Axe & Bow Land (Review)

 

Written By: Sam Delong: I wanted to like Axe and Bow Land. It has a retro aesthetic that harkens back to the games I used to love on Super Nintendo, such as Joe and Mack or Tomba. Axe and Bow puts you in the shoes of some cutsey Aztec warriors. The character designs seem to be a bit of a throwback to those classic platform arcade games I used to love. You can tell care was put into its basic but charming story. Unfortunately, I don’t think there is enough gameplay meat on the bone to keep my interest for the long haul.

Axe and Bow Land is what you would call a skill-based platformer. It reminds me a lot of one of my favorite games of all time, Celeste. Axe and Bow Land also has an emphasis on climbing, and demands some pretty precise jump and landing skills. Each character has a unique movement mechanic. Axe, for example, has you freezing enemies with your axe —then you use the frozen enemies to climb on. However, unlike Celeste, which unfolds in all directions and has some of the best-designed levels — Axe and Bow Land feels basic, flat, and under-designed.

If these kinds of precise platformers are your thing, the linear maps do break up the action by giving some gameplay variety from area to area. You will start the game progressing mostly by jumping up. The progression is akin to what you might find in a platform-based fighting game. Axe and Bow Land also has boss fights, which are the best parts of the adventure. These sections play much more like a traditional side scroller. The bosses are usually giant behemoths that tower over you. Some of them have some pretty cool creature designs. And the larger boss enemies do a good job of creating a sense of scale against your character.

There are definitely going to be platform-loving gamers who are into the challenge. Axe and Bow Land just doesn’t measure up to other games of its type. I think the challenge hook is a good selling point — but none of its other elements feels fleshed out enough to keep it going. It’s not going to break any new ground story wise, but those looking for a challenge and a retro vibe might find a place in your Steam library for this one.

2 out of 5