Cybarian: The Time Travelling Warrior

Cybarian: The Time Traveling Warrior isn't a very long game by any stretch of the imagination, but when you take into consideration its low price point, it really is a no-brainer. Engaging, tough combat combined with superb retro graphics and a killer soundtrack make for an experience that fans of old school action titles will relish, if only for a short amount of time.

This is one of those kinds of scenarios where the designers set out to make exactly what they aimed for, and achieved it... but only because they were only going for a very simple premise. Cybarian aims low, and succeeds at what it needs to, which was not very much. There is no room for expression for the extremely controlled nature of the gameplay, with the exception of how many times a player might miss an input or get slapped. While it may not be a horrible game, Cybarian is merely mediocre and too strict to have any lasting appeal.

Cybarian: The Time Travelling Warrior presents a very enjoyable audiovisual environment and with its completely absurd plot and fun boss battles, there certainly are good points in its favour. At the same time, there are issues which also raise concern, such as its frustrating combo system, the scarcity of checkpoints through the levels and poorly placed life machines. Overall, ther is definitely something good to draw from this experience, but there are also elements that need improvement.

So while some improvements definitely need to be made, Cybarian: The Time Traveling Warrior is a neat little game that will present you with a pretty good challenge for just $5.

Whilst this game is hard and a first playthrough could take you a while I do not believe that this has much to bring you back in. This does play into the overall price which at £4.99 is a good price for anyone who wants a hit from the past.

This is one of those titles where very quickly I struggled to find the compelling fun...

Cybarian is an entertaining, crisp retro platformer with a loving look, a cool soundtrack and some nice details. The just four varied levels can be solved by experienced players in well under an hour; in the first round of the game it probably takes two to three hours, depending on your skill, to learn and master all the mechanisms and traps. Considering that the game is available for less than 5 Euro, this is okay from my point of view. If you're in the mood for a bit of crunchy pixel art action again, you won't go wrong with Cybarian.

Cybarian: The Time Travelling Warrior is a difficult, often frustrating retro action platformer that values its old-school aesthetic over all else. Everything from its graphics and sound to its difficulty and controls recall an earlier era of gaming, but it does nothing to expand on that legacy. Players looking for a challenge may take some pride in conquering Cybarian, but its short playtime and mostly empty levels leave very little to sink your teeth into.