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Zapling Bygone

Zapling Bygone Game Cover
80%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay
Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, stability
80% User Score Based on 163 reviews

Platforms

Nintendo SwitchXbox Series X|SPCPlaystation 5Playstation 4Xbox OneXboxWindowsPlayStation
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Zapling Bygone Game Cover

About Zapling Bygone

Zapling Bygone is a single player open world platformer game with horror and science fiction themes. It was developed by 9FingerGames and was released on August 5, 2022. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Murder bosses, collect and equip their skulls. A pixel-perfect platformer focused on exploration and hard but fair combat.

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Zapling Bygone screenshot
Zapling Bygone screenshot
Zapling Bygone screenshot
Zapling Bygone screenshot
Zapling Bygone screenshot
Zapling Bygone screenshot
Zapling Bygone screenshot
Zapling Bygone screenshot
Zapling Bygone screenshot
Zapling Bygone screenshot
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Reviews

80%Audience ScoreBased on 163 reviews
story10 positive mentions
grinding3 negative mentions
  • Smooth, tight, and responsive controls with fluid and satisfying movement that enhances exploration and platforming.
  • Unique and engaging ability and mutation system coupled with strategic charm slots on collectible skulls.
  • Distinctive, atmospheric pixel art style combined with a chilling, immersive world and a well-done soundtrack.
  • Save points are costly and spaced far apart, causing frustrating backtracking and difficulty in progression upon death.
  • Map design is confusing, revealing unexplored areas without indication of visited locations, lacking useful markers for collectibles and progress.
  • Gameplay and combat can be repetitive or unbalanced; the story and exploration sometimes feel directionless or unrewarding.

  • story

    40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    25% positive mentions, 67% neutral mentions, 8% negative mentions

    The story is presented uniquely through collectible comic-style panels and lore notes, creating a Lovecraftian sci-fi atmosphere that adds intrigue and encourages exploration. While some find the narrative vague or confusing, many appreciate its subtlety and the way it enriches the world and bosses' backstories. Overall, the story is considered a strong point, though its impact varies depending on player engagement with the lore.

    • “The intro story is told in a style reminiscent of old EC horror comics, and during the course of the game, you can find more panels to finish off other stories of some of the planet’s inhabitants.”
    • “This is a fairly short 4-5 hour game but it has a good story that is told through a combination of unlockable comic-style panels and lore notes that you can find once you add more personalities to your hivemind.”
    • “Speaking of lore, the story is phenomenal, with well-written dialogue, lots of fun surprises, and more than a few funny moments that manage to pull off comedy in a video game without it feeling forced.”
    • “The story is there, I guess, but it's not very clear, probably intentionally.”
    • “I'm not sure if I understood everything; the story itself didn't manage to grab me and make me invested in it.”
    • “The combat is bland, the story is forgettable, and there is basically nothing besides the movement that grabs the attention of the player, making it a flat experience.”

  • gameplay

    33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    30% positive mentions, 61% neutral mentions, 9% negative mentions

    Gameplay in Zapling Bygone offers a mix of enjoyable exploration and combat with smooth controls and interesting level design that evolves as players progress. However, mechanics such as the skull mutations feel underdeveloped and unrewarding, and some aspects like platforming clarity and instant-death hazards can be frustrating. Overall, it delivers solid old-school metroidvania-style gameplay with creative elements but lacks deeper innovation or refined mechanics.

    • “I found the levels interesting to explore and was amazed by how much they changed after defeating the area's boss or gaining new movement abilities—sometimes new pathways open or new mechanics are revealed.”
    • “Controlling Zapling is very smooth, combat and exploration is fun, and I like some of the more unique alien mechanics, such as sliding along walls and controlling different skulls.”
    • “Along with the fast travel mechanic essential to a game of its genre, there are also quick ways to get from save points to bosses, limiting the amount of time spent walking after being defeated in a boss fight.”
    • “Exploration is deeply unrewarding as the currency is almost totally useless, the mutations mostly come with drawbacks that outweigh their benefits, and the skulls don't change gameplay much at all.”
    • “The mechanics were a bit rough for me too, with jumping feeling a bit floaty and contact damage meaning that it was easy to take a double hit from an enemy. It's also a bit directionless; the game doesn't really guide you in any way through the world so it can take a moment to figure out where you should be going sometimes.”
    • “It stays firmly within the confines of the genre, adds nothing new in terms of exploration of the world (the usual dash, double/triple jumps, etc), combat mechanics (attack, dash, attack jump, etc), or story.”

  • graphics

    25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    20% positive mentions, 68% neutral mentions, 12% negative mentions

    The game features a dark, moody pixel art style that effectively conveys its atmosphere of despair and alienness, with visuals praised for their personality despite being relatively low-res and occasionally cluttered. While some graphical bugs and a lack of modern graphics options were noted, the overall aesthetic is consistent, fitting well with the game's theme and gameplay. Fans of retro, old-school metroidvania graphics will likely appreciate its style, though it may not match the detail or polish of higher-budget pixel art titles.

