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- Colorgrave Inc.
- Colorgrave Inc.
- Colorgrave Inc.
- Colorgrave Inc.
Prodigal
Released On: Oct 15, 2020
Metascore
Available after 4 critic reviews
8.2
All Platforms
Imperfections are just part of something's charm, aren't they? Despite the struggle of consuming a varyingly complete game on multiple occasions, the potential and intent beneath shine through beautifully. Effectively immersive and hits on most parts "fun" and "nostalgic," Prodigal is a feast for those craving a substitute for the long wait created by bigger, more expansive adventure titles. Even with its size, it juggles the question of whether bigger is better by making a relatively short journey one that resonates more deeply. And it has cute girls, if that's more your thing.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 6 User Ratings
8.2
83% Positive
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
17% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 6 User Ratings
8.2
83% Positive
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
17% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
Prodigal popped up on my twitter feed about a week before they were set to launch. The graphics immediately hooked me in as they are designed to be in the gameboy color style. The sprite work on display got me to look into what kind of game it was. Being billed as a adventure game where you could marry cute girls. Simple enough, it seemed, although marriage options are never really a huge selling point for me. So I did have some worries that the game would be TOO focused on the romance aspect. The graphics however, had convinced me to at least give it a shot. It was ten bucks so it wasn't like it was super expensive.
Let me tell you, when I say I was blown away by the entire game I am not joking. The core mechanics of the game were solid. Combat was tight and felt good, the puzzles within the dungeons were all very well designed (most puzzles have multiple solutions initially intentionally designed this way to avoid players getting stuck but in the end creates a wonderful puzzle ideology of "be as creative as possible"), the story was a nice, well written adventure with some secrets and hidden lore to find along the way.
During your adventure you can get to know all the members of the town and even romance some of them! This turned out to be a lot more fun than I had expected, and I've replayed the game more than a few times to see what all the romance quests add to the overlying story.
But that's not where the game ends. They continued to release content: new ways to play (gameplay modifiers for challenges), upgrades to certain items, additional post-game dungeons/quests/bossfights, AND in one of the post release updates, the game now has a modular way to play the story as you can complete 2 of any of the 5 Act 2 dungeons to progress the story. Each player can potentially now have a different experience during the second half of the game and still reach the games conclusion. I absolutely love this because it allows for a few different playthrough experiences AND allows for people to talk about which ones they did when playing through the game for the first time. Also, the game doesn't tell you where to go. its your adventure. You can always talk to the Librarian to get a hint, but otherwise it is up to you, the player, to discover what the world has in store for you.
Prodigal went from a game that interested me by its excellent art, to a game that had a similar effect that HollowKnight had. After playing it, I not only wanted to immediately play through it again because the gameplay was so enjoyable, but it reminded me of why I enjoy playing single player games in the first place. A well written adventure, a whole world to explore and find secrets in, and freedom of choice to take the game at the pace I want (whether that be talking to NPCs to learn lore, or delving into tough dungeons to fight monsters and find secret treasures)
If you like adventure games (particularly top-down Zelda style games that have a good balance of combat and puzzle solving,) then this is a game I don't think you should miss.
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PC
What a unique indie game this turned out to be. its a shame it hasn't gotten as much attention as it deserves. 10 out of 10 and I don't even have to think about it. I see some people gripe about certain aspects, like having a semi-open world feel that you can easily get lost in - but they always overlook NPC dialogue telling them where to go or who to talk to. They also complain about movement speed but there are 2 ways to increase that, and its better than Zelda Pegasus Boots when you get it.
Some people don't understand what a full game experience is like anymore. Too much hand holding in game development today. If new players committed to actually playing it and actually paid attention, they would find an unmistakably unique experience that's much easier to grasp when you open up to it.
I have no doubt that in time, this game will be a beloved Cult Phenomenon that will be used as a measure for what an indie game should be.
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PC
This game is a callback to all that was good about the Gameboy Color era of games with modern day changes for incredible quality improvements.
Somehow they managed to make the game feel nostalgic and comforting regardless of how new it is.
The developers really care about feedback too and they are expanding the game actively. It's a steal at $10 dollars! Would highly recommend if you enjoy a good story with fun characters and love adventure games.
