"Infinite:Beyond the Mind"

"Infinite:Beyond the Mind"
Reviewed By: Carless Yen
Published By: Blowfish Studios
Developed By:Emilie COYO
Release Date: 5/7/2020
Platforms: XBOX, PC, PS4, Switch
Price: 9.99

Raised on battlefields in a world devastated by war, two women who share a bond over their special powers fall under the watchful eye of the tyrannical Beljantaur Kingdom. When one is abducted by Queen Evangelyn and her heavily armed forces, the other must spring into action and rescue her friend from captivity by any means necessary. You can play this COOP or alone, and either way you are going to have a blast in my opinion. You battle your way through 16 2D side-scrolling stages loaded with tons of different enemy types and military vehicles. Waves upon waves of gun toting enemies with different skills and weapons. Enemies in Camo that are hard to see, ones that can disappear, some that chuck grenades at you, some with shotguns and so much more. You will even be attacked by trucks, planes, and choppers. Some times there is so much going on the screen you might just lose yourself.

It almost has that Ninja Gaiden feel as you chop your way through all the baddies. Smooth controls that are so precise as you double jump, dash, and even wall bounce. The movement is so fluid and I never experienced any issues or glitches. I was surprised with all that is going on at once on the screen the game held up perfectly. Not only did it play perfect , but it looked perfect as well. I haven't seen Pixel art this beautiful in some time. The backgrounds are some of the best I've seen ever maybe. I was just blown away by the beautiful backdrops, and couldn't wait to see the next level. There are 16 different ones so you certainly get more than you'd expect. Every one of them is unique and different then the next. I said the game had that Ninja Gaiden or Strider feel as game play, but the platforming and look really gave me a Contra or Rush'N Attack vibe. That is in some good company in comparisons I know, but I think it really holds it own even against those. I feel like this would have been a huge hit back then on the classic consoles, so It's a most own Modern Retro game. i think if you love these type of games it just has to be in your collection. I'd put it up there with Modern retro the likes of Monster Boy or Shantae. It's really top quality development and might be Blowfish Studios best developed release yet. They've had a lot of good games, but this one is in that GREAT category.

The music is also top notch, and feels truly classic. Defense Mechanism did an amazing job at making this game feel retro. The music really blends well with all the nonstop action you see on screen. The sounds were also really high quality. The guns, the vehicles, and everything else just sounded so clear and retro. I think this is going to be one of those games when people come back to this Gen and stream or speed run retros it will be one of the ones covered by most of those genre of gamers. I think it would be enjoyable to watch them do so as well.

The Achievements aren't super easy for this one. It will require multiple plays. There are some for not killing enemies, and some for killing a lot of enemies, some for beating the game on Coop and the different skill levels. There is also multiple endings. So the replay value is certainly there. Without those Achievements though I see you going back to this one just because it's so much fun to play. Rather you are playing by yourself or with a friend it's just a really addictive game that is hard to step away from. I actually want to end my review now so I can go play it some more. I hope some of you reading this decide to pick it up. If you do certainly hit me up and let me know what you thought of it.

Pros:
Action Packed
Solo or COOP still fun as Hell
Beautiful Pixel Art
Excellent Soundtrack
Tons of Replay Value
EPIC Boss Battles
High quality development and Platforming
Smooth Controls
Challenging

Cons:
Wish it was longer, and I had more time to lay it
Maybe to Addictive. I see the sun coming up out side.

Overall 8.8

A must own for modern retro gaming fans. One of those games that really catch you by surprise, and you can't wait to tell your friends about it and play it with them. Excellent development, as good as many of the classics like it in the past. I'd say it might even be better then some of those. Don't miss out on this one.