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The Daily Click ::. Downloads ::. Review Review: Galaxia Chronicles - Demo
I recently had the opportunity to help Renato Depaoli of eiVix test his first commercial game, Galaxia Chronicles - a cinematic platforming game with a handful of RPG elements and a deep, engaging story. Keep in mind that while I have attached this review to the demo version of the game, I am, in fact, reviewing the full, registered version of Galaxia Chronicles. My mission today is to give everyone an idea of what they should expect if they're thinking about purchasing the full version. With that said, let's continue. 
Galaxia Chronicles follows the journeys of Maxx, an eight-year-old boy who grew up in an orphanage in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. Other than a strong interest in swimming, he knows virtually nothing about himself... but all of that is about to change dramatically. One night, after falling asleep on the beach near his orphanage and having a dream that can only be described as completely bizarre, he is abducted by aliens. At first, this seems like a typical children's tale, but the story takes a dramatic turn before you even have the chance to play the first level. From there, it gets surprisingly darker and more complex as you complete each stage, with shocking twists and amazing revelations around every corner. Maxx's journeys across the moons of Galaxia are by no means your typical platform adventure. It is, after all, the Birthplace of the Universe. In all my years of playing Klik games, I don't think I've ever played a game with such amazing presentation as Galaxia Chronicles. If you don't believe me, download the demo version and watch the introduction video. Or follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8tr55YN-5M If you think that's impressive, playing through the game in the full version would be comparable to watching an interactive movie. If you love playing games for their storylines, you'll be glued firmly to your seat as you plow through the levels, eager to see what happens next in Maxx's surrealistic journeys. Renato poured four years of heart and dedication into his game's universe, and trust me, it SHOWS. The gameplay of Galaxia Chronicles is by no means innovative, but despite its simplicity, it thankfully manages not to interfere with the player's enjoyment of the story. It is a fairly basic platformer in which you must control Maxx across a variety of side-scrolling levels, each taking place on one of the various moons of Galaxia. You'll run, jump, climb, crawl, push, and slide your way around, collecting crystals that will make Maxx stronger and unlock the exit of each stage. In addition to general platforming, combat is also a strong focus of the game. Maxx may be an 8-year-old kid in a scuba suit, but his punches and backflips pack some serious punch against the various enemies he'll come across. Destroying enemies and collecting crystals will allow him to gain Levels, which increases his life and upgrades the power and range of his attacks. At certain levels, he will also unlock the ability to use magic attacks, such as summoning an earthquake, shooting hadouken-style fireballs, and healing himself. Players who are used to tight controls may find Maxx to be a little slippery with his running and jumping, especially in the later stages when bottomless pits are a serious obstacle. Nothing's worse than plummeting to your death after spending a good five minutes collecting all of the crystals and making your way to the exit. Given that there's no checkpoints in any of the stages, it's a fairly harsh penalty. Thankfully, after you've died in the same spot a few times, you're not likely to repeat the same mistake. It is also noteworthy to mention that Galaxia Chronicles features an auto-updating feature in which the game connects to the creator's website and searches for the latest version. To this effect, you'll always be up-to-date with the most recent bug fixes and improvements to the gameplay. This is something critical to keep in mind if you're thinking about buying the full version.
Like the presentation, the graphics of Galaxia Chronicles are a definite high point of the game and some of the best I've seen among Klik games. The cutscenes are absolutely gorgeous, and if you consider that all of it was built and animated from scratch by one person, it makes it even more fascinating. The various menu interfaces are also very attractive and fit the style of the game seamlessly. The in-game levels have an equally impressive amount of detail. With only a few exceptions - namely, one or two of the water-based levels - each stage is crammed with scenery in both the foreground and the background, making Renato's universe come to life during the game in a positive way. Each of the major boss battles also stand out as being graphically impressive; You'll almost wish you could drag out the battle as long as possible to appreciate the level of detail of each boss' model. The one downside to this is that the game lags very noticeably on many computers, but in my experience, you shouldn't get much more than a slightly below-average frame rate if your computer's hardware is reasonably up-to-date.
The music for Galaxia Chronicles was composed by Johan Hargne, a very well-known and respected composer around the Klik community. To that affect, if you've played any other games that feature Johan's music, you should already know what to except. And yes, it's awesome. ^_^ The soundtrack fits the theme of the game very well and does a fantastic job of capturing the mood of each major event in the storyline, especially during the cutscenes. The in-game level music is also surprisingly catchy. If you want to just sit back and listen to the soundtrack, you might be interested to know that you can unlock a Sound Test feature if you complete the full version of the game in its entirety. As for the sound effects, most of them do their job well, especially the interface jingles. I did notice, however, that the game made moderate use of stock sounds, and Maxx's voice sounds a bit corny and slightly more mature than an 8-year-old boy should sound. Thankfully, his voice is fairly quiet, and you get used to it after the first few stages.
For the overall replay value of Galaxia Chronicles, your mileage may vary. As I've stated so far, this is a game that has been directed towards story-driven players, and if you're the kind of person who likes reading books or watching movies multiple times, you'll definitely find yourself playing the game a good number of times, especially if you want your friends or family to watch the plot unfold. If, however, you're looking for addictive gameplay and don't care as much about stories and dialog in computer games, you may regret purchasing the full version.
Hopefully, this insight into the full version of Galaxia Chronicles will help you decide whether or not to buy it when it becomes available. ^_^ To sum it all up - if you're looking for deep and innovative gameplay and don't care so much about the story side of things, keep looking. If you're a gamer who likes immersing themselves in a compelling story with beautiful locations and memorable characters, I would highly recommend Galaxia Chronicles. It's a fantastic, movie-like experience that's quite unlike any other in the Klik community.
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