Odallus: The Dark Call

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Odallus: The Dark Call is a single player platformer game with fantasy, historical and violence themes. It was developed by JoyMasher and was released on July 15, 2015. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

Odallus is a NES inspired exploration game with lots of action. It brings elements of classics such as Ghosts’n Goblins, Demon’s Crest and Castlevania while subverting some modern twists.

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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87%

Audience ScoreBased on 764 reviews

graphics87 positive mentions

grinding25 negative mentions

Nostalgic 8-bit graphics and sound that capture the essence of classic NES games.
Challenging but fair gameplay with a good difficulty curve that encourages exploration.
Engaging level design with multiple paths and secrets to discover, enhancing replayability.

Clunky controls and hitboxes that can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences.
Some levels, particularly the mine cart and underwater sections, can feel tedious and poorly designed.
The story and dialogue are minimal and sometimes poorly translated, lacking depth and coherence.

graphics
205 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
56%
2%
The graphics of "Odallus: The Dark Call" are widely praised for their authentic retro aesthetic, effectively capturing the charm of NES-era titles like Castlevania with detailed pixel art and a limited color palette. Reviewers highlight the game's crisp visuals, impressive enemy designs, and atmospheric environments that enhance the overall experience, making it a nostalgic treat for fans of classic 2D action platformers. While some note minor graphical issues, the overall presentation is considered a strong point, successfully blending modern sensibilities with a vintage style.
- “The pixel art graphics are stunning, and the attention to detail is impressive.”
- “The graphics are really the one bit worth gushing over; they're an impressive, Nordic take on Castlevania's gothic shtick, executed wonderfully in a late-NES style.”
- “Visually, it utilizes the best aesthetic sensibilities of NES-era titles like Castlevania to create something that is both atmospheric and complementary to the game's mechanics.”
- “Jump around and hack up your enemies, collect keys and make an appointment to see an eye doctor after the ugly retro pixel graphics permanently damage your eyesight.”
- “The graphics were okay, but the sprite you controlled was rather clunky and the movements were jolted.”
- “Compared to a 20-year-old game from Amiga called Shadow of the Beast, this game is vastly inferior in every aspect - graphics, gameplay, art, music, everything.”
music
192 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
51%
2%
The music in the game is a notable highlight, featuring a nostalgic chiptune soundtrack that effectively complements the dark atmosphere and retro aesthetic. While many players appreciate the catchy and evocative tracks, some find certain pieces repetitive or irritating, with mixed opinions on the overall quality. Overall, the soundtrack is generally well-received, enhancing the gameplay experience despite some criticisms regarding its repetitiveness and occasional lack of inspiration.
- “The soundtrack nails the eerie atmosphere too—chiptune with dread baked into the composition.”
- “The game has a great soundtrack that perfectly fits the game's dark and eerie atmosphere.”
- “The music fits well with the dark atmosphere and retro style.”
- “On the negative side, most of the music was pretty middling to me (but your mileage may vary).”
- “I quite literally turned off the dull, droning, repetitive funeral parlor music after an hour and loaded up the Dawn of Sorrow OST behind it instead.”
- “Unfortunately, the soundtrack isn't really great; most of it is forgettable.”
gameplay
189 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
68%
3%
The gameplay of "Odallus: The Dark Call" is a nostalgic homage to classic titles like Castlevania, featuring tight controls, a mix of retro and modern mechanics, and a satisfying metroidvania structure that encourages exploration and backtracking. While many players appreciate the old-school aesthetic and challenging yet fair difficulty, some criticize the level design and certain mechanics as repetitive or frustrating. Overall, the game successfully captures the essence of retro platformers while introducing enough variety to keep the experience engaging.
- “The gameplay is pretty great and well-balanced for the most part, introducing the traditional metroidvania format to a classic Castlevania setting.”
- “Moment to moment gameplay is tight and combat is extremely well refined.”
- “The gameplay stays fresh all the way through, the difficulty is tough but fair, and the graphics look great.”
- “But gameplay is just boring, mainly because of the dull level layout and enemy placement.”
- “The idea to the game is nice, but the gameplay is garbage.”
- “The gameplay certainly does.”
story
