DEAD ON ARRIVAL

Souls-like Metroidvania meets monotony in GHOST SONG

- Dashiell Wood

Repetition is the bread and butter of any Metroidvania but, as I trudge my way through an endless maze of Ghost Song's corridors in search of the next story beat, it's hard not to wonder where things went wrong. First impressions are deceptively strong, thanks to an alluring hand-drawn art style, though as you begin to get to grips with its clunky combat and confusing level design the limitations of its mechanics come to the fore.

You play as the Deadsuit, a robotic entity who wakes from an ancient slumber on the planet of Lorian. It’s difficult not to find yourself becoming enthralled by the eerie and oppressive atmosphere that shapes the planet’s surface. Everything is bathed in a sinister, supernatural glow, and the beautiful background art is littered with the remains of countless crashed spacecraft in a manner that evokes a pressing sense of isolation and decay.

It’s only as you begin to encounter Lorian’s army of mutated inhabitants that the first of many major oversights becomes apparent. An awkward keyboard control scheme makes the Deadsuit a far more cumbersome hero than most protagonists, and a baffling lack of mouse support means that your aiming is significantly hampered. While this can be remedied through the use of a compatible controller, this limitation would otherwise render several of the later sections dominated by fast-flying enemies almost impossible.