It really is. You should try it. It's like explaining an old game you love to someone younger who just doesn't get it at all.

Good to hear! I know it doesn't have the best reviews, but I've always thought that the gimmick looks really interesting. I find gaming history pretty interesting and play a lot of long-running game series from the beginning in order to see the evolution of the technologies and game design so that mechanic really appeals to me. I'll have to keep my eye out for it to go on sale or get bundled. :)

Glad to hear it! Evoland has been on my to-play list for a while. I'll move it up.

I played the game last year so i'll comment on it.

It's more nostalgic than anything else. It takes you through various color mods, styles, graphical hypes, and things done in games and systems over the last 20 years.

However it isn't really a very long game, you can beat it in a couple hours or so, so it doesn't really overstay it's welcome.

All in all, if you are a relatively new gamer or haven't played anything before the PS2/Xbox, then this game probably isn't for you.

Good to know that some people enjoy it, but it certainly isn't for everyone. If you want a different opinion, I posted my thoughts on it earlier this year in the Games Finished in 2014 thread. Personally, I thought it was pretty mediocre as a game, as an hommage and as a potential parody and that it only lived off its gimmick ...

*signed* *signed*

It's pure nostalgia badly executed without the love and nice details the original JRPGs had and it's very short and even more linear than the originals.

I loved playing Evoland, it triggered many memories of nostalgia for the games of my youth. It is fun to play and although it is not particularly long it was enjoyable.
The biggest problem with Evoland is that it is reliant on you having played the games it references and having fond memories of the games too. For Gods sake there is a Chocobo in the game!

So, it isn't anything more than just a sequence of overt video game references, right?

Yep

I know. You would have had to start playing on the Gameboy and NES, and then through the PS1.

I guess a list of games that would make more sense if you played them first...

Zelda or Mario on Gameboy

Final Fantasy 6 or Chrono Trigger (Actually any SquareSoft game on SNES works too)

Final Fantasy 7 (CD load times and pre-rendered backgrounds)

Not sure what to really recommend for the 3D environments and upgrades so... *shrugs*

Why do people bitch and moan about the limited review lengths? :P "Evoland is fun." Easy, simple, and only three words! :D

Well done.

Yes, it's only a gimmick. It's short, there's no balance, etc. But the gimmick is fun. And the gimmick works.

Cheap. Short. Fun.

There's another go at a useful three word review for you, TinyE.

Evoland is empty, the way shovelware tends to be. Imagine just randomly walking around the wilderness in Arcanum without the map for no reason.

So? Ever played the first FF games on the SNES? There were large deserts and land areas that are empty. The towns usually had 6-10 people who all gave the same line over and over again...

Evoland isn't trying to be a large open world, or have a huge complex plot or multiple endings or anything like that. It's a trip, a reminder of how far we've come for gaming, mostly in graphical and audio improvements and how they were incorporated into the game(s) based on the limitations at the time.

If Evoland tried to add more content, you might get bored if you had a 10+ hour questing and a leveling system that is redundant. You would get annoyed if there's too much platforming or grinding... No i think Evoland is as good as it's going to be while not becoming too complex and without removing the 'oh my god i remember that!' feel to it. Some sections are incredibly hard, one section has like 30 pieces of equipment you put on (the belt of the sheep i think was one of them). You can hear the difference between 8-bit and 16bit music, and see the differences in 16 colors to 256 colors and what that means.

Some might call it a love letter and reminder.

Don't try to over-analyze it, if you don't get it there's no shame in it. As Kingpin (in the Daredevil movie) says "I was raised in the Bronx, Wesley. This is something YOU wouldn't understand. "

As far as the gameplay is concerned, these are the games that it borrows inspiration from:

Dragon Quest (NES) - for the 8-bit graphics and tilesets

Final Fantasy 6 (SNES) - for the combat and Mode-7 graphics

The Legend of Zelda (NES) - for the combat and overhead view, but in 3D instead of sprites

Diablo (PC) - for the combat and equipment system

Final Fantasy 7 (PSX) - for the visual style and CD loading times

There are references to numerous other games in the form of item and character names and such, but being knowledgeable on the five games listed above will give you the maximum level of appreciation for the game.

As I said in my review in the Games Finished in 2014 thread, the graphical upgrades and references are rather overt. However, the game is fairly short, so the gimmicks never really overstay their welcome.