The Messenger
2018. Doesn’t feel all that long ago really, does it? If you’re like me and have followed the Nintendo Switch since it launched then time has been flying. So what came out in that year… besides Super Smash Brothers Ultimate Exquisite Triple Decker with Cheese edition and a top selling Pokémon remake?
The Messenger did. Also fondly referred to by yours truly as the ultimate homage piece to the Ninja Gaiden series.
Developed by Sabotage Studios and graced with a trailer reveal in a Nintendo’s Nindie Showcase (remember those?), The Messenger received widespread critical acclaim when it was released in August of 2018. But The Messenger’s time in the media was quickly forgotten, and it’s meagre initial launch sales of 50,000 didn’t match the reality of it’s critical reception among gaming journalists.
So what makes The Messenger special, and why should we be grateful for it? I’ll give you two reasons, no wait, three. Let’s start with the soundtrack. It’s incredible! I literally run the OST, on loop, while cooking dinner or hanging out the washing. I really do.
The Messenger’s soundtrack is one of the best in the action-platformer genre. Each track is purposely designed to pull you as the player into the game’s world one way or another. Some tracks establish the game’s storytelling atmosphere, whereas others compel the player to move their ninja hero quicker to avoid traps or to keep apace with a game boss. The opening theme for example, titled ‘A Messenger is needed’ feels like it is teleporting you into the game’s world, slowly but surely while the opening credits play, conjuring up a tale with a typically Far Eastern adventure flavour to it. Those of you have played The Messenger already know exactly what I’m on about. The Messenger’s 2019 DLC expansion does this equally well, starting with a calm, upbeat and peachy tune that quickly turns menacing – a perfect match for DLC’s title ‘Picnic Panic’.
Most importantly, The Messenger’s soundtrack pulls you as a player into the game while managing to tell a story all on it’s own as you play it. Compelling, energetic melodies kick off the game’s opening Autumn Hills stage as you learn to jump, dodge and slash your way along. Deeper in, during a literally game-changing moment, solemn, steady reflective rhythms start to play in the background of the Temple of Time as a greater mystery is unraveled to the player and The Messenger breaks the fourth wall. Even if you’re not into action-platformers do yourself a favour and google The Messenger’s OST. You won’t regret it.
Equally masterful is The Messenger’s visual design. The screenshots in this article don’t do it service. Really, they don’t. Sabotage Studio pulled off two magic tricks with The Messenger’s visuals that make it stand out from the rest. First, The Messenger’s general aesthetic perfectly captures the look of the games it pays homage to like Ninja Gaiden from the Sega Master System and Super Metroid from the Super Nintendo era in a manner that would both please fans of those series, and appeal to new gamers. There is a risk where modern day remakes, and indeed modern games in general, can feel too cluttered with too many colours, layers, or objects that make a game difficult to navigate, or too overstimulating. But not The Messenger. Characters, levels and enemies are all very clearly drawn and easy to identify on screen. Animations are also simple but convey plenty of character and suit their function. Try slashing your little ninja’s sword left or right when a demon spits a fireball and you’ll know exactly from all the visual clues in each animation when the right time is to strike.
The stages themselves, while based on typical game environments like wintery mountains or lava filled pits, utilise a limited palate of rich colours that strongly contrast against each other. The Catacombs, for example, which is filled with skeletons, spikes and icky ooze mixes a backdrop of night-time black, earthy browns and dark greens, all of which fit well together to create a simply but attractive aesthetic. This style of visual presentation makes it easy for the player to quickly identify hazards, enemies, scalable walls, pits and most importantly their destination – a crucial element for any fast-paced action platformer in game design mind you.
The second visual trick that Sabotage Studio pulled off is that almost every stage can be experienced in both 8 bit and 16 bits. When The Messenger’s reveal trailer came out it was like rabbit really had been pulled out of a hat. How did they do that? It’s like I’m playing a game on my Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Nintendo at the same time! It’s too much! I’m pretty sure I spent half of my gaming time just triggering the in-game portals that shift the game’s visuals between the two eras. This visual trick is more than a neat feature. It’s absolutely bloody genius.
So it sound’s great, it looks great, but how does it feel? What if I’m not into action-platformer games and never heard of a Super Nintendo? #Minecraftforever! No no, wait! The game design is good too! Actually, it’s the best part of The Messenger! As much as I loved The Messenger’s audiovisual design, most importantly, it feels and plays brilliantly. Part action-platformer, part Metroidvania, certainly The Messenger emulates the games it pays homage to (and really it has to doesn’t it). The usual gameplay elements are there; jumping, dodging, slashing, save game checkpoints, backtracking, collecting power ups like the grappling hook (oops, the ‘dart rope’ I should say.. more on that later), end of level bosses and evading enemies in between. All of these things are done well, although some bosses and some of the backtracking will drive you nuts. But those niggling bits aside each of these elements comes together to form a very playable, very enjoyable game. What makes The Messenger stand out for me though is that the game’s player control and level design feel absolutely spot on. Sure, I play on because I wanted to save the world (by delivering ‘The Message’ of course!), discover the next power up (ooh that wingsuit is fun), and test my mettle against the various end of level bosses. Yet what makes The Messenger so good isn’t that you feel you need to do any of these things, though of course you will want to. It’s the simple act of moving through each stage - getting from point A to point B – that makes The Messenger so utterly compelling. This typically involves a combination of scaling walls, leaping over pits, striking down demons, rope-darting to ledges and gliding up and down a cliff all the while bouncing off enemies and obstacles. All of these actions feel fluid, precise, and most importantly fun. Uniquely, your little Messenger can also pull of a neat trick called ‘cloud stepping’ which, once mastered, makes you truly feel like a ninja badass and totally out of control (in a ‘I’m 100% in control kind of way’).
Player control is also supported by consistently good level design. Save points are frequent enough to let you as the player make progress in a short amount of time, about 10 minutes per area I would say. Each stage is also broken up into numerous screens, with each screen only taking a few minutes to navigate through, which creates in the player a sense of regular progression and achievement. There is a smattering of timeshards, the game’s currency, to keep the player incentivised and follow the best path forward (a design element borrowed from the Mario platformer series). Even the tricky platforming sections, which take a few goes to get right, feel completely fair, and once you get through them it’s an absolute rush. In The Messenger, player control is king.
Oh my god. I can’t believe I have done this. I haven’t even written about game’s humour! In case amazing graphics, audio, level design and player control weren’t enough for you this game is funny as well!
Look, I love The Messenger. Clearly. I couldn’t think of any other game I would rather write about to kick of this article series. I have an amazing library of games to pick from, but I would be doing The Messenger a disservice if I didn’t put it front and centre. Wait what’s that noise? Oh my washing machine is done? Better go crank up the OST then… Go. Go and play it now.
--- Jon @ PGC