A Christmas Carol is a narrative which holds important that means to myself and my household. A staple of Christmas-time studying and watching, I do know the story just like the again of my hand. I can recite traces and phrases verbatim. With such a degree of familiarity comes an idea ripe for experimentation, and experiment artists have. From comedic fashionable retellings to Broadway musicals to gritty miniseries, the work has been distorted, satirized, amended and continued in a large number of various methods. Nevertheless, video video games are one medium the story has not fairly made a mark in to its full potential. Ebenezer and the Invisible World purpose to repair that.
Co-developed by Orbit Studio and Play On Worlds, Ebenezer and The Invisible World is a Metroidvania with 2D hand-drawn graphics and a narrative that picks up a yr after the place Dickens left off. The Industrial Revolution is making sweeping adjustments by means of London, and it’s as much as Scrooge, now bestowed with the facility to see spirits, to try to redeem the depraved industrialist Caspar Malthus, earlier than it’s too late.
With the Christmas season upon us, it feels proper to begin with the positives. The hand-drawn art work is attractive. The environments are dripping in color and nail the tone of Dickens’ work. The characters are vibrant, expressive and extremely well-designed. Irrespective of the way you slice it, the sport appears to be like nice with some really beautiful 2D animation work.
The story additionally shines an significance when positioning your self as a follow-up to one in every of historical past’s most iconic tales. The themes of the narrative are in keeping with the Novella, and the plot has a real diploma of intrigue. Scrooge acquired the way in which he did due to a misguided sense of greed and self-worth. Malthus, the aptly named villain of this sport, went down the identical path for uniquely completely different causes.
Lastly, Ebenezer and the Invisible World is dripping with reverence for the supply materials. From subtler particulars like quotes lifted straight from the e book to extra apparent examples like Marley serving because the save door, the love for A Christmas Carol shines by means of in each pixel of this sport.
Nevertheless, these components, whereas nice in their very own proper, are solely bedcurtains concealing the meat and potatoes of this sport. And when you could also be hoping for the prized turkey within the butcher store window, sadly, what’s on supply right here is nearer to a little bit of beef and a fraction of a underdone potato.
Sadly, I can’t beat across the holly bush any additional – the gameplay of Ebenezer and the Invisible World leaves lots to be desired. Starting with the fight, collision detection is method off. To start out, Scrooge has a cane which struggles to make an affect. This implies you need to rise up shut and private along with your foes, which regularly means collision harm, even if you’re standing many pixels away. Each Scrooge and the enemies in Ebenezer and the Invisible World have extremely inconsistent hitboxes which makes navigating a degree a little bit of a nightmare.
Problem steadiness is method off as nicely. Some small enemies can deal as much as a half bar of well being’s harm by merely being touched, whereas different burly foes can seemingly beat previous Ebenezer to a pulp, however trigger restricted hurt. Checkpoints and quick journey stations are sparse in some areas of the map, however considerable in others. The identical goes for enemy density. Some screens are barren and useless, whereas others waver on abrupt chaos. There’s little circulation or consistency, and it makes Ebenezer and the Invisible World a little bit of a slog at factors. A weapon referred to as the Lion’s Head cane helps alleviate a few of these points by permitting Scrooge to shoot projectiles, but it surely arguably comes too late within the sport to make a distinction.
Ghosts may be summoned as nicely, however their impacts aren’t all the time the clearest. To seek out out, you need to scroll deep into the menus, the place you’ll be handled with different data like… the very fact spirits can degree up! One thing that isn’t communicated in any respect exterior of the menus! Typically, this sport struggles with speaking data in a fashion that’s honest however coy. Too typically, it both leaves you operating across the map like a rooster with its head reduce off, or explains the only issues in express telegraphed element. No in-between right here.
Worst of all, nonetheless, Ebenezer and the Invisible World is outright Humbuggy. Crashes and freezes leaving sure ranges, progress stopping bugs, spirits not being chosen correctly, forex randomly draining, enter lag, inputs outright not working, the record, sadly, goes on. A patch has helped resolve a few of these bugs (most notably the freezes), however there’s a distinct lack of polish total.
Lastly, to the touch upon worth, Ebenezer and the Invisible World is at the moment retailing for $20 USD / £16.74 GBP. I had round twelve hours of playtime, however a not-insignificant quantity got here from backtracking and getting misplaced, so your mileage might fluctuate. I believe the worth itself is comparatively honest, however I’m undecided if the standard of the expertise fairly justifies it. In the event you’re taking part in on PC, I consider a demo exists, so which may be value taking a look at earlier than buying.
If I used to be to sum up Ebenezer and the Invisible World in a single phrase, it’d be unbalanced. The issue is in every single place, the sport is stuffed to the brim with bugs, the fight leaves lots to be desired and the degrees themselves are sometimes both barren or stuffed. Nevertheless, with these negatives comes one heck of a optimistic within the type of some really large artwork path and considerate storytelling.
There’s a variety of potential in a sport adaptation of A Christmas Carol, and Ebenezer and the Invisible World makes a valiant effort. However this pudding wanted to sing within the copper slightly longer.
