Imp of the Sun is the first film from Sunwolf Entertainment, an independent studio of Peruvian origin that comes to the fore with a metroidvania to the use for its concept, but with a personal touch attractive enough to take a look, at least for those, like me, who enjoy this subgenre so popular and, at the same time, particular.
To all this, I almost immediately qualified Imp of the Sun as a metroidvania, but the truth is that I do not like the term too much. As happens most of the time, Imp of the Sun it has more of Metroid than of Castlevania, but being strict we talk about a game of 2D action and platform of those of all life… and that now are included in the word of yore. Let’s run a thick fleece.
Imp of the Sun It went on sale without attracting much attention on March 24 for consoles and PC, which is usually said, although it is worth clarifying: for consoles, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series; and for PC, but only for Windows. Be that as it may, for a first release it seems like the right thing to do, but for the type of game it is, it would have been great if it had also come to Linux and Mac.
In my case, I have played it on Nintendo Switch and in portable mode from start to finish.
According to official information, the most outstanding characteristics of Imp of the Sun they include its Peruvian origin, from which it takes inspiration for its history and setting (not from Peru as such, it is understood, but from the pre-Columbian Inca culture established in those parts); being hand-drawn and having an original soundtrack performed by “a live studio orchestra using local historic instruments dating back thousands of years.”
As for the story, it’s not that Imp of the Sun depend a lot on it, because it is a mere common thread to direct the adventure, but it has its grace, because it fits very well with the whole. Broadly speaking, the guardians of nature have risen against the Sun and have caused an eclipse that is about to plunge the world into darkness. To prevent it is Nin, an imp created from the final spark of the Sun itself with the mission of defeating the guardians and restoring the power of the star.
The world of Imp of the Sun It is made up of four zones with their respective bosses, read guardians, that you will have to go through more than once to complete the game: the desert, the jungle, the mountains and the dark depths of the earth, each one of them with its peculiarities and classes of enemies; each of them ruled by one of the four guardians that you have to defeat.
How will you achieve your goal? Learning to master the abilities of Nin, an imp capable of performing double jumps, sliding along the ground and through the air, bouncing off walls, attack combos and more, as you progress and acquire upgrades. Definitely, Imp of the Sun does not differ much from typical approach established by the classic Metroid and other games of the time, which is nothing more or less than expected. The question is if everything is well managed and the answer is…
Once the pillars of the game have been described, it is time to analyze them and the truth is that it is not difficult, In addition, being a title that drinks from the most classic, it is well worth doing it with the traditional route of graphics, music, gameplay, etc., although what you see is what you get. In this way, Imp of the Sun It has no trap or cardboard.
One of the most striking elements at first glance, as well as the most rewarding of the game, is its appearance and at Sunwolf Entertainment they can feel proud of having managed to illuminate a cohesive aesthetic that serves to give personality to Imp of the Sun. Everything is in place: the settings, the characters and enemies, the lighting and animations… And the guardians, possibly the most successful ingredient on a visual level.
At this point I don’t know if being drawn by hand contributes or not because, honestly, it is difficult to differentiate it and where it is most noticeable is on screens such as the map and other ‘props’ elements.
The same thing happens with the sound section: the effects are not out of tune and the music, the soundtrack, accompanies the hero on his adventure, providing slightly different sensations at times.
Thus, while the score is full of Andean nuances, the structure is fully Western, the one you would expect to find in a normal adventure video game… Which is not bad at all: the music of Imp of the Sun it’s great and as such is sold separately.
‘Imp of the Sun’, hammering out that it’s a gerund
The issue of gameplay is perhaps the most complicated to analyze, since different aspects of the game itself are divided into it. The level design, for example, is quite balanced and it’s hard to get lost or stuck, even though the false sense of freedom can push you to try something you’re not ready for yet.
In terms of development Imp of the Sun It is the typical game in which you need to obtain a certain power or item before being able to advance through a specific area, which forces the player to go around the same scenarios more than once. The good thing is that don’t get tired because the game is short and things to do are limited.
In fact, without the extras (finding quipus with which to expand the intra-story of the game or hidden objects in the scenarios with which to increase level points) Imp of the Sun it would be too short, so it can be said that they have also succeeded in finding the balance on this end.
With regard to the movements and abilities of the character, there is little to comment on what has already been said: it is what you expect in this type of game and it is well implemented, everything responds as it should and there are no impossible challenges unless you are very bad at platforms. The most complicated are the final bosses and even with them it’s all about getting the right sequence to, with a bit of skill, get rid of them.
If anything, Imp of the Sun It fails to make the fights more entertaining, because as you advance and acquire more skills, such as attack combos based on mashing buttons with a bit of grace, the enemies lose all ability to challenge. The special powers that the guardians give you when you defeat them do not improve it either, and it gives the feeling of being too much because you are hardly going to use them.
Indeed, the development of the game is very well spun, but it is not very difficult and details like these last ones increase a fair bit of duration that you can extend with different challenges. For example, to spend Imp of the Sun in three hours (a more common duration when playing it for the first time would be between six and ten hours depending on how you take it).
Imp of the Sun: minimum and recommended PC requirements
- OS: Windows 10 x64
- Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 – Intel Core i5-9300H
- Memory: 8GB RAM – 16GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 950 – Nvidia GTX 1650
Buy Imp of the Sun on Steam, Epic Games Store or in the stores of the different consoles.
In summary, Imp of the Sun It is a great start as an opening game, because even if it could be improved if you wanted it, what there is is well done. Now, reading some other coverage of it, the comparison with Ori and the Blind Forest It is the most repeated and with good reason, given that the similarities with this one are multiple… as they can be with many other games of the style. But from there to talk about Imp of the Sun like the Peruvian Ori there is a stretch.
Do not, Imp of the Sun is not the Ori Peruvian. Ori and the Blind Forest or Ori and the Will of the Wisps They are at another level in everything and make believe that Imp of the Sun offers something similar, beyond the type of game, I don’t think it goes in favor of the latter, a much more humble bet, I repeat, in everything. And nothing happens. Many independent studios would like to have a debut as round as Imp of the Sun.
There were even those who wondered how he could recommend Imp of the Sun above Ori or others metroidvania 2D action platformers like Hollow Knight or Dead Cells… And what I wonder is since when a recommendation is invalidated because there are more recommendable alternatives if possible. Everything can be played!
Of course, if it’s about wondering things, what I wonder is… what does it have to do with Imp of the Sun with Yooka Laylee?
