Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Twitch
    Game on Aus
    • News

      We look at the new Sony PlayStation Plus premium service

      June 28, 2022

      GAMES subscription services have been pretty well established for a few years now in Australia, but Sony PlayStation were notably…

      ANZPL Season 4 Champions

      World Of Tanks ANZPL Season 4 Grand Final: Champions Decided In Sydney Derby

      June 27, 2022

      The ANZPL Season 4 Grand Final is here. The Sentinels take on the Skorpions to find out who will be the Season 4 champions!

      Best Console Digital Deals of the Week 24/6/2022

      June 23, 2022

      PlayStation has released it’s Mid-Year Sale offerings along with a few great choices for deals to be picked up on…

      Sentinels vs Skorpions to clash in World of Tanks ANZ Premier League Finals

      June 23, 2022

      [This press release has been provided by Wargaming PR and is presented by the GOA team for your information] The…

      Fall Guys is finally available on all platforms…and it’s free!

      June 22, 2022

      The wildly chaotic, battle royale-like party game, Fall Guys, has finally launched on all platforms. Up until today, Fall Guys…

      View All
    • Reviews

      We look at the new Sony PlayStation Plus premium service

      June 28, 2022

      GAMES subscription services have been pretty well established for a few years now in Australia, but Sony PlayStation were notably…

      The Quarry – The Review

      June 24, 2022

      OK readers, I have a secret to tell. And I might lose some of your respect after I tell you.…

      Necesse screenshot

      Necesse – the perfect blend of two iconic indie games

      June 23, 2022

      I really don’t know how to open this other than: more people need to be playing Necesse ASAP, it’s my…

      More D&D Monsters! A review of Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters Of The Multiverse

      June 22, 2022

      THERE are a lot of sourcebooks for Dungeons & Dragons out there. D&D 5e (the current edition) has something like…

      SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wireless Gaming Mouse Review

      June 19, 2022

      DESPITE never being the hugest fan of MMO/MOBA games, largely due to my lack of patience and willingness to invest…

      View All
    • Podcasts
      game on aus logo

      Predators Beware!

      June 23, 2022

      Stormie’s not well this week so Pete and Jim carry on! The lads chat how many lootboxes you need in…

      Episode 245 Hero Card

      Episode 245: Summer Games Fest!

      June 17, 2022

      Catch up with all the news from a weekend of announcement at Summer Games Fest! Pete, Stormie and Jim talk highlights and lowlights along with games that are just too big!

      Episode 244: Diablows?

      June 9, 2022

      Pete has some things to get off his chest about Diablo Immortal and new Pokemon while Stormie and Jim nod…

      GOA Pod 243

      Episode 243: Happy Birthday Solitaire!

      June 2, 2022

      The gang talk about their cozy Bloody Good Game Of The Week thanks to Aussie Broadband, licensing music for games…

      GOA Pod 242

      Episode 242: The Richie Benaud Episode Number

      May 26, 2022

      Two… two four two. Yes, episode 242 is here and like the late, great Richie, it’s marvellous. Pete and Jim…

      View All
    • Categories
      • BY PLATFORM
        • Playstation
        • Xbox
        • Nintendo
        • PC
        • Mobile
        • VR
        • Retro
      • BY GENRE
        • Action
        • Action-Adventure
        • Adventure
        • Battle Royale
        • Fighting
        • FPS
        • Horror Games
        • RPG
        • Simulation
        • Sports
        • MMORPG
        • MOBA
        • Party Game
        • Platformer
        • Puzzle
        • Strategy
        • Survival
        • Indie
      • GOA ESSENTIALS
        • Esports
        • Conventions
        • Tabletop
        • Hardware
        • Furniture
        • Funny
        • Streaming
        • Win
        • Podcast
        • Video
    • More
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
    Game on Aus
    Home » Damsel Review
    game on aus logo
    INDIE

    Damsel Review

    GOA StaffBy GOA StaffOctober 19, 2018
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    This article was originally published on Novastream.com on 19 Oct 2018

    Unlike the old cliché, Damsel is not a game that needs any assistance to kick ass. This confident debut from Australian developer Screwtape Studios has recently left Steam’s Early Access and manages to distil the essence of what makes the games it is emulating so well loved, wrapped up in a stylish exterior.

    With a level design philosophy that will remind older gamers of titles like Bombjack, Damsel is very clear in its intention to be arcade-style fun first and foremost. A 2D action platformer, players control the titular vampire hunter as she jumps, climbs, dashes and slashes across a variety of small self-contained levels, completing tasks that usually involve sending the bloodsucking horde back to their coffins. For what it’s worth, the story is split into three episodes, presented in some stylish graphic novel cutscenes with a cartoon aesthetic and some sassy tongue in cheek humour. However, don’t expect much in the way of characterisation or plot twists here. Fortunately, these scenes merely bookend the actual levels and don’t get in the way of the gameplay, which is rightfully the star of the show.