    • “The game’s visuals, often a bit dark and initially looking visually cluttered, only add to that mood.”
    • “Zapling Bygone has some great pixel art graphics that look great.”
    • “I'd heard some good things about it, and I think that the game looks great and keeps to its theme and aesthetic really well.”
    • “It's an average entry in a flooded sea of lazy, obsolete amateur platformers from developers who haven't quite worked out how 3D graphics work (the S3 Virge and ATI Rage became commonplace in 1995... just saying).”
    • “A choice was made to use obsolete, decades old retro pixel 'art' as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
    • “There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks.”

  • music

    22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    64% positive mentions, 22% neutral mentions, 14% negative mentions

    The music is generally praised for its quality and atmospheric contribution, with many highlighting its eerie, immersive, and surreal feel that enhances the gameplay experience. While some find the soundtrack subtle or ambient to the point of being indistinct, most agree it fits well with the game's tone and environments, often comparing it favorably to classics like Super Metroid. Overall, the soundtrack is viewed as a strong asset that complements the art and exploration elements.

    • “The music is insanely good, my only complaint being that the default music volume is bizarrely low - I ended up turning the music up to 100% and everything else much lower because it was such a huge draw for me.”
    • “The atmosphere is uniquely surreal and desolate, especially aided by the soundtrack.”
    • “The sound design is just perfect, with the music being at the right levels of subdued or intense when the gameplay calls for it.”
    • “The soundtrack is sadly non-existent or so ambient that you're not sure whether it's actual ambient noises or music.”
    • “Soundtrack- okay.”
    • “Soundtrack is neat, world biomes and skill gain progression is nice.”

  • atmosphere

    13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    54% positive mentions, 46% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its unique, dark, and surreal tone, blending a desolate, alien world with a chilling, slightly horror vibe. This distinctive mood is enhanced by the soundtrack and art, creating an immersive experience that stands out within the metroidvania genre. Fans appreciate how the atmosphere enriches exploration and overall gameplay, making it a highlight of the title.

    • “The atmosphere is uniquely surreal and desolate, especially aided by the soundtrack.”
    • “The atmosphere and slight horror vibe to the game are chilling at times and keep things fun.”
    • “This game offers a unique setting and atmosphere not present in any other metroidvania game I've played.”

  • grinding

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    Grinding in the game is made tedious by the lack of map markers for remaining collectibles, causing players to spend excessive time searching and potentially resorting to external guides. While the collectible hunting can be enjoyable initially, the unclear design leads to frustration as players try to locate the last few items.

    • “There are no markers on the map to indicate the remaining mutation collectibles, memory photo collectibles, and skull fragment collectibles. Although finding these collectibles is enjoyable at first, as the number left decreases, it leads to more time spent searching without revealing the area. This can make exploration tedious and may encourage players to look up video walkthroughs instead of searching themselves.”
    • “This game has some charm, but rather than good game design, it relies on tedious game design.”
    • “The tedious nature of the grinding makes progression feel more like a chore than an enjoyable experience.”

  • stability

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    The game exhibits minor visual glitches and occasional stuck enemies, but these stability issues are minimal and do not significantly impact the overall gameplay experience.

    • “The tiles often look buggy, affecting the visual stability of the game.”
    • “Bugs are minimal but include minor visual glitches and occasionally stuck enemies, impacting gameplay.”
    • “Some glitches are present, though none significantly hinder the overall experience.”

  • humor

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The humor in the game is cleverly integrated and naturally woven into the story, featuring well-written dialogue and surprising moments that feel genuinely funny without being forced. Players appreciate the subtle, spooky jokes as well as the overall comedic tone within the lore.

    • “Like, it was obvious, and kind of funny like the game expects me to get to it and be like 'oh what's this, no I have not ever seen this before how spooky and eerie' and stuff.”
    • “Speaking of lore, the story is phenomenal, with well-written dialogue, lots of fun surprises, and more than a few funny moments that manage to pull off comedy in a video game without it feeling forced.”

  • optimization

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 100% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The optimization aspect is not directly addressed by the users, as their comments focus more on gameplay style and mechanics rather than performance or technical efficiency.

  • monetization

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    Monetization in games made with Gamemaker Studio is often criticized for producing retro pixel games that are viewed as shovelware and cash grabs.

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Play Times

5h Median play time
5h Average play time
5-5h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Zapling Bygone is a open world platformer game with horror and science fiction themes. Common tags for Zapling Bygone include science, indie, 2d, aliens, psychological and others.

Zapling Bygone is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5 and others.

On average players spend around 5 hours playing Zapling Bygone.

Zapling Bygone was released on August 5, 2022.

Zapling Bygone was developed by 9FingerGames.

Zapling Bygone has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked Zapling Bygone for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

Zapling Bygone is a single player game.

Similar games include Ghost Song, Haiku, the Robot, Voidwrought, MindSeize, The Last Faith and others.