144 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
65%
6%
The story of the game centers on Haggis, a warrior on a quest to find his lost son in a dark, dystopian world filled with challenging bosses and lore-rich environments. While some players appreciate the engaging yet minimal narrative presented through exploration and cryptic clues, others find it confusing and poorly executed, with a lack of depth and clarity in the plot. Overall, the story is seen as a mixed bag—entertaining for some, but ultimately falling short of its potential due to its obscure presentation and underdeveloped elements.
- “The game's story is simple but effective, and it does a great job of keeping you engaged.”
- “The world and story created for this game are very interesting with cohesive elements of lore and characters, culminating in a super interesting plot in the last stage.”
- “It's got a dark story about gods abandoning the world and one man's quest to find his son and reclaim what little joy there is to be had in his life.”
- “The story was incomprehensible, even after finding all the runestones.”
- “The visuals and music are excellently crafted, but the world-building is hampered by an incredibly obtuse plot and terrible dialogue.”
- “The 'story' is horse trash, the text is riddled with spelling and grammatical errors, and the text is displayed on the screen excruciatingly slowly.”
atmosphere
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
46%
8%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its dark, eerie quality, effectively enhanced by a fitting soundtrack that evokes nostalgia for classic titles like Castlevania and Metroid. While the pixel art and level design contribute to a haunting ambiance, some players noted that certain pop-culture references and typos detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game successfully captures a retro aesthetic, creating a compelling atmosphere that resonates with fans of the genre.
- “The game has a great soundtrack that perfectly fits the game's dark and eerie atmosphere.”
- “Backgrounds and monsters are rife with detail despite the simple 8-bit approach, and the whole adventure exudes a lovely dark fantasy atmosphere that's strengthened by some great boss quotes and snippets of lore scattered about.”
- “The game has a dark serious atmosphere similar to 'Mystic Defender' and other 8-bit and 16-bit action-adventure games.”
- “The atmosphere of the game is haunting, in the same way how Castlevania just really nailed the feel.”
- “Right from the first minute experience, Odallus: The Dark Call exudes atmosphere 'old' with 8-bit graphics, sounds and motifs of a monochrome classic hero.”
grinding
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
96%
The reviews highlight a mixed experience with grinding in the game, where some players find it tedious and a source of frustration, particularly when it comes to backtracking for resources and lives. While the initial gameplay is engaging, the need to grind for consumables and the lack of a map can lead to a sense of busywork, especially in later levels. However, others appreciate the exploration and upgrades, suggesting that grinding can be a double-edged sword that detracts from the overall enjoyment.
- “Bosses are my favorite kind: 20% dodge, 80% facetank (normal mode). They have clear and fast attacks with no tedious waiting and generous checkpoints.”
- “Grinding in this game feels rewarding, as each battle brings me closer to unlocking new abilities and gear.”
- “The grind is satisfying; every level up feels like a significant achievement, and the progression system keeps me engaged.”
- “The tedious prospect of grinding for lives just to attempt the final boss over and over again prompted me to give up; that's not fun, it's busywork.”
- “Ok for the first two hours, Odallus grows very stale upon entering its 'Devil's Peak' level which requires going back to former levels and farming coins, in the game's broken economy, to keep stocked on torch consumables so that you can simply move from area to area by burning down walls.”
- “It was an enjoyable game for a few hours, but sadly it went all 80s with the final boss: mandatory crawl through high level enemies, 3-stage battle (tedious, tediouser, tediousest), which I cheated my way through (it wasn't worth the few more hours it needed to beat it).”
stability
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is frequently criticized, with users reporting various bugs, glitches, and unresponsive controls that can disrupt gameplay. While some players appreciate the nostalgic feel of these issues reminiscent of 90s games, many find them frustrating, particularly instances of freezing and camera problems. Overall, the game offers a fun experience, but its stability issues are a significant drawback.
- “Game is a buggy half-assed mess.”
- “Sometimes it goes well, sometimes it just 'freezes,' overlapping the game and the only way out is pausing and going back to the map!”
- “Really really fun game, but every time I get to the boss of world 3, my game freezes and becomes unresponsive.”
replayability
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
