Eagle Island
- July 9, 2019
- Pixelnicks
- 93h median play time
A refreshing hybrid of Metroidvania and roguelite, unfortunately hampered by inconsequential power-ups.
"Eagle Island is a single-player fantasy platformer game with excellent mechanics, graphics, and music. In Eagle Island, soar through the skies with Quill and Koji, or explore diverse levels with Fia and Kusako in Eagle Island Twist. Battle fauna, flora, and bosses, collect coins, seeds, and manaroc, and navigate challenging retro-style platforming in over 45 handcrafted stages."
Mac OS
Nintendo Switch
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- Eagle Island features beautiful pixel art and a charming aesthetic, with engaging music that enhances the gameplay experience.
- The game offers a unique blend of roguelite and platforming elements, providing a satisfying challenge with a variety of enemies and mechanics that encourage experimentation.
- Accessibility features are extensive, making the game enjoyable for players of all abilities, and the developer is responsive to community feedback, continuously improving the game.
- The controls can feel clunky and imprecise, particularly when aiming and executing combos, which can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences.
- The game's difficulty can be punishing, with long levels and limited health, making it feel overly challenging for some players, especially when combined with the roguelite mechanics.
- Many players find the power-up system to be underwhelming, as upgrades are often temporary and do not significantly impact gameplay, leading to a sense of repetitiveness.
- gameplay45 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Eagle Island is characterized by its unique mechanics and challenging platforming, offering a blend of fun and frustration. While many players appreciate the extensive accessibility features and the depth of the combo system, some find the mechanics clunky and the gameplay loop repetitive, particularly in relation to the roguelite elements. Overall, the game is praised for its visuals and music, but opinions vary on the execution of its core gameplay mechanics.
“Not only is this a fantastic platformer with great visuals, music, and gameplay, but it's got an extensive set of accessibility features that surpasses most games.”
“Eagle Island’s gameplay is very unique, and feels both fun and satisfying once you get decent at it.”
“Great graphics, mechanics that take some practice but are extremely fun when you finally master them and great dungeons.”
“I found the mechanics to be too clunky and the design choices are not for me (limited uses of alternate weapons, need to combo to get hearts and ammo, enemies are not always set up for combos, upgrades are temporary).”
“Unfortunately, if the core gameplay isn't for me, it doesn't really matter what I think of the rest of the game.”
“The combo system (a core mechanic) is not satisfying, especially when none of the rooms have enough enemies in them to get the combo count you need for health.”
- story33 mentions
- 12 % positive mentions
- 79 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The story in Eagle Island is described as straightforward and simplistic, primarily revolving around a bird kidnapping plot with minimal character development and narration. While the visuals and gameplay mechanics are polished, the narrative feels lacking and repetitive, leading to a sense of emptiness in the overworld. Despite these shortcomings, the game offers engaging roguelike elements and a variety of challenges that enhance replayability for players seeking more depth.
“Eagle Island is the perfection of the 'roguelite' genre - a story mode with roguelike dungeons, adjustable difficulty that rewards skillful play but doesn't require it for completion, and extra post-game challenges for replay value and challenge for people who want more.”
“I finally finished the story mode part of the game and I feel like it's time to write a review of this amazing piece of art.”
“It took me almost 39 hours to beat the story mode on lite (aka easy) difficulty with a 99% completion rate, but it felt so good to finally beat the game after some serious (but always fun) fights against bosses and increasingly challenging dungeons.”
“The story is very simplistic.”
“Bird kidnaps bird, fight the said bird and find other slight predictable twists in the story until you reach the end.”
“But, we need to take one thing into consideration, there is almost no narration and most of the story is told through very short in-game animations in the same graphics, not a simple cutscene that looks different.”
- graphics26 mentions
- 54 % positive mentions
- 35 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their vibrant art style and attention to detail, creating a visually appealing experience that complements the gameplay. Many reviewers highlight the beautiful pixel visuals and diverse environments, although some express disappointment with the graphics in the DLC content. Overall, the combination of stunning visuals and a fitting soundtrack enhances the game's overall atmosphere and enjoyment.
“Not only is this a fantastic platformer with great visuals, music, and gameplay, but it's got an extensive set of accessibility features that surpasses most games.”
“The game's pixel visuals are gorgeous and there are many different types of environments to experience throughout the game.”
“The super nice and colorful graphics, the general mood/vibe, the on-point soundtrack, the tough challenge, etc...everything is glorious in this game!”
