Angvik
- January 1, 2014
- Alastair John Jack
- 8h median play time
Get on Steam"Angvik is a single-player platformer game with exceptional graphics and a lighthearted but challenging setting. As the brave protagonist, players must reclaim their family's castle from a barbarian villain with only one life to spare. The 8-hour journey is filled with various creatures to battle, helpful birds and items, and stunning worlds to discover."
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a charming art style and pleasant soundtrack, creating a relaxing atmosphere despite its challenging gameplay.
- It offers a variety of characters and items, with unique mechanics like weapon durability and the ability to modify items with oils, adding depth to the gameplay.
- Players find the game addictive and enjoyable, with a sense of accomplishment from overcoming its difficulty, making it a good value for its low price.
- The game is very short, with limited levels and a lack of meaningful progression, leading to repetitive gameplay after a few runs.
- Controls are often described as clunky and awkward, making the gameplay frustrating, especially with the permadeath mechanic that forces players to restart from the beginning after each death.
- Many players feel that the game lacks true roguelike elements, as levels are not randomly generated, which diminishes replayability and excitement.
- gameplay60 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 73 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized as simple and basic, primarily focusing on platforming and combat mechanics, with a mix of challenging rogue-like elements. While some players appreciate the whimsical aesthetic and straightforward mechanics, others criticize the short length and lack of depth, leading to a sense of boredom. Overall, the game offers a fun yet punishing experience, though it may not satisfy those seeking more complex gameplay or longer content.
“The fun sounds and interactions wrapped in a colorful and lighthearted aesthetic conceal the very challenging and ruthless rogue-like gameplay.”
“It's a fun action roguelike that increases in difficulty with each completion, and doesn't have any complicated mechanics that take time to learn.”
“Overall, good platformer with relentless enemies and solid gameplay.”
“The art style is terrible, the gameplay is basic as hell.”
“Poor controls, boring gameplay and a shoehorned in inventory system.”
“The gameplay on the other hand is painfully unforgiving, forcing you to the edge of your seat at every moment.”
- graphics49 mentions
- 49 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising its cute and colorful art style that creates a lighthearted atmosphere, despite some criticism of the overall quality and detail. While some players find the visuals charming and fitting for the gameplay, others describe them as basic or poor, suggesting a disconnect between the aesthetic appeal and the gameplay experience. Overall, the art style is often highlighted as a standout feature, even as opinions vary on its execution and impact on the game.
“The atmosphere created by the music and graphics is very relaxing, even though the game can be challenging at times.”
“This is a wonderful game, in terms of the aesthetic used and the game mechanics.”
“Wonderful art style.”
“The art style is terrible, the gameplay is basic as hell.”
“The music is strange, textures and graphics are poor and the gameplay is terrible.”
“Don't let its cute, pretty, fuzzy-feeling graphics fool you.”
- replayability24 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players find value in exploring different character classes and achievements, others note that the limited content and short playtime diminish its long-term appeal. The randomized elements do provide some variety, but many feel it falls short compared to true roguelikes, leading to a consensus that replay value is decent but not exceptional.
“So there is definitely replay value in here if you decide to go for every achievement.”
“Decently high replayability if you're interested in playing as all the classes, although by the end of every run you'll probably end up looking nothing like what you started out as, so the classes only really define the first couple of stages of the game.”
“While the layout of the stages stays the same each playthrough, the location, type, and amount of monsters and items are randomized each game - which lends a ton of replay value and keeps it challenging.”
“Also, for a game with permadeath, it has very little replay value.”
“The 'game' in all takes about 10 minutes to beat once you understand how it works, and replay value is very low.”
“There's not much replay value for the same reason, that only some enemy spawns and items are randomized.”
- music22 mentions
- 55 % positive mentions
- 32 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for creating a relaxing and atmospheric experience, enhancing the overall enjoyment despite the game's challenges. While some reviewers find the music to be soothing and nostalgic, others describe it as mediocre, noting that it fits the game but doesn't significantly elevate it. Overall, the soundtrack contributes positively to the game's ambiance, though opinions on its quality vary.
“The music and art make this game an atmospheric, nostalgia-picking delight.”
“And this nice soothing music plays and it's all quite lovely really.”
“On a more neutral note, the music is decidedly mediocre: it fits, but it doesn't add much to the game.”
“The music is strange, textures and graphics are poor and the gameplay is terrible.”
“The atmosphere created by the music and graphics is very relaxing, even though the game can be challenging at times.”
- atmosphere20 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 35 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its calming and relaxing qualities, enhanced by a charming soundtrack and appealing visuals. Players appreciate how it provides a soothing counterbalance to the challenging gameplay, making it a delightful experience to unwind with. Overall, the game's atmosphere is described as nostalgic and peaceful, contributing significantly to its appeal.
“The music and art make this game an atmospheric, nostalgia-picking delight.”
“The atmosphere is all calm and peace.”
“The atmosphere created by the music and graphics is very relaxing, even though the game can be challenging at times.”
“Angvik is a simple platformer with a couple of neat ideas and a very charming atmosphere.”
- humor14 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features a unique blend of humor, juxtaposing cute characters with unexpectedly lethal gameplay, which many players find amusing. While some feel the humor is not consistently entertaining, others appreciate the funny graphics and character designs, contributing to an enjoyable experience that encourages repeated play despite frequent deaths. Overall, the humor adds a lighthearted charm to the game, enhancing its appeal.
“It's a funny idea that the cutest little creatures murder the crap out of you with the slightest touch despite plate armor.”
“Funny characters, the king and the common guy are a better choice for beginners.”
“I must say, getting this game, I really didn't expect much. I figured it would be a cheap short game that I could blow through and never play again, but I have to be honest, it's really enjoyable. I die and I find myself retrying instantly to get back where I last died and surpass my last point, and it helps that the world is pretty nice to look at and the characters and enemies are designed to look pretty funny.”
- story11 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The reviews present a mixed perspective on the story aspect, with some praising its simplicity and character design, while others criticize the lack of a discernible narrative or objectives. Many users feel that the game is more focused on gameplay mechanics than storytelling, with the art style compensating for the minimal plot. Overall, those seeking a rich narrative may find the experience lacking.
“Great, simple story, items, and characters.”
“When I was a wee young thing, my brother and I spent hours of our lives playing Super Ghouls and Ghosts in a quest to gain the wisdom and patience that can only be learned by dying over and over while pursuing a futile goal.”
“There's no story here.”
“There is no discernible story by any means, but the art creates the fantastic world quite well.”
“No story, extremely short play time.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players consistently find the grinding aspect of the game to be highly tedious and annoying, indicating a lack of enjoyment in repetitive tasks.
“Highly tedious; highly annoying.”
“Highly tedious; highly annoying.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, users report that the game experiences a few minor bugs and glitches, but these issues do not significantly impact overall stability.
“There are a few bugs or maybe minor glitches.”
“There are a few bugs or maybe minor glitches.”
