If you’re looking for a ‘Metroidvania” that you can finish in a weekend then ‘Zapling Bygone’ is for you. Developed and published by 9FingerGames, this indie carries all the standard tropes you’ve come to expect from the genre.

Zap is a hive mind and is under attack from a parasite. In order to survive, Zap explores the universe looking for a way to stop its destruction. Upon finding a mysterious planet Zap releases a Zapling, an alien-like creature, which you get to control. Zapling explores the planet absorbing the dead to learn more about the planet and increase its abilities.

Controlling Zapling is incredibly simple, as you start with only a jump, an attack, and a heal. Moving about the biomes with those alone is more than enough to deal with the standard enemies. Dealing with the different environmental hazards in each biome requires additional transversal methods. Unlocking the abilities wall climbing, dashing, swinging, stomping and double jumping come from defeating bosses and make navigating the biomes hazards easier.

These additional forms of traversal also expand your ability to explore the map further. This is where an interesting gameplay feature is employed. When traveling through a biome there is no map to assist with exploration. The map is not revealed until the boss of that biome is defeated. This makes sense as being part of the hive mind you need to absorb the dead boss into your being to learn what it knows.

Memorising the paths you’ve taken and areas to revisit once you have the right traversal method, can consume quite a bit of time as you search for where to go next. This adversely leads to mild frustration as even once the map is revealed the map markers are very sparse and you can still be at a loss for what the next objective is.

Additionally defeating the boss nets you its skull. Skulls open additional dialogue points in the game for you to learn more about the planet. Also, you can wear the skull allowing mutators to be slotted. Mutators can be found throughout your exploration of the map and range from stronger attacks, longer dashes, additional jumps, and faster heals just to name a few. Mutators have three shapes, circle, triangle, and square. Each skull differs in how many mutators and what shape type can be equipped. This makes playstyles very adaptable and can assist with dealing with what could be a potentially obnoxious boss.

Bosses vary in difficulty based on what traversal abilities you’ve unlocked and what mutators you’ve found and attached to your skull. All bosses have a set attack pattern so even if you are not adequately equipped for a particular boss, learning its pattern will eventually allow you to prevail. Alternatively, as the death penalty is very forgiving you can leave the biome and try a different one.

Whilst exploring, and defeating enemies and bosses you will collect a currency called Plasma. Plasma is used to activate altars (continue/save points), teleport pools, and purchase items from vendors.

Dying makes you lose the plasma that you have not returned to an activated altar. This is what makes the death penalty so forgiving. This ultimately has no real adverse effect as you can grind more currency at any point as the standard enemies respawn when you return to an altar. Collectibles can also be found when exploring the biomes but offer nothing more than information about the planet.

Upon completion of the game replayability options open. These options allow you to make the game start with all basic traversal unlocked, being locked to a metal skull (permanent death), or randomizing the locations of enemies and mutators. This is a nice addition to keep the game fresh for those that really love the Metroidvania genre.

For those achievement/trophy hunter completionists, Zapling Bygone offers a diverse range of difficulties from getting all collectibles, beating additional bosses, and beating the game normally or with the metal skull. Unlocking everything will easily double your playtime.

The gameplay pixel-art graphics are also met with comic book-style cut scenes. Both marry nicely with the audio which delivers nothing more than what is needed.

In conclusion, Zapling Bygone is a brief excursion into the familiar territory of Metroidvania. If that’s all you’re looking for, then you’ll be more than happy with this game.

Written by: Ashley Barnett-Cosgrove