Infernax Review: Hell Cometh
Challenge and pain are no stranger to a knight of old. In Bezerk Studio’s latest side scrolling adventure, the challenge within Infernax is as abundant as its retro inspirations. Infernax impresses with its sense of scale courtesy of a classic story of adventures to far off lands. Scale paired with a phenomenal soundtrack, diverse dungeons and enemies, an array of secrets to find and puzzles to conquer, Infernax stays entertaining, fresh, and brutally difficult throughout the adventure.
I Need a Hero
Infernax follows the famed duke and knight Alcedor, who upon returning to his homeland of Upel finds that it has been stricken by unholy magic for the past year. His people are helpless, demons are scouring the land, and the holy citadel is sealed shut by a demonic rune powered by five gems. Alcedor sets off across Upel to break the seal by slaying the five abominations that each give the seal a portion of its power from within their respective castles.
An interesting juxtaposition to the obvious retro inspirations of Infernax is the choice to include branching narratives based on key player choices. Every now and again the game will stop and force a choice that’s usually tied to moral stances. These choices will often take effect immediately, but can also echo into later portions of the game changing the way your journey as Alcedor ends. In one instance, I chose to kill a man who I knew was in the process of transforming into a demon. In fact, he even pleaded to be killed before it was too late. However, upon doing the deed, a witness saw me. Later in the game, I ran into that witness in a town who turned out to be his wife. Not knowing of her husband's pleas and inevitable transformation, she understandably scolded me and locked me out of her house, impeding any interaction or potential questline I could have gotten from her.
This mechanic feels unique given the retro inspirations and will certainly be interesting to see how others’ playthrough may differ from my own. The question of what my adventure and conclusion would’ve looked like had I made different choices is also an interesting thought. Branching narrative paths could be enough of a reason to prompt more playthroughs from players hungry to experience all aspects of the narrative.
It’s Dangerous To Go Alone…
Between the bloodthirsty demons, dangerous terrain, and a group of ominous red cloaked strangers, the Duchy of Upel is a brutal and unforgiving world. Infernax’s gameplay reflects that unforgiving brutality. The challenge often stems from timing jumps correctly to avoid traps, knowing enemy types and understanding the most effective way to dispatch them, and some good old fashioned projectile avoidance. I don’t often seek out punishing games, however I'm no stranger to a challenge either. With that being said, Infernax is no easy game to get through. There were plenty of profanities murmured through my teeth and exclaimed in frustration. The first castle took well over a couple dozen times to conquer before finally besting the boss within. It’s important to state that a good deal of the challenge also stems from minimal save points. Save points come in the form of periodic shrines where you’ll be upgrading your skills. In turn, the perfect run through a castle, including gold and experience collected, could amount to nothing with just one misplaced jump or ill timed swing.
This applies to venturing in the overworld as well. With a day and night cycle that determines the type of enemies that are present in the world, and just as many pitfalls as a castle, the chance of making one poor choice may be common if not careful. If the frustration of that perfect run being swept out from under you is too much, however, there is a casual mode. Casual mode doesn’t nerf enemy attacks or buff your own, but rather provides players with an extra life. Additionally, a portion of gold and XP remain upon death. I found this to be a nice compromise to the usual easy modes. It doesn’t mitigate the difficulty of the game, but instead allows the player an extra chance to sharpen their skills and potentially spot the place where their tactics fell flat. So instead of making it to the next room in the castle or section of the world, dying promptly, and then restarting the whole run, you’ll be given an extra opportunity to overcome the obstacle that bested you. This ultimately helps player skills become sharpened in an organic way.
While Infernax never loses its challenging edge, it does a good job of drip feeding the player skills and tools that make a growth in power feel dramatic. The sense of well-paced progression makes dealing with certain enemies or situations far more tolerable and downright fun. Progressing through the adventure comes with side quests and merchants that offer tools and equipment such as health potions, new gear, and even new attacks that can greatly increase your chances of survival. The shrines serve as the home to upgrade base stats like health and mana, which in turn increase defense and make casting spells much easier. Drip fed progression along the journey makes for a more diversified combat experience and what felt like a far more accessible yet still equally demanding overall experience in the late game. All in all, Infernax finds balance and fantastic pacing within its sense of challenge.
Doom, Gloom, and Retro Tunes
Infernax wears its influences on its sleeve taking heavy inspirations from Castlevania 2 and The Legend of Zelda 2. It’s immediately noticeable with its overall aesthetic, but within the animation work as well. Most prominently, Alcedor’s death animations are reminiscent of Link’s Adventure. While the art direction echoes the 8-bit and 16-bit style of the time, the brutality and gore of the game still stood out in a more modern presentation. Scenery manages to pull a significant reaction out of the player, setting the tone for the world and the often horribly dangerous, vile locations within. Alongside the faithful yet modern aesthetic, however, is a fantastic chiptune soundtrack reminiscent of that retro era. Each location has its own track, and taking things one step further, different variations pending day or night. Infernax counterbalanced punishing me with its gameplay by gracing me with such a killer soundtrack. I found myself humming the daytime theme for the lands around Darsov more often than not, and oftentimes this was long after I had put my controller down. Whether it was in the shower, cooking, or doing any sort of everyday tasks, I'd find myself humming songs from Infernax. If that’s not a sign of a great soundtrack, then I don't know what is.
Breakdown
Game: Infernax
Developer: Berserk Studio
Availability: PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Reviewed on PC
Pros:
+ Fun ‘simple to learn, hard to master’ gameplay
+ Challenge with purpose
+ Casual Mode
+ Memorable side quests
+ Secret bosses
+ Branching narrative choices
+ Great soundtrack
Cons:
- An unforgiving first couple hours could deter players
Final Thoughts
Infernax is a love letter to the action-adventure games of old while simultaneously excelling in the modern definition of the genre. The punishment of the first few hours can be infuriating, but it’s equally informative on how to approach obstacles. Delivering a balanced experience, Alcedor’s quest through the lands of Upel sticks the landing in the sweet spot between challenge and fun. The world’s brutality creates a driving force in overcoming the challenges throughout no matter how tight the controller is being gripped. Better yet, the sweet release that comes with victory is worth seeing the adventure through to the very end.
Reviewed by Justin Hyde