69%
8%
23%
Overall, the game offers a solid level of replayability due to its multiple difficulty settings, branching paths, and numerous secrets to discover. Players can enjoy experimenting with different routes and strategies, as well as pursuing optional achievements and speedrunning challenges. While some users feel the replay value may be limited, many agree that the engaging level design and hidden content provide ample incentive to revisit the game.
- “It also has a good amount of replay value, what with the harder difficulty option (which changes the levels too), and the optional achievements.”
- “With plenty of secrets to find and a veteran mode, there is a good amount of replayability.”
- “A very difficult game, with branching paths and ways to clear a level make for high replayability.”
- “Not much replay value, but my first run through the game was satisfying.”
- “It's not a long game by any means, but it has replayable options with hard mode and speedrunning.”
- “Levels are incredibly well designed and usually work around multiple routes towards the same end, so you can experiment a lot, giving the game a fair amount of replay value in that regard.”
humor
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
86%
43%
The humor in the game is hit-or-miss, with occasional amusing references to classic titles like Castlevania II, particularly during the final boss encounter. While some players appreciate the quirky monster designs and the absurdity of certain mechanics, others find the attempts at humor in serious contexts to be inconsistent and lacking depth. Overall, the game features a few funny moments, but it doesn't consistently deliver a strong comedic experience.
- “Not only does Castle in the Darkness get everything right, but whereas this game has just a few instances of humor derived from referencing other games, CITD is full of such instances and incorporates such humor into its visuals and many of its death traps.”
- “There is a nerve somewhere in my body, related to the funny bone but not quite, that elicits sober joy at the make of this thing.”
- “The monster design is also hilariously fun if you like the Lovecraft style.”
- “You have to buy them from a rather unfunny fellow for quite a bit of currency, or find them in chests.”
- “The jokes fall flat and often feel forced, lacking any real wit or charm.”
- “I expected a lot more laughs, but the humor is stale and predictable.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The game is highly optimized, running flawlessly on the Steam Deck with responsive controls and crisp visuals that adapt well to the handheld's screen. Players report consistent performance at 60fps across various display modes, with minimal bugs and no significant issues.
- “Runs flawlessly on Steam Deck with responsive controls, no performance hiccups, and crisp visuals that scale well to the handheld’s screen.”
- “Performance: Odallus runs fine for me, I've personally had no issues at 60fps, with fullscreen, windowed, and CRT TV mode options available.”
- “Tech: The game runs smoothly and with very few noticeable bugs.”
- “Performance: Odallus runs fine for me; I've personally had no issues at 60fps, with fullscreen, windowed, and CRT TV mode options available.”
- “The optimization is lacking, leading to frequent frame drops and stuttering during gameplay.”
- “Despite the game's potential, the poor optimization results in long loading times and crashes that ruin the experience.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is characterized by a sense of wholesomeness and fun, but technical issues have led to frustration and disappointment for some players, ultimately causing them to abandon the game despite its positive qualities.
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players feel that the game lacks sufficient cutscenes and depth in character development, indicating a desire for more narrative exploration and emotional engagement with the characters.
- “I just wish this game had a few more cutscenes and character development.”

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68%Critics’ scoreBased on 2 critic reviews

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6h Median play time

5h Average play time

3-7h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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Odallus: The Dark Call is a platformer game with fantasy, historical and violence themes.

Odallus: The Dark Call is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5 and others.

On average players spend around 5 hours playing Odallus: The Dark Call.

Odallus: The Dark Call was released on July 15, 2015.

Odallus: The Dark Call was developed by JoyMasher.

Odallus: The Dark Call has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its graphics but disliked it for its grinding.

Odallus: The Dark Call is a single player game.

Similar games include Infernax, Cyber Shadow, Axiom Verge, AGGELOS, Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon and others.

Odallus: The Dark Call

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