BRO TELL US ABOUT STRIDER PLZ
IVE BEEN THING KING ABOUT PLAYING THAT FOR LONG TIME
Are you perhaps familiar with the Strider arcade cabinet games? Or are you perhaps familiar with Strider on the NES?
I intended to write a little history text of the IP but I felt that is probably unnecessary. There are some references to the Arcade game and the NES but gameplay wise this can be played without having played any of those games as this is in a form a reboot of the IP.
While this is not a linear side scrolling experience like the arcade games, it does share some of its game design in common with those such as how very smooth and athletic the player character moves, it is almost like a graceful combat dance in which the player can jump, leap, slide, and perform attacks with incredible rapid speed.
Basically how cartoons sometimes depict ninjas to fight, almost too fast for the human eye.
Likewise it is not like the NES game either though it also shares elements with that game.
The NES Strider game was nearly a Metroidvania, a 'proto' Metroidvania if you will before the genre really took off with Super Metroid.
The developers have definitely taken inspiration of what the genre has become since then though I would not be able to tell you what non Metroid or Castlevania titles they may have taken inspiration from.
Perhaps a weird comparison but have you seen Metroid Dread? Strider 2014 is basically Metroid Dread before there was a Metroid Dread. Perhaps it does not have as much complex environmental puzzles like MD but it does have some of its own such as zones in which you have to work with inverted or shifting gravity.
Like all Metroidvanias you need to collect permanent upgrades such as sliding ability, double jump, various types of blade, catapult (basically being able to leap or project into a direction you choose, almost like a third double jump), ranged attack projectiles.
And there are also some special abilities that are used for transport and to activate certain machines, but also give the player special attack or defense abilities.
In general it is pretty easy to get into this game and it may even make you ask why other games can't be as smooth.
The player does have to keep in mind that they are very weak at the beginning of the game. Enemies can be easily dispatched but it is advice not to engage entire groups early on before you have collected some of the special combat abilities that can take care of several enemies at once.
There are a few challenging parts that can get on your nerves with how tricky they sometimes are. Most of them do not require some outside gameplay guide to figure these parts out, and not every collectible needs to be collected though some like the explosive projectiles can be very useful in some situations like with bosses.
There is a storyline but it is not really 'forced' on the player, it doesn't play such an important role. We see some bad guys scheming or the main character interacting with NPCs but most of the game is mostly about "Go there and collect a thing" or "kill that enemy" in order to advance.
The plot is your usual cliche of an evil overlord seeking to rule the world and you are an assassin send in to deal with him once and for all.
Depending on how many collectives you want to go after I think the game can be finished in an afternoon or perhaps two days in case some of the bosses or puzzles give you a hard time.
