Modern releases in the style of vintage NES and SNES games are certainly nothing new. We’ve seen a ton of successful titles mimicking excellent templates. Axiom Verge springs to mind, as do Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, Blaster Master Zero, Katana Zero and plenty more. Usually these games copy tried and true templates like Metroid, Mega Man, and other famous franchises.
Berserk Studio has a different influence for their game Infernax, published by The Arcade Crew. Instead of taking inspiration from some of the most popular games, they’ve taken it a couple of the least popular ones, namely Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest and The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. Both games are generally disliked in the gaming community with fans considering them to be some of the weakest entries in their respective franchises.
But that didn’t stop Berserk from making Infernax and patterning it largely off of the hybrid action/exploration style from Simon’s Quest and the Adventure of Link, nor from releasing this gem of a retro title on the Switch! Infernax takes the basic action/adventure recipe and turns it up to 11! You play Alcedor, a knight trying to save his land from the encroaching darkness and demons when he returns to find it overrun and the denizens suffering and dying at the hands of monsters. It all sounds pretty standard, right up until you step off the boat and have your first encounter.
A man falls down off of a cross, horribly savaged and you’re given an option whether or not to kill him, sparing him from further suffering. His disturbing request and the results of your choice set the tone for the entire game, and this is just a taste of things to come! Decisions to be made actually matter in gameplay, and you’ll encounter sudden and vicious boss fights as well as a host of side quests and story elements which give Infernax surprising depth of story.
There’s no sense in ruining the plot of Infernax, especially since this is primarily an action game and the story is told in small bits and pieces as you slowly work your way through the complex maps of the game. But that’s definitely not all there is to this excellent retro-styled release! Gameplay consists of side-scrolling levels and towns where the townsfolk aren’t all the nicest folks. Speaking to people will garner you quests and choices that advance the plot and give you bonuses of gold, magic, armor, and more. Wandering into the wilds of the kingdom allows you to fight monsters which respawn every time you leave the screen. The whole game is patterned heavily after old NES style releases and has two modes, Classic and Casual.
Classic mode is the vintage NES-style. Die and you’re returned to your last save point, no matter how far away. You lose anything you’d done since your last save. Casual mode is more forgiving, letting you keep your progress, but once you’ve chosen it, Classic mode is locked out for the remainder of your playthrough. Realistically, if you’ve got decent platforming chops, Classic mode is quite accessible. Sure, you’ll be dying a bit here and there and there’s a learning curve, but it’s all well within the ‘tough-but-fair’ range of gameplay. This isn’t a game that will have your throwing your controller across the room and you’re not going to be mystified by enemy patterns if you pay attention. You might be on the edge of your seat a few times though…
Infernax really hits its stride with gameplay though. The controls are incredibly tight and responsive, allowing for the classic split-second timing that vintage gamers know and love. This is faithfully recreated to the extent that you’d almost swear that you were playing a lost NES game. Well, you’d almost swear that, except for one key difference. Infernax is an absolute and utterly graphic gorefest! That’s right, using 8-bit graphics, the team over at Berserk Studio has managed to make one of the grisliest retro games of all time!
We’re not just talking some red pixels here either. Enemies spew blood in plentiful arcs and enemies blast phlegm and slime across the screen. Slain villagers litter the background impaled on spears, skeletons chop through the skulls of guardsmen before your eyes and the bosses are walking nightmares of pixellated horror. Infernax is easily one of the most violent 8-bit style games out there, and it all fits perfectly within the feel of the game, complementing the gameplay even as Alcedor gets covered in blood from head to toe and walks back to town dripping with ichor. This is not a game for the easily disturbed, so don’t let the friendly pixels fool you! In fact, Berserk has thrown in a very clear warning with more than a bit of humor right in the intro to the game, so take the time to read it!
Quite aside from the tableau of horror that awaits you, Infernax is a fantastic looking game as well. The castle designs, backgrounds, monsters, and environments are excellent. The text is clear and easy to read and the user interface is clean and intuitive. This is a well-designed game across the board and it’s a treat to have a responsive menu system for a game that looks this good and exudes personality at every turn. Sure, some of the levels have terrifying drop-offs and creepy backgrounds, but it all looks absolutely amazing. There’s a fair bit more detail than you’d expect in a game like this one, and it’s clear that Berserk set out to vastly surpass the original content that inspired Infernax.
The sound is excellent too, with squishy noises, excellent chiptunes, and an attention to detail that fully immerses you in the gameplay. Between graphics and sound, time with drop away down the hourglass before you even realize it and the tunes will have you humming them well after gameplay is done! Each area has its own music of course, but the key areas you keep returning to have music that will definitely worm its way into your brain. This would be an excellent soundtrack to hear orchestrated and the overall quality of sound design across the board is high.
There are a few neat nuances left as well. For one, there’s a day and night system in the game, one that not only changes out the enemies but also has an impact on your quests. Some quests can only be undertaken at night while others take place during the day. In addition, as stated previously, your choices matter. You can break down a dam and flood a town for example, sending the inhabitants scurrying away, but you’ll pay the consequences for your actions later. Choosing to help a wandering priest or some travelling vagabonds comes back to haunt you as well, and innocents pay for the choices you make, turning regular gameplay into a moral dilemma. It’s an excellent system that further increases the adult feel of Infernax.
With bosses galore, a high but fair challenge level , a solid storyline, excellent level design and responsive controls, it’s impossible not to recommend Infernax on every single level. Oh, and load times are fast too, showing the care taken with optimization on the Switch, definitely something that other games in this genre have failed at! This is the kind of indie content we’re all here for and Berserk Studio needs to be commended for their attention to detail. The intensely graphic violence might turn off some players and those without patience will definitely be playing casual mode, but the game itself is absolutely top tier. This is same outstanding level of quality we’ve seen from other hit indie releases such as Axiom Verge, Shovel Knight, Dead Cells, and Hollow Knight. Infernax might be based on games you probably don’t like, but you’re definitely going to love it! Just make sure you’ve got plenty of soap to wash off all the blood!
This review is based on a digital copy of Infernax provided by the publisher. It was played on a Nintendo Switch in both docked and undocked modes and was excellent in both! Infernax is also available for PS4, XSX, and PC on Steam.