Abathor is a game that has the flavor of the old arcade rooms of the late 80s. A 2D action platformer with pixel art inspired by the 16-bit classics.
When I wrote that Abathor was a game from the past, I couldn’t have been closer to the truth. Already from the demo I could understand the potential of the title even if it also brought with it the classic defects of the genre.
A game developed with care and passion by brothers David and Javier Garay, who were able to recreate the atmosphere and philosophy of those titles.
It is now up to us to understand to what extent the atmosphere and philosophy of those cabinets is still current or has become anachronistic in certain aspects.
Let’s examine Abathor, highlight its numerous advantages, without neglecting its critical issues.
Attention to Aesthetic Details
What is striking about Abathor is, in addition to the strong inspiration from the Rastan Saga, the faithfulness in bringing it back to the present day.
Let’s first talk about the graphic and sound aspect of the title. The pixel art, the attention to detail, the scenarios and the variety of stages is truly remarkable. The density of details present in them denotes painstaking work on the part of the developers. As simple as pixel art is, its intelligent use renders the details of the background we move in well.
This also helps the narrative because the richness of environmental detail describes the context of the stage. In fact, Abathor’s story, despite the simple pretext, is enriched by the use of these details. The soundtrack is of the same level as the graphic component. The chiptune compositions of the late ’80s are notable. Over 40 tracks that know how to paint the atmosphere and give epicness to the actions of our heroes.
Creatures, Mid and Main Bosses
The care that Abathor puts into the stages and settings can also be found in the variety of enemies. Each stage has unique enemies with their own weaknesses. The mid bosses and elite enemies are complex, well designed and with a good level of challenge. Although their hitboxes are sometimes imprecise, the secret is to face them calmly without being greedy.
The main bosses instead range from humanoids to titanic creatures, demons and aberrations. Mythological creatures, some with their own gimmick, which make the fight even more epic. Unlike other creatures, however complex, they have an understandable and readable moveset. While they take several attempts, they are not frustrating and defeat is often the player’s fault.
The Care of Level Design
In addition to the aesthetic value, the level design and variety of levels must be praised. There are stylistic features such as the ferocious platforming phases, the secret passages and phases that alternate even in the same level. Many spectacular phases break the classic game routine and give a great sense of epicness to everything.
Many phases develop vertically, in others the screen will scroll, forcing the player to be fast and precise.
The horizontal action shooter phases are nice and break up the rhythm and lighten the tension of the game. Unfortunately I have to fail the mine cart levels. Too weak and suffer most from the inaccuracies and “dirtiness” of the gameplay.
A real shame because you often die by falling into the void without any actual fault of the player.
The 4 Heroes of Abathor
The nature of Abathor is not just single player, in fact the design of the characters and their special abilities are dedicated to multiplayer couch co-op. The use of these skills is reminiscent of another classic of the genre such as Golden Axe.
In Abathor we can choose up to 4 players with different special abilities. Each character has different characteristics of strength, agility and defense and have a concrete impact on the game. Each has a normal attack, a special, and a forward dash or roll.
Let’s see them one by one.
CRANTOR (barbarian). He has a strong slash that carries him forward and the ability to roll to avoid enemy attacks.
SAIS (Valkyrie). With the right timing and only against certain enemies we can block their attacks and have a window for a counterattack. In addition to this, it has a dash that allows you to approach or avoid opponent attacks.
KRITIAS (assassin). The most mobile and perhaps the most effective to play solo. His attacks are very fast and have less commitment than other heroes. It has a special attack that hits high and also gives a window of invulnerability, as well as a dash that can avoid projectiles.
AZAES (sorcerer). Very particular class because it has an energy bar to fill with the use of its special ability. Once filled his attacks will be more effective and his dash will also do damage.
Character Improvement
In some levels, by completing an event, we will be able to obtain a character upgrade. We will get a new aesthetic and a new moveset. Note the great care taken by the developers who created a different aesthetic and gameplay for each character.
Furthermore, during some levels we will meet a merchant who will sell us improvements, objects and upgrades for our character.
Although the characters are all stereotypes of pop culture classics, the work done by the developers is appreciable. In fact, the differences are not only aesthetic but also gameplay-related. Each character has their own way of tackling the levels and overcoming them, thanks to their own characteristics and abilities.
Difficulty: Between Complexity and Artificiality
The discussion regarding the difficulty in video games and the public’s perception of it is long and complex. In this historical moment the public seems to reward titles that bring with them their own complexity. The difficulty is fine when the game leads you to think about how to overcome them thanks to the complexity of its options. The exasperated trial & error in which one only has to learn by heart after having repeated it countless times now seems anachronistic.
Personally, it is difficult to give an objective opinion on this topic and everyone has their own opinion. I must say that it is undeniable that Abathor has elements of difficulty that are the result of a game design from 30 years ago.
Let’s analyze the authorial choices and the naivety present in the title.
