Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster from Selecta Play and Dormidin Studio is a 2D Metroidvania inspired by the classics in the genre. Learn more about it in our Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster review!
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Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster from Selecta Play and Dormidin Studio is a 2D Metroidvania inspired by the classics in the genre. You used to be one of the Heroes of the Abyss, but are now only serving as a distraction for the masses, fighting for your life every day. And with the death of King Rohamir the Wise, things are about to take a turn for the worse, since there’s no chance his son will stick to the old pact. This is why you decide to do whatever it takes to escape… and end up following a very peculiar voice that beckons from deep in the catacombs. The voice belongs to a powerful yet cursed sword, which you take with you to help you survive, even if for only a bit longer.
Things quickly take a turn for the worse, with the new ruler of Imperia working alongside the Sacred Kingdom, using the services of one of the Last Wizards of Arborea: Trece XIII. It’s now time for the prophecy to be fulfilled, as a chosen one ventures onward to unite all men and beasts in order to once again bring back peace to the land.
Dormidin Studio was initially considering doing a Kickstarter campaign to secure the funding needed for working on the development of Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster. In the end, this was not needed since Selecta Play stepped in as the game’s publisher, allowing the indie developer to work on bringing us an experience that has been inspired by the beloved Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
The game will throw you straight into the action right away, presenting you with a short tutorial section that will teach you the basics. You’ll be taking control of your character by using the left analog stick, and you’ll use the Square button for your main attack. Block attacks by pressing the Circle button. If an enemy is glowing red, then that means that their next attack will be unstoppable… so don’t try to block it! Instead, you should
You can jump by pressing the X button. The longer you hold down the button, the higher and longer your jumps will be. Use the right stick to look around you as needed. That way, you’ll be able to better judge your jumps, so that you don’t end up falling on top of a trap or hazard, or are caught off guard by an enemy on a lower level.
Open up your inventory by pressing the Options button. From there, you’ll be able to assign items to your belt for quick access. You can then press the R1 button to use an equipped item from your belt. You’ll start with only a single slot on your belt, but will later be able to unlock additional slots. Since this one is a Metroidvania, you can press the Touchpad on the DualSense controller to check out your map. You’ll soon unlock the option of adding markers to the map, so that you can mark the spots where you need to go back to when you have the right ability, or where a big boss is located.
While exploring each area, be sure to make good use of the trees of the old gods that you’ll find. Resting at each one of these will allow you to fully recover all of your lost health while also saving your progress. On top of that, all of the trees of the old gods are connected thanks to the magic of Vidrialuz, so you’ll be able to easily quick travel between them.
Searching every single spot on the map is going to be very important, since you might end up finding some extra boxes to destroy so that you can collect the coins they contain. Or, you know, you might find a magical ring that you can then equip to aid you. One example is the Ring of the Nibelung, which will attract gold towards you thanks to its magnetic force.
Since this one is a Metroidvania, that means you’ll be gaining new abilities and skills that will, in turn, allow you to get to areas that would otherwise be out of reach. And, as the name suggests, since you’re the last of the Beastmasters, you’ll be able to use the souls of creatures! One example is the raging stampede, which uses the soul of the last gladiator bull. This one allows you to quickly dash on the ground or in the air. This can be used to push through enemies, as well as to clear longer gaps while jumping. Call upon the soul of the lung fish to have the fish swim around you to create a bubble in which you can breathe while exploring underwater.
The coins that you collect can be used to purchase a variety of items to aid you on your adventure. You could add some small health potions to your inventory, so that you can use them to restore 25% of your overall health. Get some antidotes to heal all status effects. Add a knife or two so that you can throw them from a safe distance and chip away at the health of your enemies. Or maybe you should get an explosive flask that will go BOOM once it lands. Do know these are all consumables, so once you use them, they’re gone, and you’ll need to buy more. You’ll also gain new sword techniques that you can purchase so that you can unleash special abilities with your stamina.
Trophy-wise, this one features a full trophy list with a Platinum trophy waiting for you. The list is split into 17 Bronze trophies, 13 Silver trophies, and 4 Gold trophies for you to work on. What will you need to do to add this shiny Platinum trophy to your collection? Along with the trophies that you’ll get for defeating each of the bosses that you’ll run into, there are also trophies for collecting at least 200,000 gold coins, hunting down all S-Tier enemies, learning all sword techniques, blocking 100 attacks, destroying 500 environment objects, defeating 500 enemies, and using 200 consumables, to name some examples.
Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster is a 2D Metroidvania inspired by the classics in the genre. You used to be one of the Heroes of the Abyss, but are now only serving as a distraction for the masses, fighting for your life every day. And with the death of King Rohamir the Wise, things are about to take a turn for the worse, since there’s no chance his son will stick to the old pact. This is why you decide to do whatever it takes to escape… and end up following a very peculiar voice that beckons from deep in the catacombs. The voice belongs to a powerful yet cursed sword, which you take with you to help you survive, even if for only a bit longer.
As you can tell from the trailer and screens in this Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster review, the game features a hand-drawn presentation that pays homage to classic videogames from the 1980s and 1990s, as well as to cult fantasy films and anime of the era. Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster launches today on PlayStation 5.
Disclaimer
This Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster review is based on a PlayStation 5 copy provided by Selecta Play.
