[Playing…] The Curse of Issyos

On this occasion I am going to dedicate the section to a free amateur game that you can download from its author's website.

Locomalito is already a veteran in creating games of high quality and classic style (Damn Castile either Garoudan are good proof of this) and it is always appreciated that he has so much dedication to the games he makes and that he continues to share them for free despite the undeniable effort behind them.

So, yes Damn Castile I was trying to pay tribute to the saga Ghost and Goblins and Garoudan to Japanese monster movies, especially Rodan, the game I'm going to talk about next is an ode to the films of Ray Harryhausen and Greek mythology.

Our protagonist will be Defkalion, a simple fisherman who is warned by the Goddess Athena that The island of Issyos, where he lives with his daughter, is going to be devastated by the Gods, so our hero decides to return to the island before it is too late.

Once on the beach you will find a species of lizard men, giant scorpions, harpies, warriors of hades... Athena could have warned him a little earlier, right?

The game is the typical one that combines platforms with some action, we are a kind of Castlevania classic. The resemblance to the Konami saga can even be seen in that the fisherman's sprite vaguely resembles that of Simon Belmont. Furthermore, if an enemy hits us, our protagonist will "jump" backwards, something that many will remember (probably with hatred) as a mark and sign of Castlevania.

The first levels are linear, but some of the later ones are open and allow us to explore them, in fact we will have to do so because in order to complete them we will need to find a certain number of keys.

Our hero can defend himself with the sword or a spear, the sword has short range but allows him to attack much faster, the spear has long range but is much slower. Normally I prefer to use the spear, although it is true that you can have a very bad time in a couple of levels if you do not carry the sword. Defkalion can also defend himself from a distance using his bow (by pressing up+attack button) but keep in mind that arrows are limited. To protect yourself, you can wear armor that will allow you to reduce the damage received and use the shield to block some ranged attacks from enemies.

During our adventure We will discover that there are some hidden items (generally money or arrows) that appear if we hit certain points on the stage. These hidden items can make the difference between completing the game or not, because with the extra money earned we will not only be able to buy arrows and food, but it will also allow us to increase the character's life bar if we buy the red potion.

The game has 7 levels, although If you get the 3 hidden keys you can access an alternative path where you can get an upgrade for your bow that will make your life a lot easier.  The difficulty is quite gradual, due to its simple handling you will get to grips with the controls in a couple of games and then you will see that it is not as difficult as it seems, although it is true that some phases and specific areas can be very frustrating.

The Curse of Issyos It does not have alternative game modes, but its replayability increases thanks to the alternative path, hidden items and its two endings. If you like platform and action games, I recommend that you download it and play it as soon as possible.