3 Difficulty Levels
Abathor in his authorship provides the player with credits, as was done in the old cabinet games. Once the available credits have run out, it’s game over. And so, regardless of the level reached, we must start again from the first level of the stage we have reached.
Furthermore, it has 3 distinct difficulty levels:
Easy Mode: 99 credits and more care and items available to the player.
Normal Mode: 5 credits with higher difficulty and less player support
Bravery Mode: Unlockable by finishing Normal Mode which unlocks a subsequent stage and a unique boss, thus obtaining the True Ending.
As per tradition of games like Ghouls ‘n Ghosts you need to beat the game twice to get the true ending. Fortunately, the effort will be rewarded with additional content and the true ending.
Knockback, Hitbox, Inaccuracies and Check Point
There are certainly two elements that have traumatized old players of this genre of games. Any flying creature and the infamous knockback are the elements that have given all players of the genre a hard time.
The pattern of flying creatures, along with the knockback from hits received can be fatal. In fact, any blow suffered by the player pushes him backwards, without the possibility of control by the latter. All you have to do is find yourself on a platform suspended in the air and suffer a fortuitous blow to lose control and fall into the void.
The density of the enemies, their aggression and some inaccuracies in the hitboxes, commands and geodata of the platforms put the icing on the cake.
Plus the distribution of checkpoints is quite strange. Although present within the levels, they do not guarantee continuity in the game. In fact, if we run out of credits or unplug the game without finishing the stage, we have to start over from the first level. This happens even if we have reached the last level of the stage without completing it. In fact, only completing the entire stage and moving on to the next one guarantees us a real checkpoint.
Authorship and Ingenuity
Abathor is a tribute to the 2D action platformers of the late 80s and the care and knowledge put into the development of the title are unmistakable. As strong as the nostalgia effect is, we are also faced with game mechanics that are at least 30 years old.
As much as I respect the authorial vision of the developers, I think there are some game design choices that are at least anachronistic.
The choice of checkpoint system is quite punitive, combined with the issues mentioned above it can be frustrating. It’s true that the 3 difficulty levels are designed to stem the problem and there are also credits hidden in the levels. Unfortunately, in reaching the true ending and as the difficulty increases, the imperfections make themselves felt. It was enough to insert a password system (exactly old school) at least at each boss at the end of the stage.
The management of upgrades should also be reviewed. If we have to interrupt the game, we will start again without the upgrades obtained. Fortunately we will be compensated for the money spent. Unfortunately we have to wait to meet the merchant who only appears in specific points of some levels to regain the skills. So imagine starting a stage, stripped of the upgrades, which are fundamental especially in the last part of the game.
During the adventure, by breaking chests we will obtain useful items. Unfortunately to activate them we have to use the up directional button and the attack button. However, often during the most exciting moments it happens that we activate items by mistake while fighting.
My Two Cents
Abathor is definitely a little gaming gem. A declaration of love from David and Javier Garay towards the arcade classics of the late 80s. The attention to detail makes the game impressive from a visual and sound point of view, embellishing the atmosphere of the title. The variety of stages and levels shows the developers’ knowledge of the mechanics and level design of the time. The perfect re-enactment also brings with it the flaws and gameplay choices, the result of choices linked to those years. Unfortunately Abathor has retained anachronistic elements and some naivety that can also be partly corrected. Although the difficulty and the perception of it is also subjective, some mechanics objectively only add artificial difficulty. Net of this, Abathor remains a good game, especially if played in couch co-op with friends. He doesn’t pretend to renew anything, his vision of the game is crystal clear, complex and never hidden. Especially the last half of the game becomes really brutal, even if it is satisfying to overcome the proposed challenges.
All in all, Abathor is a good product that deserves to be played, which is mostly aimed at a specific niche. I invite you to at least try it even if you are not “old school” players because its aesthetics and old style gameplay might fascinate you.
“Abathor is definitely a little gaming gem. A declaration of love from David and Javier Garay towards the arcade classics of the late 80s. The attention to detail makes the game impressive from a visual and sound point of view, embellishing the atmosphere of the title. Unfortunately Abathor has retained anachronistic elements and some naivety that can also be partly corrected. Although the difficulty and the perception of it is also subjective, some mechanics objectively only add artificial difficulty. All in all, Abathor is a good product that deserves to be played, which is mostly aimed at a specific niche. I invite you to at least try it even if you are not “old school” players because its aesthetics and old style gameplay might fascinate you.”
- Great care in aesthetics
- Great care in level design
- Great old time atmosphere
- Some game design ingenuity
- Problems related to the 80s action platformer genre
7.7/10
I’m a musician (pianist), a nerd and a longtime manga lover.
My gamer life started with a copy of Pitfall (1982) for Atari 2600, and so I grew up hand to hand with this medium until now. Later I started to look for what’s behind the final product, its design and what happens behind the scenes of the video game world.
