Makis Adventure Review

Makis Adventure is a solo-developed indie game by Zoroarts in which you control the titular protagonist, one of the two sharks selected by the three sacred ones that rule the area. After a massive storm, however, the gates to the underworld opened, freeing the evil Octavio, who promptly defeated the two sharks and took over the world.

To put it plainly, you won't be playing Makis Adventure for its story. Now, this isn't to say that it's bad, as the writing got a chuckle out of me a few times throughout my short, two-hour run, but it's not quite the target demographic for the game. First and foremost, it's a platformer that takes massive inspiration from Hollow Knight, something that's evident long before the credits roll.

It's worth bearing in mind that this game was developed by one person only, which is a massive feat in and of itself, especially considering I had few complaints throughout my entire run, one of which is the writing. Though it has an interesting premise, and I enjoyed the characters and dialogue, my only issue with it is that it felt like the least polished area of the experience, with repetitions a-plenty, as if all of the lines were in their first draft and never received another look.

Again, however, you won't be playing Makis Adventure for its dialogue, and what remains past that is a surprisingly great action platformer that, truth be told, is enjoyable through and through. This debut title for Zoroarts on Steam plays like a full-fledged game, the likes I've come to expect from higher-budget experiences and companies, with the only hint of its otherwise indie roots being sometimes clunky audio and graphic design. Quite frankly, at a gameplay level, the developer mastered how to manoeuvre, keeping the game entertaining with fast-paced combat that very clearly resembles its Hollow Knight roots.

The point of the game is to escape from the prison that Octavio has put you and your brother in and go out to collect shark teeth that'll let you transform into different shark forms to solve puzzles across three dungeons. In total, the game has four areas to explore, with numerous collectibles to find in small maps that are hard to get lost in. Platforming encourages zooming through every level, a feeling that's quintessential of enjoyable platformers — Makis Adventure does a great job at feeling smooth, with good gravity and jump strength (both of which have notoriously made 2D platformers unenjoyable in the past).

For me, the highlight of the experience is the boss battles and design. They're simple, and it's nothing you haven't seen in previous titles before. The back-and-forth of fighting and dodging feels like the boss designs from Hollow Knight and the very thing that got me to spend dozens of hours replaying that experience. They might be simple with predictable patterns, but they manage to stay fun and engaging without overstaying their welcome, a great success for a solo-dev.

There are a total of eight bosses, and each one has its own gimmick to keep it interesting, but they have about two or three abilities they rotate through, making them quite simple. Though the game's not meant to be a difficult title (unlike its inspiration), it might be a downside for some, as its simplistic design is very straightforward.

One of the greatest parts of Makis Adventure is how the screen feels so clear and smooth; it ensures that the entire battle experience remains flawless. The character, boss, and attack design are all very well made, keeping the screen free of clutter that can make boss fights grating and unenjoyable. Though my favourite part of the entire aesthetic is how Maki's animations feel so smooth and look so great.

This is where a slight disconnection occurs between the game development, however. The animations and graphics are great, aside from a few bumps, but the audio design was a massive miss. A lot of the sound design feels on the poorer end of quality, and I was surprised that many of the audio files were allowed into the final product — most notably, the boss roar sounds... I don't even know how to explain it. It isn't good.

Oof, someone needs an Alka Seltzer...

While you aren't exploring the three dungeons or fighting bosses, you can also partake in fun mini-games sprawled across the world. These have barely any purpose at all, but they rank you from Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals, and it's simply too addicting not to try to get all of them in Gold. The mini-games were fun and an exciting break from the action-platforming gameplay, but they didn't feel like "necessary" breaks from an otherwise short title already; they are all enjoyable in their own right, reminiscent of those you play in It Takes Two against your co-op partner.

Currently, there are three modes that you can play through — the Story game, which gives you about two hours of playtime for your first run (I collected everything and finished it in two hours); Racing Mode, which lets you and a friend fight against each other over three linear courses; and Boss Rush. Though it might seem like all of these are wasted budget that could have gone into making the story mode longer, the smooth movement of the game makes complete sense for Racing Mode, and truth be told, I spent a little too long playing Boss Rush.

Despite its shortcomings, it's easy to overlook them. Priced at £8.50, Makis Adventure is a title I genuinely enjoyed and had a lot of fun with; though it's only a two-hour adventure, it's put Zoroarts on my radar for any upcoming projects. I'll be in to try anything that follows Makis Adventure — it's an impressive accomplishment for a solo dev, and I can't help but wonder what will come with more years of experience.