Review: Phantom Trigger

Phantom Trigger is a gallery of different genres, from an action adventure with roguelike elements, through a classic dungeon crawler in which the compass is more valuable than gold (because it does not have a cure), to a standard Tabasian slasher like the game Devil May Cry(although in a two-dimensional version and without excessive radiation to the abdomen). The game is adorned with an advanced combo system supported by the immobilization of enemies and the killing of larger groups. The wall battle starts with an ice knife that is used in a close fight and a whip to drag an opponent in the style of Scorpion from Mortal Kombat, and it also serves to manipulate objects and solve simple logical-space puzzles, which resemble those long seen in Sokoban. Shots that are classified as ordinary are carried out quickly, but they are not overly effective and they hardly falter the target, while the performance of those who take away a larger piece of opponent's energy can make it go as a hungry age, leaving the wall helpless and makes it much more vulnerable to the counterattack . RPG is reduced solely to unlocking more complex compartments and upgrading weapons(not to be confused, these are not two essentially different categories - the improvement of the weapon does not imply greater strength, but a wider choice of combinations), and later there will be more interesting variants, such as the  fist, boxers and various types of personal weapons which produces specific elemental damage . In addition, leveling does not bring any special bonuses, save for the simple extension of the Sten Energy scale. A special key is separated for dash,which is also beneficial, since all opponents for your neck do not breathe, but those who open fire to you from the opposite end of the screen, so it's crucial to combine all available techniques - eye drops, jumping from one corner on the other and long-range attacks. The game consists of five worlds, each of which is concealed by a characteristic set of enemies to be trampled on. In fact, Sten is the greatest enemy of himself, because all the walking obstacles are the product of his mind. Some of the subjections are encrusted with logical problems that must be resolved under constant enemy or mini-games, whose successful resolution brings the award in the form of special items. If you do not lie on this trip to the brainstem, there is no worry,





For every compliment, the implementation of a local cooperative mode for two players, which logically doubles the amount of damage done (and the crowd in front of the monitor or TV). In order to keep things fair, in this mode, the balance is maintained by a unique energy scale shared by both players, which requires a high level of coordination among teammates. Help will definitely be needed because any type of tutorial is omitted. Also, since the fight in Phantom Trigger requires super -fast reflexes, free up the keyboard and mouse and prevent unnecessary nerves preventively, because, without the proper gamepad, you will not go far. Above all, in this title, you will truly enjoy only if you belong to a small group of superstars who count individual frames in martial games - saving frames animation of the enemy and timely counterattack are the only recipe for survival in this nightly world. Phantom Trigger is a great example of how high-quality pixel art the performance should look (it seems that Unity is good for something), which, in conjunction with the first-class music background, creates a unique and striking atmosphere, although due to the specific design it is sometimes difficult to discern the free passage because the surfaces through which it is possible to cross-merge with the walls, or with parts of background graphics. The opponents are attractive and imaginatively designed, and in particular, the type of enemies that are aimlessly flying on levels with the classic CRT television on the shoulders instead of the head.





Phantom Trigger does not bring anything epochal, but I must admit that the end result is very impressive, especially when considering that it is a part of a micro-team that has only two members.


Rate: 7 /10