Unsighted is the first big release for Studio Pixel Punk. Humble Games is helping them out on the publishing side of things as they do for many new indie studios. They did the same thing for Flynn: Son of Crimson and their developer, Studio Thunderhorse, which is a game that turned out great.
Unsighted has a lot in common with Flynn: Son of Crimson such as the Metroidvania-like elements. Truthfully Unsighted is more akin to Mega Man X meets The Legend of Zelda. Comparing any game, indie or otherwise, to those two legendary series is setting a high bar. Does this new Switch game clear it with high marks or does it fall short of greatness?
8 Best: Good Art And Animations
Unsighted is another great indie game with some amazing pixel art from 2021. The animations also help make it stand out. It’s not as striking as Eastward, but that’s a high bar to reach. Unsighted is going for a different style altogether anyway which works better in its favor. It’s a cool cyberpunk world with vibrant colors and memorable characters and enemy designs. The cutscenes also look very nice as rare as they are.
7 Worst: Environment Design
The one part about the game’s aesthetic that does not work is its environment. They are nicely varied on the positive side of things from dingy cities to brightly colored gardens. The trouble is that it is hard to distinguish what is and what isn’t accessible.
The planes of existence are all off because it is a 2D, top-down game. The beginning city area is especially tricky to navigate. The more open outdoor areas are less of a problem but overall it is hard to tell where to go sometimes even when consulting the map.
6 Best: Accessibility Options
The trend of adding accessibility options into 2021 games continues with Unsighted. There are three difficulty levels at the start with the lowest option, Explorer, being the standout. If this challenge level is accepted, players can further tweak their experience in an extra section of the menu.
The best feature turns on invincibility for Alma. That does make the game incredibly easy, but options like this are just that, options. It’s nice to see developers implement features like this for all types of gamers.
5 Worst: Death Meter
Mega Man is not the only Capcom series Unsighted has seemingly drawn inspiration from. There is a battery level for all characters in the game. Once it reaches zero that is it. There are options in Exploder mode to lessen this countdown as well as items like Meteor Dust to sort of heal time.
This is a lot like Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter which had a percentage meter for players every time they turned into a dragon. Once that reached one hundred percent it was game over. Unsighted is at least more lenient than Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter but the idea also gets in the way of just trying to enjoy this game.
4 Best: Co-Op
It’s great to see co-op in any game especially one like this. It’s very easy to drop in and drop out of local co-op without affecting the main game experience. Co-op is not needed to beat the game but it can make things easier especially with the puzzles.
The one downside is that it is local only without Internet support. That might be a problem for some but to others, it won’t be. This is another example of an accessibility feature.
3 Worst: Not Truly Open
After the first hour or so, the game opens up into the main plot. This involves Alma going around and stealing five crystals that should make the ultimate weapon to then defeat the ultimate evil. It’s a video game cliche but it works here.
This makes the game almost feel like the Mega Man series again as if players can choose what level to tackle first. Unsighted has Metroidvania elements that block progress. The game eventually opens up, but it takes a while. At times it can feel more linear, which is a shame, again, given that the story teases otherwise. To Unsighted's credit, there are plenty of side quests which is nice.
2 Best: Combat
The combat is one of the best indie games have seen in quite a while. Eastward may have better visuals but the combat is simplistic in that game. Unsighted has a fast and frantic feel to combat. This is all thanks to the smooth animations and a good variety of weapons from nimble swords to heavy axes to devastating shotguns.
Parrying always feels satisfying and is fairly easy to pull off. The various equipment and upgrade paths also help beef up the amount players can do.
1 Worst: Bullet And Stamina Management
There are things that can lessen the strength of combat. Guns naturally run on ammo with very limited amounts at first. Swinging a melee weapon, like a sword. uses stamina which depletes quickly.
This would be fine if stamina wasn’t also used for dodging. This makes it trickier for players to know when to attack at full force and when to hang back in order to dodge. Not being able to adjust the difficulty level once chosen is also a bother to gameplay especially since most games allow players to change it whenever. It’s a small list of complaints but they are still worth noting.
Unsighted was released on September 30, 2021, and is available on Switch and PC.