*Review code given by publisher
This is the first day of the rest of your life. This opening line begins this crazy adventure., where our hero Stan is in the kitchen with his wife Pam,. They are discussing dinner, when he passes out and soon wakes up in another form. Upon landing, he is told to consult with a tree who grants him power, where after jumping into a portal, it begins. The dangerous journey through an unforgiving land.
Enemies appear and at first they run, but soon enough it doesn’t matter. They fight back, and they want you dead., and the game eventually begins locking you into battles. In this vicious game, there is no tutorial, you need to figure out how to play it and fast. Think quickly, as when you die you are sent back to the last checkpoint. Funny thing about this game, it sets you off on your journey on hard mode, and hard mode is beyond challenging. A true master might complete it…might.
In this game, you have three attacks. A quick dash which is fast but weak, a whip which draws enemies close, and a heavy attack which is clearly slow yet strong. Leveling these three up doesn’t actually help you on he surface, it just gives you more combos to unleash on your unsuspecting foes.
The characters are interesting in their own ways. You meet a few at the start and then more are peppered in. They are all a little weird and I think that is a good thing. The story of Stan is a nice diversion from the fighting chaos, and it is a story that will have you question things. It unfolds as you progress through your neon hell, and you learn how Stan is actually doing above.
You also get to collect things throughout the game. There are points where you might see something shiny. Dare you go collect it? You’ll always face more enemies, so best be healed up first. The bosses of course are all different and you will need to use all your skill to beat them. This is another unforgiving part of the game. While this game is ridiculously hard, it draws you in. It keeps you wanting to play it even if for only awhile. It punishes you but you can’t stop from coming back.
I will say that the game looks amazing as well. It’s such a shiny game and the world you explore looks great. The music however is not great. With only the title screen track and a main track it could have been better. Though the main track does change throughout the game subtly. Phantom Trigger is a game that will offer you no hand holding. But it is one that when you succeed at even a portion of, you will feel a sense of accomplishment. Not a game for everyone with it’s hard hitting roguelike form, but one you may just want to try.
Phantom Trigger is available today on Steam and The Nintendo Switch. So come on, go save Stan, you get to be a Ninja in hell.