Lately, it feels prefer it takes much more for a Metroidvania to face out from the pack, particularly when there are such a lot of glorious titles which have already proven impressively inventive takes on the style requirements. Pronty from Taiwanese indie developer 18Light makes its bid in your consideration by plopping gamers in a darkish, deep-sea setting that may be freely explored in all instructions. It has some points right here or there, however Pronty total does an important job of presenting gamers with an sometimes difficult and at all times alluring journey that looks like a welcome addition to a crowded style.
Pronty locations you within the position of the eponymous aquatic creature who wakes up on their birthday wanting to lastly develop into an official Protector for the undersea human metropolis of Royla. Nonetheless, whereas working by some coaching drills with their robotic swordfish companion, Bront, an evil big fish named Raksha assaults and all Protectors are instantly known as in to defend the town. On condition that Pronty was stationed at an outpost that’s on the very fringe of the frontier, they’ve a lengthy journey forward earlier than they’ll be a part of within the counteroffensive and there are numerous overt and delicate hints alongside the way in which that the injury to Royla is far worse than it first appeared.
Total, it’s an honest sufficient plot, although it clearly doesn’t take heart stage right here. Most of what you study Roylan society—and thus, the broader context of what you’re speculated to be combating for—is gleaned from numerous knowledge logs and such that you simply gather whereas exploring, supplemented by occasional directive feedback from Bront. In any other case, most of your expertise with Pronty is spent quietly marveling on the beautiful sunken locales and combating off hostile fish.
Due to this, it looks like there’s a little bit of a disconnect between the narrative and gameplay, because it typically doesn’t appear to be Pronty is basically shifting the plot ahead or doing something related to the bigger battle. Even so, the lore that you simply slowly uncover nonetheless manages to be fascinating and retains you desirous to discover extra to uncover extra of the thriller of this subaquatic civilization. Different video games resembling Blasphemous and Hole Knight could have finished a greater job of telling a narrative that principally takes place within the background, however Pronty nonetheless left us feeling glad.
Gameplay follows the normal Metroidvania design of exploring a giant, interconnected map, powering up with collectibles and new skills, and killing a bunch of baddies and managers alongside the way in which. In fact, the large gimmick right here is that it’s all underwater, so environments and fight encounters are designed round having 360 levels of motion. Although Pronty strikes a bit of extra sluggishly than we want, motion nonetheless feels clean total, and there’s a pleasant quantity of enemy selection to maintain you in your toes and push you to strive completely different methods.
Fight is dealt with through a fairly fascinating system by which Pronty doesn’t truly do any of the attacking. As an alternative, they direct their companion Bront to assault foes in a method that feels type of like a twin-stick shooter crossed with the fight seen in Ori and the Blind Forest. Bront assaults each time you faucet the ‘ZR’ button and also you select targets by rotating the suitable keep on with lock on. Maintain down ‘ZR’, and Bront will rush to Pronty and spin round them, performing as each a protect and a close-range weapon that damages something that tries to the touch Pronty. It’s an fascinating battle system that’s bolstered by the skills you slowly purchase, however it feels prefer it by no means fairly comes collectively in addition to it may.
It may be awkward and clunky, for instance, whenever you’re being rushed by a number of enemies and should preserve the suitable stick educated on the one you need to hit, all whereas furiously tapping ‘ZR’ and utilizing the left keep on with strive maneuvering Pronty round incoming assaults. Plus, it looks like Bront simply doesn’t do sufficient injury for a lot of the sport, particularly when combating bosses. Later skills like a cost assault or everlasting boosts to your injury assist add to your offensive functionality, however we might’ve preferred it if foes have been rather less spongy.
