After 37 years, a sequel to Commodore 64 title Beyond The Ice Palace lastly arrives, however what’s the sport and why has the follow-up taken so lengthy?
If you’re questioning what Beyond The Ice Palace 1 was then don’t fear, you’re not going to be the one one. We did a double take once we first heard about this sequel, as a result of not solely is the unique almost 4 a long time outdated however even on the time it was not considered a very good sport. It wasn’t a notable gross sales success both and appeared destined to be virtually immediately forgotten. And but right here we’re.
The title Beyond The Ice Palace is a meta reference to the 8-bit pc conversions of Ghosts ‘N Goblins, by British writer Elite, which have been closely truncated and, on the Commodore 64 and different codecs, ended abruptly with an ice degree as an alternative of together with every little thing from the unique arcade sport.
At the time, Elite supposedly pitched a Ghosts ‘N Goblins sequel to Capcom however once they have been advised no, they launched Beyond The Ice Palace as a blatant knock-off, with a generic barbarian character and not one of the cartoonish allure of the unique. Surprisingly, Elite continues to be round right now, making cellular video games of varied 8-bit British video games, however they don’t appear to be concerned on this in any respect. Which makes the entire scenario even stranger.
If we needed to guess, we think about what’s occurred right here is that French developer Storybird Studio accomplished the sport and realised it didn’t actually have a lot of a hook (or perhaps they only couldn’t consider a reputation) after which discovered that the Beyond The Ice Palace licence was obtainable and that selling this as probably the most belated sequel ever would assist to get it observed. Which we guess labored, as a result of right here we’re reviewing it.
It definitely has little in frequent with Beyond The Ice Palace (or Ghosts ‘N Goblins) when it comes to gameplay and the one actual connection, which might’ve been very straightforward so as to add late within the course of, is that the McGuffin you’re after is shards of a sacred arrow. Storybird additionally received British composer Allister Brimble, who was energetic within the 8-bit period, to do the music – though it was truly David Whittaker who labored on the unique sport.
The sport’s rather more apparent inspiration is Castlevania, with some sections wanting virtually an identical to iconic places from Konami’s more and more uncared for franchise. Nevertheless, it’s not a Metroidvania, because it’s linear, with no backtracking, and with solely a small variety of extra talents to amass. But not all Castlevania video games are Metroidvanias and Beyond The Ice Palace 2 clearly venerates Super Castlevania 4 on the SNES above all others.
The authentic Beyond The Ice Palace had barely any plot however right here you’re forged because the ‘Cursed King’, who’s been shackled up in captivity for (37?) years and now wields his chains like a whip and a brief vary grappling hook – like a cross between Simon Belmont and Kratos. You may also use the chains to dam projectiles, pull the shields away from enemies (and doorways from their hinges), and carry out powered-up assaults.
Strangely, you don’t get any further weapons, it’s simply the chains. Both the unique sport and Castlevania have a number of totally different weapons so that you can swap between and their absence is keenly felt right here, not as a result of anybody cares about authenticity to the unique however as a result of it’s sorely wanted when it comes to selection.
You can improve your stats however that’s not terribly thrilling and as an alternative probably the most attention-grabbing use for the chains is utilizing them to work together with the surroundings, swinging throughout gaps, pulling switches, and activating traps. Nothing that occurs is genuinely new or surprising, however the degree design is usually competent.
Instead, the sport’s main issues are its difficultly degree and its clunky controls. The primary character is painfully sluggish and the controls unresponsive and imprecise. In phrases of the platforming this makes every little thing rather more troublesome than it needs to be, particularly given the unsatisfyingly floaty leaping motion. Likewise, fight feels awkward and sluggish and whereas nothing is horrible, not one of the motion is excellent both.
You more and more get the impression that the builders ran out of time, as whereas the sport begins off with a powerful array of giant-sized bosses and mini-bosses, their scale and complexity tails off noticeably by the midway mark. The difficultly of the bosses is even much less constant, with main issue spikes that shortly drain your will to proceed.
In its favour, Beyond The Ice Palace has first rate pixel artwork graphics, someplace north of what the SNES might comfortably obtain. But as a result of every little thing is so spinoff of Castlevania the visuals battle to impress, even with some apparently unusual boss designs.
As peculiar as that is when it comes to its title, seen solely as a sport there’s little or no of curiosity right here. There are dozens upon dozens of different comparable titles, together with all of the video games it so clearly cribs from, which are significantly extra entertaining than this. Given that even at its greatest that is only a mediocre Castlevania clone, there actually appears no motive that Beyond The Ice Palace ought to have been thawed out for a sequel.
Beyond The Ice Palace 2 assessment abstract
Pros: The pixel artwork graphics are sometimes fairly good, and the chains are a flexible weapon and motion system. Some of the boss battles are spectacular.
Cons: Awkward, imprecise controls and boring fight and platforming. Everything it does has been achieved higher many instances earlier than during the last a number of a long time.
Score: 4/10
Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, and PC
Price: £15.99
Publisher: PQube and Pixelheart
Developer: Storybird Studio
Release Date: eleventh March 2024
Age Rating: 12
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