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PC
Prodigal has become one of my favorite games. I've been playing it everyday since the day it came out. I am not normally into classic style Zelda games, not into dating sims either, but here I am being completely swept away. The story, alone, is one of the best I've ever played in a game in the last 13 years. Between satisfying that nostalgic itch and yet surprising me with every playthrough - This game has yet to disappoint me. Easy to learn gameplay, exquisite characters and writing, loaded with content. I can't wait to see this game become the next indie sensation.
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PC
Two of my favourite Zelda games are Oracle of Ages and Seasons. For me, there was something special about the two games, so **** were to be inspired by the two, it might just happen to be one of my favourite games.
Prodigal’s story occurs when the playable character returns home after living in the Southern region for years. The second the character departs the boat, he is met with familiar faces from years gone, and as he has just arrived home, the first order of business is to visit his grandpa. The main character, which (in classic Zelda fashion) players get to name what they like, and yes, if you must, you can call him Link; there’s no stopping you. In usual adventure fashion, the player’s grandpa asks them to get something from somewhere. Still, before doing that, he will need a pickaxe, aka his trusty sword, before entering the mine (dungeon).
Of course, the player must meet each of the potential love interests for various reasons. Then the adventure starts, and the player finds themselves in the middle of an ongoing conflict between the North and South, and to make matters worse, the player has been living in the south for years, which some characters think he is a traitor.
One of the first things that any Zelda fan will admire in this game is the amazing graphics, reminiscent of Seasons and Ages, with the colour scheme, the art style and more. The team’s recreation **** Color game was perfect. Even if I put all the Zelda aspects aside, the Gameboy aesthetic still applies and makes the game shine, but also differ from most Zelda-likes that take inspiration from the SNES/GBA era. This does mean they have had to accept some of the same limitations of that type of hardware, like not many different shades of colours or a manner of other aspects players are used to in modern games, but in saying that as a fan of the Gameboy era I loved it.
Gameplay-wise, Prodigal is a Zelda clone in and out. In other words, if you have ever played a Zelda game before, especially on Gameboy, then you are going to be in love. It differs in some aspects to Zelda because you aren’t restricted to two items or, in a sense, one item as in most cases you would’ve kept your sword equipped. On the other hand, Prodigal takes a more modern approach with items, allowing players to equip three items at any time, including their pickaxe. Because why not, as players have more buttons at their disposal (let’s be honest, this is the best way to play, but a keyboard also works fine). Allowing me to have more options on the items I equipped was a lifesaver as it was one of my pet hates in any game from the Gameboy era, bar platformers because all you need is to move and jump.
Another classic component Prodigal borrows from the Zelda series are dungeons. Like Zelda, Prodigal is filled with dungeons that get harder the more players progress into the game. The dungeons are like a training ground for the item found in the dungeon, basically like Zelda. As a Zelda fan, this was by far my favourite feature of the game, especially as it included a host of items unique to the game that had some fun qualities to them. For example, the first item player’s find is a glove that allows the character to go back to their last entrance spot, which really helps for the puzzles in the first dungeon, which were quite inventive if I say so myself.
What Prodigal does differently from the Zelda franchise is by far its most innovative feature and the feature I barely played with. That was as I am not much of a PC player, which is disappointing cause from what I experienced, it seemed quite fun trying to find love in this Zelda-like. Yep, you read that right; Prodigal allows the main character to marry one of his five female friends. I won’t say much because I didn’t do much of it, but I want to try more of it when I play the game more.
I know some people don’t like short games. Still, as someone that barely has enough time to play most games for a few hours, I think the average playtime (which is five hours) is perfect, and for players that want to spend more time with this amazing game, then it does have some nice end game content that will keep players coming back, with a harder dungeon and more.
Prodigal is an excellent Zelda-like with Gameboy era influences injected into its DNA that is a delight to play and look at. If you need a Gameboy Color esque game to hold you over until Nintendo release their back catalogue, then look no further than this gem in the rough.
A review code for Prodigal was provided by the developer Colorgrave games for the purpose of this review.
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PC
Summary Prodigal is an adventure puzzler akin to the old 2D adventure titles. The player returns home to reconnect with their community and perhaps even find a wife!
Platforms:
- PC
Initial Release Date: Oct 15, 2020
Developer:
- Colorgrave Inc.
Publisher: Colorgrave Inc.
Genres: