Review: UnEpic – PS Vita (8.5/10)

UnEpic, a game first launched in 2011, made its way across many platforms through the years before making a pitstop on the PS Vita. The Metroidvania title pokes fun at TV culture and movies while being as epic doing it. You are playing some board game with friends when going to the bathroom turns to visiting a castle and a demon entering your body and failing at possession and it only goes up from here.

The graphics are a mix between NES and SNES with a touch of today’s style and shadows look great in the game. This is a game to go in slow because the game is dark and has you lighting torches to see enemies and traps. After lighting all the candles you will hear a noise and see them go bright for a second, which means all the candles in that room are lit. Think of this as Demon Souls because the enemies can be easy to annoying like spiders for example or the imps who carry dynamite and explode if getting close to you.

The menu system takes a bit getting used to mostly because you bring it up with select and it doesn’t pause the game so plan ahead before bosses or even enemies. There are a few issues I have with the game one being no precise jumping like in Metroid or Castlevania and two is if facing off against 2 or more enemies you will only hit one of them so don’t face off against five at once. There is one save area but you will get a warping item to save as well as other useful items as you progress through the huge game.

Casting spells require crafting items and if you have them you can cast but if you run out you will be dry but they are easy to farm as well as buy but shops are limited with items. To use spells or even certain items you must have a stat on what type it is to a certain level like a heavy mace may be level 5 so you once it is level 5 you can equip it. The item menu is sort of like Terraria just without a chest to put stuff in and crafting items or jewels can only hold 20 each before it takes up another slot.

Voice acting and the text are one of the best I read and listened to and the voice acting reminds me of Persona 2 but less muffled or maybe it’s just me who knows but the humor is spot on and Francisco, the mastermind behind UnEpic, must really love Star Wars because that is where most references will come from and Futurama along with a few others.

There is a thing called UN points that you will get from challenges but you have to be really good because these are some of the most insane task to beat but there are a few easy ones. One thing I should mention about weapons and other gear is that you will have to repair them but not a lot unless you take a lot of damage but a small percent goes down so it won’t effect you too much.

UnEpic is very challenging but forgiving at the same time with multiple difficulty settings and some checkpoints here and there but you will have doors for fast travel because back traveling will be huge here and you have tons of rooms to explore. Not only do you have sub bosses but guardians as well and each carry a key to the other castle areas and some are pretty damn mean and require skill to beat.

There are a lot of loot drops where most of your weapons and items will come from but the walls have hidden objects as well to find. Pets are also very useful from shooting ice spells to even healing you though once it’s gone you have to revive it with an item so if you go the pet route always carry a certain item for them just in case.

Conclusion

UnEpic is a classic and the port is handled real well on the PS Vita with no lag or long loading at all. There are also lots of sidequests to do as well for some coins or rare items and some even let you decide on how to complete them. This is a game with a lot of love also sweat and is one of the best Metroidvania titles I played even with its few issues it stands out and anyone who is a fan of Metroid, Castlevania or parody type games should get it.

The review was written and provided by Chris. All screenshots are from the PS Vita version.