Frontier Hunter: Ezra’s Wheel Of Fortune [Early Access Review]

By: Mithrandiel

Am I a fan of anime?

Of course.

Do I enjoy sidescrolling action titles with moderately complex combat elements?

You bet.

Am I a sucker for cooking mechanics and (at times) exceedingly in depth systems of upgrading and optimizing skills, weapons and armor?

You know it.

With these things in mind, would I enjoy Frontier Hunter: Ezra’s Wheel of Fortune?

Without a doubt!

Frontier Hunter: Ezra’s Wheel of Fortune is a 2D sidescrolling metroidvania game from IceSitruuna that leads the titular character on a mission of exploration and recovery after her flagship crashes in untamed wilderness. She’s accompanied by an eccentric crew that fulfills pretty much every anime archetype imaginable, including an overeager deputy captain, and a lewd spirit that is seemingly confined to her hairpin.

While the narrative isn’t exactly gripping, Frontier Hunter leans into a gameplay system that takes Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and makes some adjustments to allow for a bit more depth and complexity.

You have a number of characters that you can play as and quickly switch between as you explore the world, and aside from the standard melee and ranged attacks, you can learn combat skills which can be executed in a very similar manner as you would in a fighting game.

These combat skills are complemented by magic abilities that can be executed by using the trigger buttons, rounding out the players’ combat abilities.

Ezra discovers a new combat technique!

To further complement the fighting styles of the various characters, as you defeat different monsters you will retrieve their “magic core”. This core is depicted as a block that can be placed within weapons or armor, with more powerful cores being larger and requiring higher level weapons to accommodate them.

The orientation of these magic cores can vary, so it can be reminiscent of arranging things in your Resident Evil inventory when you find the right cores that can complement one another. There is a unique sense of satisfaction when you find cores that fit just right.

Perhaps the most perplexing element of gameplay is the fact that it puts you in the cockpit of the spaceship early on and has you firing at oncoming asteroids? It felt more like a minigame than an actual substantive element of gameplay, and overall I was more confused than anything.

The visuals for Frontier Hunter are vibrant and colorful, but the style of the 3D graphics can feel a bit dated at times. This pain point really comes to the fore during cutscenes, when the rigidity of the models really can detract from the story at hand.

Still, the saturated colors definitely make the world as a whole feel rich and inviting to explore. It’s also enhanced by a well-scored soundtrack that often matches the fast-paced energy you’ll be feeling as you slice, dice, roundhouse kick and gatling-gun your way through enemies.

While the aesthetic may be vibrant and the dialogue can be goofy, the difficulty of the game is no joke. While the early encounters and bosses do their best to ease you into the combat, it’s not long before command over your combat skills and a keen eye for enemies’ attack patterns will be your only path to victory.

Overall, Frontier Hunter: Ezra’s Wheel Of Fortune is off to a promising start. If you’re a fan of the metroidvania genre, and particularly if you enjoyed Bloodstained, chances are you’ll enjoy exploring this game.

You can find Frontier Hunter: Ezra’s Wheel of Fortune on Steam.