That mentioned, we did respect the real problem supplied in most boss fights. Whereas fights in opposition to particular person enemies hardly ever show to be too tough to beat, every boss options a number of phases of progressively extra punishing assaults which might be certain to bury you a couple of occasions earlier than you be taught the timing and tells. Not one of the fights really feel overwhelming, however we have been reminded occasionally of the harder bosses in Metroid Dread that demand expert and exact play to say victory. And whereas Pronty is clearly designed for this degree of problem, it provides choices for gamers who need one thing a bit of completely different. Those that are postpone by problem can at all times play on the simplest ‘story’ mode, whereas those that like a bit of extra ache can select to play on harder difficulties that not solely make the numbers much less truthful, but in addition add new assaults to every boss’s arsenal.
Once you’re not busy combating in your life, you’ll spend time exploring all kinds of creepy and serene undersea locales rife with collectibles and secrets and techniques to uncover. Backtracking to earlier areas to unlock outdated paths with new skills is frequent right here (and made extra handy by a useful quick journey system), although we might characterize the general expertise as being fairly linear. These of you preferring a Metroidvania that takes off the leash and allows you to discover issues for your self could also be a bit upset right here, because it feels such as you’re often railroaded into the following part with out a lot option to deviate. This isn’t strictly a nasty factor, and it does are inclined to open up extra after you get previous the primary few hours, although it does really feel prefer it may’ve taken higher benefit of the distinctive undersea setting. In spite of everything, having the ability to transfer in all instructions is a bit much less alluring whenever you’re typically not truly allowed to go very far in most instructions.
Once you do stray off the overwhelmed path, we appreciated that Pronty adequately rewards your efforts. Whether or not it’s a brand new problem room you may attempt to endure, a brand new little bit of lore that fleshes out extra of the backstory, or a brand new improve for the Reminiscence Board (extra on that in a bit), there’s at all times one thing worthwhile to search out. Add all these collectibles collectively together with the potential for a number of endings, and there’s a lot to do in Pronty if you wish to go for 100% completion. Better of all, it doesn’t really feel like a slog to scour maps as you’re typically going to search out one thing extra fascinating than a fundamental stat enhance.
For instance, one of the vital frequent finds is a brand new improve in your Reminiscence Board, which is a shameless copy of the charms system in Hole Knight. Every improve for the board gives you a novel buff like rushing up your stamina restoration, giving particular assaults new secondary results, or boosting your mobility. Nonetheless, you solely have restricted (although expandable) room in your reminiscence board to fit upgrades, so it’s important to be picky together with your construct and infrequently should cycle issues out and in to satisfy new challenges. It might make extra sense, for instance, to go together with a selected construct to beat a boss, then change afterward to one thing that’s higher for coping with crowd management. We loved the additional dimension this added to each fight and exploration, because it’s at all times a thrill to search out new upgrades and check them out in new builds.
Visually, Pronty makes use of an exquisite hand-drawn artwork fashion that does an important job of promoting the spooky however peaceable vibe of this undersea world. The artwork deco-inspired structure naturally brings BioShock to thoughts, and there’s a pervasive sense of quiet surprise as you swim previous outdated, waterlogged posters and shattered stained glass home windows. There’s a really lonely feeling one will get exploring these environments, even whereas accompanied by Bront, and that ambiance permeates Pronty throughout its ten(ish)-hour runtime.
That is supplemented by a lightweight contact soundtrack that punctuates the underwater sounds with quiet tunes that add to the mystique of every locale. A lot of the soundscape right here is outlined by numerous feels like speeding water and bubbles, whereas sluggish violins and strings are available in each right here and there to spotlight new discoveries. We cherished this chill strategy to the soundtrack and felt that it really works properly with the general tone that Pronty is clearly going for.
Conclusion
Pronty could have some minor flaws, however that is total a really strong Metroidvania that does so much to set itself other than the pack. Issues just like the spectacular ambiance, difficult boss fights, and oodles of worthwhile collectibles preserve drawing you additional into the expertise, whereas the promise of a number of endings will preserve you coming again for extra. And although fight feels prefer it may use a bit of extra tightening up, it’s actually a novel system that matches properly with the underwater setting. Should you’re in any respect a fan of Metroidvanias, we’d encourage you to choose this one up; it’s not an absolute must-play, however it is a pretty, difficult, and completely pleasurable undersea romp.