Apotheon is the beautiful new platformer by Alientrap. Set in the world of ancient Greece this game is clearly crafted with love. A lot of attention has been paid to every aspect of the game and, whilst not pushing any boundaries in terms of genre, they’ve really given the game a unique feel.
The artwork and overall atmosphere are what really make this game. The Grecian amphora style art is quite simply stunning – a real masterpiece of 2D graphics which gives the game a truly superb ambience. And the music matches this artwork perfectly too, in fact in terms of overall presentation and polish, this game really can’t be faulted. Apotheon is magical, like an enchanting forest nymph.
The gameplay however, is unfortunately not quite up to the same standard as the presentation. The missions are relatively generic, there’s nothing here you haven’t seen in a hundred other combat-platformers – which in-and-of-itself isn’t such a problem… Developers certainly don’t HAVE to push the boundaries to make a great game – but if you’re going to stick to a standardised style then you need to execute it perfectly. Sadly for me the combat mechanics are just too fiddly – landing on the platform you aimed for is a 50/50 gamble and trying to hit your opponent with weapons that fly around like deranged ducks is never a good thing. I’m all for an innovative control system – but it really has to work fluidly not frustrate the player. Sometimes the combat made me feel like Porky Pig trying helplessly to whack Bugs Bunny.
So what’s my final opinion? If you like games for their artistic merit this one has it in bucket loads – at least in terms of audio and visuals. However, if you can’t be bothered with complex control systems then you may want to skip this one. But don’t forget – this is a budget game, its AAA presentation and mildly-innovative (though certainly tricky) combat are something quite special to behold, and for just 10GBP it should still be worth your pennies in my opinion.