of the benefits we enjoy in 2018 that wasn't available to gamers in 1991 is the Internet. I was able to easily find a walkthrough to lead me towards the solution, and I leaned on it to get through some of the tougher sections that sometimes require leaps of logic that certainly explains why so many gamers at the time had a hard time beating it.

Once you've figured out how to manage the controls, and after a lot of trial and error figuring out what the game wants you to do, you work your way through what is still a pretty intriguing game. Even without the nostalgic connection, I was pretty hooked on seeing this game through to completion. I also appreciated the option of switching between the HD remastered graphics and the old-school graphics from the original game.

Ultimately, it's hard to justify the premium Google Play Store price for this title unless it's a total nostalgia trip for you. Otherwise, your best bet to check out this game in its full glory is via GameStash, where Another World is but one of hundreds of cool games available to play unlimited and ad-free for just $4.99 a month. Check it out and start your 30-day free trial.

See at GameStash



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