Reviewed on: Xbox One
A school of magic, with charismatic characters, very colorful and with an isometric perspective, Nine Parchments brings a game with quite engaging co-op for its style. It has its flaws, but nothing that gets in the way of your adventure in search of your goal.
Story
It all begins at a school of magic, when a powerful explosion spell happens without much explanation. As a result, nine parchments are lost, scattered across the world. To prove their worth to the grand master, the students decide to collect these parchments. During the story a narrator tells why you are in that place, but it is something quite simple that you sometimes stop paying attention to.
The game starts with a short tutorial at your magic university, to teach you the game’s concepts, up to the moment the nine parchments are lost, and then, to show their worth, the students set out on a journey after the parchments scattered across the magical world, full of danger and traps.
Gameplay
Nine Parchments uses the Twin-Stick Shooter mode and an isometric view in the style of Diablo, in which you use the analog sticks to move around the scenery, using the right one to attack the enemy and fire your spells. Other buttons swap your power, but this part is a little sad; the spell-casting effects are beautiful and well drawn, but they only change color from one to another to identify which element it is. It could have had effects of other kinds; on damage, yes, they have different effects.
The game also features RPG elements, such as a character skill tree, in which each level gives you 1 point to distribute among your elements, granting benefits to the character and their spells. There is also an acceptable amount of cosmetic items, including hats, scepters, clothes and characters, something you unlock by completing certain objectives on the map.
In this game we have the option to play solo and in co-op, and that is where the game draws attention. Playing with friends, local or online, completely changes the gameplay, as friendly fire is on and all strategy has to change, because you may end up killing your friends with area spells or badly aimed bolts (something that happens a lot). Some mechanics let us mix our spells when playing multiplayer, and when spells of the same element are used they become stronger. If an ice monster shows up, two characters can cross a fire bolt and deal more damage to the opponent.
You do not necessarily need someone on your friends list to play; you can start the game solo and team up with some other players during the game. Or some Troll may join your game and deal you more damage than the enemies. With each parchment found, after the boss battle, you can add a new power to your character, from a choice of 3 new powers drawn by the game, which are area or single-bolt.
One part that can bother and get in the way at times: the spell selection menus are operated with the RB button, and you have to look quickly to see which spell you selected, sometimes making you heal the enemy instead of killing it. I think the button mapping of commands could have been more agile and less confusing.
Graphics and sound
Well, at this point the Nine Parchments team nailed it: the game’s art is divinely beautiful, very colorful, with lighting effects that please the eyes, even of the least attentive. I personally played it in 4K and then in 1080p, and in both resolutions the game looked beautiful with vivid colors.
The game’s sound effects are also quite decent, the sounds of explosions and powers are well crafted. A highlight goes to the game’s voice acting, which fits very well.
Summary
Nine Parchments proves to be a great game to play in multiplayer. It has a lot of walking and firing energy, but in co-op, which will give you great gaming sessions into the night. As a whole, it is made up of 30 levels and some bosses, and the skill tree and collectible items make the game less repetitive and you are always looking to improve. However, some maps prove repetitive, making you think you have been there before. The boss battles are cool, each one different from the other and giving you bigger challenges with each level.
Another point is friendly fire, which, if misused, can cause some arguments; unfortunately it cannot be turned off, you can lower its damage, but never turn it off.
For lovers of the genre it is a great game that will please you visually and entertain you for a few hours.
Story: 6
Audio and visuals: 8
Gameplay: 6
The version provided was the Xbox One one.
Nine Parchments is available for PC, Playstation 4, XBox One and Nintendo Switch.
Max Xavier
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