Oblitus Review

The hero in Oblitus sums up the feeling the player will have while playing this side-scrolling 2D Metroidvania. His name is Parvus – Latin for “small”. Both Parvus and the player will face multiple giant enemies and traverse enormous landscapes, all the time looking to complete the hero’s gameplay-driven story. Heavily influenced by other “one life, one chance” games, Oblitus aims to translate that format into the 2D platforming world.

The influence of Dark Souls is strong in this indie title, something which its one-man development team, Connor Ullmann, admits. Each playthrough will be full of restarts, deaths, failures and (if you’re anything like me) an insurmountable amount of swearing.

You’re dropped into the game with little to no explanation of where to go or what to do, except to head in the general direction of the games’ main boss. Parvus’ reason for being, much like the player character in Dark Souls, is told through the gameplay rather than storyline.

Your hero’s shield and spear (a combination not often seen in games) are hearty weapons. They can be upgraded through a series of collectables hidden throughout Oblitus’ overworld, yet most of the improvements you’ll find will focus on invulnerability whilst dodging and jumping.

Oblitus aims for a hand-painted art style reminiscent of Bastion – albeit a grittier realisation of that game’s bright colours. Though the overworld and levels are stunning and impressively realised, their complexity can often lead to the player confusing background items with their platforming 2D space. More than once I attempted to jump onto a ledge that wasn’t there or grab a chain that was simply background decoration.

Parvus will face multiple enemies through his journey and his combat with them is another throwback to its inspiration: dodges, jumps and strikes must all be timed to have the best effect. Except this isn’t the slower, more methodical combat of Souls – it’s fast and frantic and any wrong move can mean a trip back to the start.

Plus, by “trip back to the start” I mean right back to the start, as Oblitus doesn’t feature any save or checkpoint capacity. Its roguelike elements mean that every playthrough will be different (at least in terms of item and enemy locations). The map itself will sometimes alter, making levels and corridors longer or taller to fit more enemies in. This means that some playthroughs will be easier than others and that memory and patterns cannot be relied upon fully to navigate the game’s treacherous dangers.

The incentive is always there, too. Oblitus can be completed in under 20 minutes by a skilled hand (at least according to the achievements) meaning that players will never feel like they are getting nowhere at all. The scattering of bosses are challenging at first but disappointingly easy once their attack patterns have been memorised.

Despite Ullmann’s assertions that his game is like a 2D Dark Souls there is much more than meets the eye. A charming platformer to match those in the indie game hall of fame blow-for-blow, Oblitus is an experience that mixes pleasure with pain and can be in parts both utterly punishing and wonderfully rewarding. Either way, it will be something you will find hard to put down.