    In games with a classically simple toolset such as this, the nuances of player control come to the forefront. Luckily, Damsel is a joy to play. Players can execute double jumps, wall climbs, dash across gaps, shoot from a distance and melee enemies. The platforming all feels extremely fluid and measured within the context of the levels. At first, this expansive movement toolkit gave the impression that the game would be imbalanced compared to the shambling enemy AI. However, Damsel’s difficulty curve is masterfully executed, with a slow layering of new foes and environmental hazards forcing the player to utilise all their abilities and think strategically about how to navigate the level to maximise their score, with global leaderboards present to keep players coming back.

    Whilst the enemy variety and difficulty curve deserves praise, unfortunately the same can’t be said for the level design. The earlier reference to Bombjack is apt, with most stages consisting simply of several vertically oriented levels of flat platforms to jump to, each usually with an objective guarded by an enemy or hazard. Additionally, later tiers of levels tend to recycle the same layouts of platforms, instead opting to add more hazards and harder enemies to form bottlenecks. The fast-paced nature of the game and the ability to improve on how you dispatch enemies means that it never becomes a huge problem, but a little more variety in the layout or size of these levels might have served to prop out the game’s longevity.

    Ultimately, the core mechanics of movement and combat are what an arcade action game like Damsel lives and dies by. Here, the developer has excelled. In fact, the shooting and jumping are so simple yet refined that the QTE-style minigames littered throughout the levels, despite existing to introduce variety and replayability in the gameplay, accomplish the opposite. These segments tend to grind up against the fast-paced and flowing nature of the rest of the game. Having to stop every 10 seconds to hack a computer or free a hostage does introduce an element of risk and reward to the scoring system but isn’t immediately as satisfying as the rest of the gameplay. Even so, Damsel is certainly worth the price of entry and a well-made example of what can be achieved when simple fun and concise game design meet.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Previous ArticleSPOOKY GAME DEALS 19/10
    Next Article SPOOKY GAME DEALS 21/10

    Related Posts

    NEWS June 28, 2022

    We look at the new Sony PlayStation Plus premium service

    GAMES subscription services have been pretty well established for a few years now in Australia, but Sony PlayStation were notably…

    HORROR GAMES June 24, 2022

    The Quarry – The Review

    OK readers, I have a secret to tell. And I might lose some of your respect after I tell you.…

    Subscribe

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    Ads
    Advertisement
    Categories
    • ACTION
    • ACTION-ADVENTURE
    • ADVENTURE
    • BATTLE ROYALE
    • CLOUD GAMING
    • CONVENTIONS
    • ESPORTS
    • FEATURE
    • FIGHTING
    • FPS
    • FUNNY
    • FURNITURE
    • GOA
    • HARDWARE
    • HORROR GAMES
    • INDIE
    • MMORPG
    • MOBA
    • MOBILE
    • NEWS
    • NINTENDO
    • Open-World
    • OPINION
    • PARTY GAME
    • PC
    • PLATFORMER
    • PLAYSTATION
    • PODCAST
    • PREVIEW
    • PUZZLE
    • RACING
    • RETRO
    • REVIEW
    • RPG
    • SIMULATION
    • SPORTS
    • STRATEGY
    • STREAMING
    • SURVIVAL
    • TABLETOP GAMING
    • TECH
    • VIDEO
    • VR
    • XBOX
    Related Article
    NEWS

    We look at the new Sony PlayStation Plus premium service

    June 28, 2022Royce WilsonBy Royce Wilson

    GAMES subscription services have been pretty well established for a few years now in Australia, but Sony PlayStation were notably absent from the party.…

    Minsc & Boo
    TABLETOP GAMING

    My favourite cards from Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate

    June 27, 2022ArlentricBy Arlentric

    Dungeons & Dragons lore and storytelling meets the world’s most popular collectable card game: Magic: the Gathering in the recently released card set Commander Legends: Battle…

    ANZPL Season 4 Champions
    ESPORTS

    World Of Tanks ANZPL Season 4 Grand Final: Champions Decided In Sydney Derby

    June 27, 2022Darren 'Str8JaktJim' MacneallBy Darren 'Str8JaktJim' Macneall

    The ANZPL Season 4 Grand Final is here. The Sentinels take on the Skorpions to find out who will be the Season 4 champions!

    Game on Australia Logo

    Game On Aus is an Australian games publication working across written, video and podcast, and supported by an ever-growing community of content creators and fans!

    Copyright GameOnAus 2022. Privacy Policy

    CONTENT
    • News
    • Gaming Reviews
    • Podcast
    • Tech
    • Indie
    ABOUT GOA
    • About Us
    • Contact

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.