Unto the End

just don’t feel in control. Each fight feels like my only real option is to repeatedly block until my opponent decides I’m allowed to hit him now. I haven’t mentioned the non-combat parts either, in which you explore the caves looking for supplies to patch up and improve your armour at campfires. There are a few environmental puzzles, which would be fine if they didn’t sometimes boil down to leaping off things until one of them doesn’t kill you.

Unto the End does a great job at capturing the struggle of survival and returning home, but is the struggle worth it? There isn’t a huge epic within Unto the End. There is no dialogue and the story is simple. The actual game in length is fairly short, but the repeated deaths due to brutal combat significantly lengthens the experience, if you even finish it. The story’s depth comes from the player’s emotions as they struggle to master the gameplay mirroring the hero’s struggle to make it home. But not everyone plays a video game to feel that kind of frustration. I sure don’t and though there were aspects to like about Unto the End, the combat was overall what ruined the experience for me.

You can dissect this game into a million pieces and completely lose all the magic its has. Or you can look at it as a whole, and find yourself a beautiful tale of war, life, and death.

Unto the End is one of those games that you either love or hate. A game with a very interesting combat system, but hard and concise. If you don't like challenges, stay away from Unto the End. I tell you so, and the developer himself tells you so. Be warned.

I understand why someone would enjoy Unto The End. I'm sure that some players out there like being kicked in the teeth with their hands tied behind their back. That, personally, sounds like a bad time, much like Unto The End wasn't a good time. If I wanted to play a game that didn't function as described, I would at least play a game that kind of wanted me to like it.

Unto the End is an action-adventure title where recognizing and learning enemy patterns is crucial to completing the game. You wield a sword and can utilize a torch and a bone dagger to your advantage. As you progress through the game, the character rarely encounters upgrades, and the upgrades unlocked were quality of life improvements. This means that the player will fight more challenging fights without greatly improving the player’s character. Player skill is the most important thing here, and in playing this game, you will die many times before reaching the end.

Unto the End is a scenic, lonely 2D side-scroller that sets its primary focus on a fixed number of intense battles with its unique combat system that is difficult to learn, but satisfying is master. There is no hand-holding here, though sometimes you might wish there was.

Unto The End is able to build an entire universe using almost no words. Every gameplay element is part of its narrative of a wild, brutal and unfair world. Sadly, its combat system feels (and probably is) unfair, making the entire experience sometime unbearable.

I ended up leaning towards the hate it side of the Marmite argument with Unto the End mostly because of its combat system which I really could not get my head around. I guess I’m getting old and my reaction times are slowing. At the same time though I feel the developer does deserve some credit. The art style of this game is simple but beautiful and when things were flowing well I was really in awe of this game. There will be some gamers out there that will adore this game for it’s punishing difficulty and get a sense of grand achievement on completing. For most though I would say approach with caution. What Unto the End has is good hence my rating but it’s just not going to be for everyon

Unto The End is a mix of the things that you love and the things that you hate, but it's an entertaining journey nonetheless. The developers managed to create an entertaining yet challenging game, although the balance between the two is not always there.