Worldless

Worldless is a new Metroidvania, but it's not a normal one. Firstly, it's a very abstract experience, I had a hard time figuring out what was going on at first, as it all seems... well, abstract. Just look at the developers' own description of the game: "The player embarks on a journey of personal growth and understanding, pushing the boundaries of their nature in a mind-bending, interpretive narrative set in a new and abstract universe." At first glance, you're not much wiser after that description.

Of course, as you start playing, you begin to understand more. You start to be able to interpret the somewhat abstract map. You begin to understand the unique turn-based combat system. And you begin to understand the world you're travelling in - but it's not a game that's easy to get started with.

The most interesting thing about Worldless is the unique turn-based combat system. It's not turn-based in quite the same way as we know it from most other games, but it's still a turn-based system between the player and their opponent. When it's your turn to attack, you have a short period of time to perform as many attacks as you can, and when the time runs out, it's your opponent's turn.

You can perform two main types of attacks; a physical attack and a magic-based attack, and as always, it's good to combine these. The enemy has the same types of attacks, and you must protect yourself against these attacks with your physical shield and magic shield respectively. You can see on some flashing lines across the screen which attack is coming at you very shortly afterwards and thus which shield to use. This may sound easy, but it's not, because you have to be very precise in your blocking and you're rewarded for perfect timing on your blocks, so it's important to find the rhythm of the battle.

Perhaps the most important aspect of combat is breaking the enemy's defences. When you do this, you gain the ability to absorb the enemy by playing a quick little minigame, which gets easier the longer you break down the enemy's defences before you start absorbing them. Enemies can also be defeated without being absorbed, but by absorbing them, you gain a skill point that you can add to your upgrade tree. So if you want to have a chance of surviving in Worldless, you should aim to absorb enemies and become stronger.

The battle system is a new take on how turn-based gameplay should be structured, actually combining turn-based battles with real-time battles. Outside of battles, you also spend some time exploring the areas where you can find hidden items and various upgrades - including the ability to streak through the air quickly, which is a very important move to learn. The controls are wonderfully precise and responsive, so there's nothing to complain about there.

The visual style is really special and very clean. The different worlds you pass through all have different colour tones and all around you, little dots and circles grow when your abstract feet hit the ground. Your character is almost abstractly designed and so are the opponents, which can be made up of different shapes and elements, while at other times they have more human or animal-like shapes. It's a very strong and simple visual setup that Worldless offers and is a game that looks much better in motion than in screenshots.

Worldless is a slightly mysterious game and it's not easy to get started. I usually like simple and abstract games where there is room to interpret your own narrative - but this was almost too much of a good thing. I had a hard time getting into it, and in turn, it had a hard time keeping me hooked.

Worldless has a unique visual style and is a fresh take on a turn-based combat system, so if you're into Metroidvania and want to try something different, check out Worldless, which is available for less than £16. There's actually a demo on Xbox that you can try first, which is perhaps wise for a game as special as this one.