Super Daryl Deluxe Review

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Let’s discuss for a moment. Yet another instalment to the “Weird Games Ryan Reviews” series that is starting to become a trend. Super Daryl Deluxe falls slap bang into that category of weird games that I’m starting to not only become accustomed to but I’m growing rather fond of. I’ve started to find myself enjoying the little things lately. The small details that developers decide to put into their games just to make the experience all the more enjoyable and immersive.

There’s plenty of that in Super Daryl Deluxe, whether you’re looking at inaccessible areas that are locked off with huge padlocks with snarling detailed faces splashed across them or the floating – almost hippy like – environments that scour the game. You’re in for a treat if you’re into the weird and wonderful because truly those are two words that seem to encompass this game for me. Weird and wonderful.

Towards the beginning of my adventure with Daryl, I wasn’t too sure. The controls grinded on me, the comic-book style to the game felt somewhat out of place every now and then and by god the cutscenes were far too long and far too boring. I was less than confident. In fact I was pretty skeptical. The game is a slow burner, that’s for sure. I’d say it takes about an hour at least to get into the meat of Super Daryl Deluxe and even then you’re gunna want to spend as much time figuring out the best combos to buy and use when fighting and I can tell you that the fighting becomes very much monotonous. It’s not an exciting combat system, it’s a combat system that you get the hang of quickly and from that point it stays fiddly and lacks any kind of reward for being good at it.

As I said, the cutscenes are far too long and because of the comic-book nature of the game itself the majority of the cutscenes are made up of still images with narration. These stills can last for minutes at a time. It’s highly frustrating trying to get to play the game when you’re stuck watching the same screen for ages at a time. That being the case, I can’t emphasise how much fun that this game can be when it hits the right notes.

The platforming aspects of the game are a lot of fun and the locales you visit even more so. The game takes place as a pseudo Dungeons & Dragons in a high school in the near future. People take this very seriously, I won’t say much more so that we don’t enter spoiler territory. It’s like entering into an Upside Down version of 90210. Popularity is the main source of power and you need that to keep up appearances. Daryl may not talk much but actions speak louder than words.

The dialogue between characters, the level design and the quests in this nifty little side-scroller all add to the unique and lovely world that the developers tried to give to us all. Sure, it’s got it’s issues but what game doesn’t? I feel as though the amount of fun I had in the times where Super Daryl Deluxe was at it’s peak outweighed all the times that I was waiting for something to happen. Maybe some people will want to steer clear in an attempt to not bore themselves on purpose but if you get the chance and you feel like having a little giggle at some seriously referential dialogue and just fancy having some fun. It’s a good play.

I think there’s a lot of potential here, albeit missed potential at times but it’s not all doom and gloom. Daryl is here and he’s ready for anything… well, almost.

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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