Slain: Back from Hell is a more metal and modern Castlevania that looks and plays great, but is held back by a few sections which feel unfairly difficulty.
The game’s title says a lot about its difficulty level. It is unfair and painful at times, but if you’re stubborn enough, Slain will captivate you and give you a lot of satisfaction despite its far-reaching simplicity and repetitiveness that goes with it. [02/2017, p.45]
If you want a awesome old school mixed with new school platform game , this is it! The only downside to this game in my opinion is that you die easy, but I like a challenge and what would it be if it were to easy? Nice metal music and monsters from **** developers
Of this game know what they are doin. Keep up the awesome work!
Much better than the average score would have you believe. This is a 2D Castlevania-like hack-n-slash, but it is linear like the early Castlevania games (not a "Metroidvania"). The look and combat mechanics are similar to other PS4 games like Dead Cells and Blasphemous, but i honestly like this one the best. It's gorgeous, bloody and metal as all hell. The best part for me is the addictive gameplay. Each level has many save points, between the save points feels like a mini-level that you will probably die in the first time. You respawn quickly and with your knowledge of the traps and enemies you try again, maybe with a different approach, maybe you die again but now you might have a different idea for how to approach it the next play through. This is fun in a Hotline Miami or Super Meat Boy way, but may be it is hard to explain if you've never played those games. It might sound frustrating, and it can be, but it is also fun, engaging and extremely satisfying when you nail those difficult sections. You get into such a groove that you want to keep playing and playing. Most games are pretty easy, or easy enough to where you might have some challenge but rarely die, and that can get boring. This is not one of those games. It is an old school challenge that keeps you on edge, but with modern game mechanics such as frequent saves, unlimited lives, and quick respawn. The combat stays interesting due to the parry mechanic (which you have to master to survive) and elemental weapons you unlock throughout (such as a fire sword for ice enemies, ice axe for fire enemies and witches, etc). I played the game twice through back to back. It is fairly lengthy, but I wish there was something more to do after completing the main game. I'm sure I'll come back for another playthrough at some point, it's a nice reprieve from wordy and overly complicated FPSs, RPGs, sports games, etc. Well worth the $10 or whatever I paid for it
Slain: Back from Hell is a unique fish in a sea of pixel-art platforming throwbacks. The level design for the most part is well-done. The difficulty suits the atmosphere created by the music and art style.
Slain: Back from Hell is a stylish 2D side-scrolling action game that borrows from the best in the genre. It's wonderful pixel art will have you in awe more than once throughout your adventure. Striking down your enemies is brutally fun but also frustrating when you’re getting hit because of faulty hit detection. I just wish there was more to do after the single playthrough.
A 2D action-platformer game that shines in his lovely Pixel Art and heavy metal soundtrack, but falls short in aspects like level design and combat system. That doesn't mean that it's an easy game: as in Dark Souls, you'll die lots of times. If you can bear with all this, and love hack & slash games from the '90s, you'll have a fun time with it.
Slain: Back From Hell features action and 2D platforms with a Castlevania like style and lots of potential. Even though it has a great artistic design, it has some issues with the gameplay mechanics and some bugs.
Slain: Back from Hell has one of the very best pairings of stunning visuals and amazing audio that you'll find on the PS4. Unfortunately, it's let down by a dull combat system and a horribly unfair level of difficulty, meaning that the game never picks up the momentum that it should. Wolf Brew Games had an awesome idea here with stacks of potential, but the complete package is hell to play through.
Best 2D hack and slash game for PS4. It is hard, but not too hard, just like a metal game should be. I feel the fighting system to absolute fair with the player and the story is **** awesome! Absolutely wort to play trough.
It's not as detailed as symphony of the night, but more metal. typical platformer with unlimited lives, you die... a lot. Great atmosphere, needs more RPG elements to be an 8 for me, but it's very good for the side scrolling nostalgia.
Man I really wanted to like this game. I love old school platformers, I love Castlevania, I love metal, I love dark vanhelsing-esque environments. I don't mind dying a lot for the sake of getting better and the feeling of being rewarded at the end.
Bunch of mechanics in Slain work very well but most of them don't. Sometimes it's pure heaven and sometimes it's just a frustrating experience where random elements come into play and you just die a lot and don't progress at all. Take the controls as an example. By pressing attack for the second time your character dashes forward which often causes you to hit enemy with your body instead of just the weapon and it totally breaks the momentum and joy of the combat. I don't know any other game that does this and I don't think being original at this point adds any depth to the experience.
Game is hard as hell in the sense it just spits hordes of enemies at you while you avoid traps that one-shot you instantly. When the enemies throw projectiles at you, there's only slight chance you will be able to predict the projectile's trajectory. If you get hit, you leap back and usually die falling into a pit. Enemies overwhelm you very quickly but it's the numbers, not their skill what kills you. Most of the time it doesn't feel like a challenge since even learning the enemy patterns doesn't really help. It's all a huge test of patience but it doesn't feel very rewarding when you finally overcome some obstacles since it's basically a matter of luck, not your great skills.
On the other hand, the music is fantastic and the game looks gorgeous even on my Vita's lcd, even though I'd prefer it to be little brighter. Audio-visually there's not much you can really complain about.
I look forward for the dev's next game. More polish and less "original mechanics" which just add frustration instead of depth might bring to the genre a true instant classic. Fingers crossed.
The good background art and decent music aren't enough to hold up the rest of the package. Starts off alright, but then you realize it's just the same 15 second gameplay loop over and over. Also there are some bosses that are borderline unbeatable.
SummarySlain: Back from Hell. A heavy metal inspired arcade combat with puzzle elements and gore galore. Stunning visuals and true old school gameplay accompanied by the most metal soundtrack you've ever heard.