Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster

Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster delivers a good and enjoyable Metroidvania experience for fans of challenging gameplay and traditional combat. Despite some shortcomings in its story and puzzle design, its combat system, artistic direction, and boss fights make it an experience worth checking out.

While you can respect its throwback mentality and style, what doesn’t feel quite generic and ordinary has a tendency to feel cheap and poorly-conceived

Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster knows exactly what kind of Metroidvania it wants to be. It does not want you It doesn't want you to grind enemies for hours until you're strong enough to ignore tough fights. Instead, it wants you to get better at the game. Combat rewards good timing; blocking needs precision, and dashing takes commitment.

Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster is not the kind of Metroidvania that completely changes the genre. It doesn’t need to be. What it does have is personality. The hand-drawn art immediately gives it an identity, while the Beastmaster mechanic provides a genuinely interesting reason to explore the world. Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster feels like a game made by people who genuinely love old-school fantasy adventures. It wears its influences proudly, throws a ridiculous amount of blood and monsters onto the screen, and gives you enough unusual systems to keep the adventure interesting. It’s rough around the edges. But underneath all that roughness is a surprisingly likable Metroidvania.

Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster is a well-intentioned game that stands out for its boss design...

Barbarian Saga: The Beastman is a clunky, disjointed Metroidvania that struggles to find a smooth rhythm, bogged down by sparse abilities, missing control settings, and a frustrating sense of direction. While its tiny file size, forgiving checkpoint system, and cheap entry price might tempt hardcore platforming fans looking for an easy platinum trophy, the tedious grind and chaotic progression mean most players will find their patience wearing thin long before the credits roll.

I was really on the fence between a 7 and an 8 for Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster. That might sound like small beer, but I think those scores hold very different perceptions. I went for a 7 in the end because, while I mostly enjoyed my time in Arborea and the environments and characters are gorgeous, there were significant elements that felt clunky and/or derivative, but these could be fixed with some tweaking and patching over time.

Can the last Beatsmaster save the land?

Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster brings some interesting ideas, mainly in the use of transformations and animal-related powers. However, these are ultimately hampered by an execution that falls short in fundamental aspects of a Metroidvania game, such as combat, progression, exploration, and enemy variety.

Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster is a good Metroidvania with a strong identity and interesting ideas, though it occasionally stumbles on the technical and narrative fronts.