Worldless [Review]
Worldless is a challenging, visually stunning, multigenre chimera.
Image: Noname Studios / Coatsink / Thunderful
I don’t think I’ve played a game quite like Worldless before. It’s classified as a metroidvania, but it’s not quite that, or maybe more than that. Yes, it’s a 2D platformer where you must gain abilities that allow you to reach new areas, but the core of the game and its real test of skill is in the combat encounters.
Combat is unusual for a metroidvania; each fight is a turn based and fighting hybrid. On your turn, you have a timer during which you may combo various attacks with a heavy emphasis on timing. On the enemy’s turn, you have the opportunity to negate and sometimes counter attacks with precision button presses corresponding to attack type.
Image: Noname Studios / Coatsink / Thunderful
The game doesn’t have small enemies, rather every fight is a miniboss or boss encounter. Some are punishingly difficult, grueling tests of endurance, where a few missteps will make you lose. Thankfully there’s no death; you get kicked out of the fight and can try again with full health. True victory is achieved by filling the enemy’s stagger gauge and then absorbing its powers rather than damaging its health. Once you defeat each enemy, you won’t encounter it again unless you fail to end the battle with absorption.
None of this gets truly interesting until a certain encounter an hour or two into the game which doubles your move-set both in combat and traversal. The event is story related, so I won’t spoil it here.
Speaking of story, there’s only a vague notion of it and I can’t say that I really understood it. A few sparse bits of dialogue didn’t help. These should have just been cut in favor of visual and environmental storytelling.
Image: Noname Studios / Coatsink / Thunderful
Wordless has a simple yet distinct art style. Each biome is monochromatic. Levels are built out of smooth lines and shapes, but are given depth and ambiance with deeply layer parallax, particle, and fog effects. Characters and enemies are made out of flat, solid shapes, brought to life with buttery smooth animation with great attention to detail. The game is eye candy once it gets going.
I enjoyed the game overall but the combat often left me frustrated. It feels great when it clicks and you learn how to defeat a tough enemy, but I can imagine a lot of players giving up due to frustration with the precision and reflexes required. Noname Studios and Coatsink’s Worldless is an interesting hybrid of genres and ideas, mixing metroidvania, RPG, and fighting game mechanics without any of them feeling out of place. It’s just a little more difficult than you might expect.
Worldless is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
