Evoland Legendary Edition Review

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Gaming has changed so much over the years. There’s so much more we can do now that we couldn’t do before. Graphics have changed, stories have changed, soundtracks have changed, everything has changed. Everything has evolved.

Evoland Legendary Edition consists of two games, Evoland and Evoland 2. Both offering very different but very compelling adventures. Completely unrelated to one another, these RPG Adventure games have so much to offer in their own nostalgic ways.

Evoland is a totally unique experience that I can guarantee you haven’t had elsewhere. This is a game that is exploring the history of RPG games as you play it. How does it do that you ask? Well, you start in a very monochrome, Game Boy Color looking forest, with 2 chests either side of you. There’s a notice on the bottom of the screen alerting you that you have the Right Key, so of course, you go to the box on the right-hand side and you unlock the Left Key. Upon opening the left box you unlock 2D Movement and just above you on the screen is another chest, unlocking this one gains you Basic Scrolling. This is how to game continues, gradually unlocking more and more. You are seeing the evolution of gaming right before your very eyes! You will unlock weapons to use, enemies to fight, a narrative to follow, even unlocking Sound FX and a soundtrack. Everything you can think of, it’s unlocked somewhere along the way. It takes you from an 8-bit adventure to a 3D Adventure, from a turn-based battling system to real-time battles.

Now, there is a story in Evoland, but it isn’t a very strong one. It’s fairly basic but that was fine, as the main focus was on the evolution of the game. As you progress through what very little story there is, you will notice how so heavily inspired it is by the likes of games of the same genre; Zelda and Final Fantasy being the main ones I noticed.  It almost took me back to the days of when I originally experienced those games and the memories that came with them. The game itself isn’t very long at all, I think I had finished it in just over 2 hours. So, it’s easily done in one sitting which was great for me. It didn’t overstay it’s welcome and it didn’t leave me feeling like it wasn’t finished. The evolution was complete if you like.

Evoland 2 completely expands from what Evoland was and simply blooms into a fantastic RPG adventure, blowing the original out the of water. Off the bat, you’re enticed with an interesting story and beautiful art styles. They haven’t missed a beat here, the game is full of plenty of characters to interact with, dozens of locations to visit, fun and exciting combat and customisation options to really make you feel at home. There are even puzzles to complete. You will also be happy to know that Evoland 2 is a lot longer than its predecessor, with a roughly 20-hour story. Let me tell you, you will enjoy every single minute of it. The gameplay doesn’t get repetitive nor does it get boring. The story offers a great narrative to keep you playing into the night.

Both games have a solid soundtrack, suiting the nostalgic gameplay and graphics alike. Evoland 2 obviously has the better soundtrack offering more emotion to suit the story whereas Evoland has more of a simple soundtrack. Occasionally in Evoland, you will hear where the song ends and is just replayed but that is my only negative.

Overall, Evoland Legendary Edition is a great look at the history of RPG gaming, taking you on a journey from where it all began. Its packed full of nods to other big names in gaming (I met 4 Ninja Squirrels in coloured masks and named myself Super Morio from a list of choices I was given) it really does bring back all those amazing nostalgic memories. It looks and sounds great and provides you with hours of gameplay to get completely lost in. Any RPG fan and/or retro gamer would really enjoy this, just like I did.

REVIEW CODE: A complimentary Nintendo Switch code was provided to Bonus Stage for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to press@4gn.co.uk.

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Evoland Legendary Edition Review
  • Gameplay - 7/10
    7/10
  • Graphics - 7/10
    7/10
  • Sound - 7/10
    7/10
  • Replay Value - 7/10
    7/10
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User Review
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Overall
7/10

Summary

The evolution of gaming right in front of your eyes.


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