The story of Aggelos is that you’re a silent knight protagonist. You happen to come upon Princess Lys in the forest who is in distress. Princess Lys asks that you take her back to her castle. It is there that Princess Lys and her father King Gentel reveal that an evil being by the name of Valion is threatening to tear a permanent hole between the world of light and the world of darkness. The way he plans to achieve this is by fusing four elemental essences together thus throwing the entire world into chaos.
The story is a bit generic sounding but it’s a good story and it serves to aid the game in its core mechanics. The story is definitely one that I appreciate having and is either non-existent or extremely shallow. What’s here is good and is rather engaging. Not something you would typically find in an action RPG that is reminiscent of the 16-bit era.
Aggelos offers a blend of action platforming with Metroidvania and action RPG elements. As you traverse each area of the world you will have to do some platforming and dispatch the enemies that are found in the area. As you take out enemies, you gain experience points and gold. The experience points will allow you to gain levels and increase the amount of hits you can take as well as slightly boost your defense.
That in a nutshell is the action RPG side of the game. The Metroidvania element to the game is that once you clear a temple, you get an elemental ability. You then use that elemental ability to see out hidden areas and help you traverse to areas of the world that were previously inaccessible.
You get elemental abilities like a water ability that lets you breathe indefinitely under water. You have another that will let you turn enemies into platforms to reach higher areas or to cross gaps. There are shops you can visit to purchase weapon upgrades which will increase your damage that you deal. While leveling up does increase your defense, you can also purchase armor in these shops which will also add an increase to your defense.
While I appreciate the retro feel the game gives, one modern element I wish was present here is a world map. Like most Metroidvanias you should have access to a world map. But sadly, this game doesn’t have one at all. I mean it has a map, but the map is vague and not very helpful.
I get that this was deliberate and meant to add to the retro aesthetic the game was going for. But to not have a map in a Metroidvania style action RPG is just kind of lazy and only hurts the player. I mean it’s nice to get an ability to reach new areas, but not so nice when you end up going around in circles and quitting a game out of sheer frustration.
Graphics and Performance:
Aggelos is a 16-bit action RPG that is rather impressive on the Xbox Series X. The world of light and dark, the Kingdom of Lumen all come to life beautifully on the console. All of the colors used really pop on screen and there is an expansive and vibrant color palette that the game uses. The 16-bit graphical style combined with the elaborate color palette the game uses makes the gam really stand out and be a visual masterpiece.
Aside from the bright use of colors, the game offers very large sprites when it comes to the player character, NPCs found in towns, and even all of the monsters you encounter are large and highly detailed. From the forest trees to the mountains in the higher regions, every environment you travel through has a lot of detail and looks amazing running on the console.
Aggelos is a 16-bit era side scrolling game, so it’s really no surprise when it comes to the game’s performance on the Xbox Series X. I mean this is a 16-bit style game that is running at a solid 60FPS, at a 4K UHD resolution. The power of the platform with it running at this resolution and frame rate ensures that there is no input lag. There isn’t even any slowdown and the loading times? Well those are pretty much non-existent with the exception of the first time you load into the game.
The most I would say the game takes to load is but a few seconds while reloading a save point or loading into the next area. With the game being a Metroidvania where backtracking and fast travel is a must, I am happy that the game runs as well as it does and with zero performance issues and load times also being zero.
When it comes to sound, Aggelos is no slouch either. The music in this game is robust, atmospheric, and fits the game like a glove. It really is able to capture the sense of the player being on a grand adventure. Aggelos chooses to embrace its 16-bit essence by providing a sound track that would be something found in an SNES game instead of a modern title. As great as this is, I would have liked to have seen something a bit more grand than this, but it’s serviceable.
What I do really like about the game sound track is that it seamlessly transitions from upbeat and grand in the over world, and then becomes dramatic, dark, and forbidding when traversing the world of darkness, going through a temple, or going up against a formidable boss. When it comes to the sound effects of your sword swinging, the sound of a magic projectile, or the specific sound of an enemy preparing an attack, it’s all distinguishable and recognizable.
This is great because the game has a lot of action and it can get intense and you have to really think on your feet. So being able to distinguish certain sounds can help you prepare for what’s coming and can really help turn the tides of battle.
Aggelos is an action RPG that has metroidvandia elements that offers a really fun experience. The game stays true to its 16-bit focus and I really appreciate a game that can stay true to what it is instead of trying to either be something it’s not or trying to be too many things all at once.
While I really wish there was a detailed map available to the player, I understand why there isn’t and that’s really my only complaint with this game. I mean the game is a very solid experience. I would recommend picking this game up if you’re looking for a modern take on Metroidvania while staying true to a retro ascetic.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
In addition to writing articles, Ryan Byers also creates content for his YouTube channel called "Obscure Games and Consoles", collects video games, and dabbles in video game development.