“While I understand that it isn't strictly using pixel graphics with some of the effects, a similar game such as Dead Cells performs beautifully by comparison.”
“But, I have been very disappointed by the twist DLC's map graphics.”
“Although, I still find the twist DLC map to be too basic and feels very basic compared to the professional quality of the level graphics.”
- music17 mentions
- 59 % positive mentions
- 24 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its quality and ability to enhance the overall experience, featuring a blend of beautiful, relaxing tunes and intense tracks that fit the gameplay perfectly. Reviewers highlight the soundtrack's memorability and its seamless integration with the game's aesthetic, comparing it favorably to classic titles like Donkey Kong Country. Overall, the music complements the vibrant art style and engaging gameplay, contributing to a well-rounded and enjoyable experience.
“Not only is this a fantastic platformer with great visuals, music, and gameplay, but it's got an extensive set of accessibility features that surpasses most games.”
“Eagle Island's soundtrack enhances the gameplay experience even further, with beautiful and relaxing tunes that blend seamlessly into intense boss music at the right moments!”
“The music is very well adapted to the game and is very recognizable.”
“When you hear that intro sound, you know it's Eagle Island, and that's how music should make you feel.”
“The soundtrack truly succeeds in creating a similar vibe to that given off in games like the Donkey Kong Country series.”
- replayability7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The game offers strong replayability through its procedural generation, diverse challenges, and adjustable difficulty, appealing to both casual and skilled players. While the inclusion of post-game challenges and modes like weekly speedruns enhances replay value, some players note that after completing the main content, the experience can become repetitive, slightly diminishing replayability. Overall, it remains a solid choice for those seeking a challenging platformer with multiple gameplay options.
“The procedural generation gives the game even more replay value as each run presents many small challenges and encourages you to learn the weaknesses of each enemy rather than just mastering a specific layout of rooms.”
“Eagle Island is the perfection of the 'roguelite' genre - a story mode with roguelike dungeons, adjustable difficulty that rewards skillful play but doesn't require it for completion, and extra post-game challenges for replay value and challenge for those who want more.”
“I feel there is some replayability with harder campaign modes, weekly speedruns, and trying to achieve better ranks on the dungeons.”
“I must say though that after completing the story mode and rogue mode, the replayability drops down a little because the levels do get repetitive and the death/restart system gets annoying.”
“I feel there is some replayability with harder campaign modes, weekly speedruns, trying to get better ranks on the dungeons.”
“In a nutshell, I would recommend this game to anyone, especially to people who want a real nice and challenging platformer with a lot of replayability.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, often feeling like they are merely collecting items rather than improving their skills. The frequent need to switch between items during combat can detract from the overall enjoyment, as many enemies can be defeated easily with the main character.
“I'll end up improving, but it's easy to not focus on that and feel like you're just grinding items.”
“It's rather tedious to keep switching back to them between combos when you can pretty much wail on most baddies with your main character.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, characterized by its engaging and immersive environment, complemented by impressive boss designs that enhance the overall experience.
“The atmosphere is incredibly immersive, making every moment feel intense and engaging.”
“The game's world is beautifully crafted, with a haunting atmosphere that draws you in.”
“Each location is filled with unique details that contribute to a rich and captivating atmosphere.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been criticized, with users reporting performance issues that detract from the overall experience.
“My last complaint about the game is its performance.”
“The game frequently lags and stutters, making it frustrating to play.”
“I encountered numerous bugs that severely impacted my gaming experience.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express frustration with the game's controls, noting that the mechanics can lead to unintended consequences that heighten tension and emotional stakes during gameplay. The challenge of navigating precarious situations while aiming adds a layer of stress, making encounters feel more intense and emotionally charged.
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is generally commendable, with only minor glitches affecting speech that may hinder control understanding without external assistance. Despite this, the gameplay remains very playable.
“There are frequent crashes that disrupt gameplay, making it hard to enjoy the experience.”
“The game is riddled with bugs that cause it to freeze unexpectedly, which is incredibly frustrating.”
“I encountered several stability issues that led to my progress being lost, which is unacceptable.”
- character development1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is perceived as lacking, with players noting that despite the impressive visuals, the story and character arcs feel underdeveloped and incomplete.
“It's a shame, because you can tell a lot of work went into the look of the game, but it just ends up feeling kind of incomplete in terms of story and character development.”
“The characters lack depth and their development feels rushed, making it hard to connect with them.”
“I was disappointed by how predictable the character arcs were; there was no real growth or change throughout the game.”
