sunsette's Ratings and Reviews
Exploration],
rated by sunsette on Oct 01, 2023 (
I'd love to say that Super Junkoid is not even a Super Metroid hack- that it changes so much about the base game that it can't realistically be considered an extension of it, it is its own game. As true as that feels while you're playing it, it fundamentally feels just like Super to play, from the boss and enemy design, right down some of the most obscure tech.
None of this is a bad thing. Indie games on the steam marketplace that are majorly inspired by one game or genre can be hyper-derivative and still stand entirely on their own. The Messenger is clearly building on Ninja Gaiden, but it is also clearly a distinct work with its own identity, purpose and design goals that make it a different experience.
Super Junkoid seems to come at the problem from the opposite direction. Don't get me wrong- it takes a great many steps to build a unique gameplay experience. It relegates charge beam to an ammo-restricted magic system, gives Junko (the player character) a smaller hitbox than Samus, and remixes a lot of the more iconic elements of Super Metroid into different powerups with distinct purposes.
However, the game really manages to immerse you in its own world with its visuals and its storytelling. It has a completely different tone and atmosphere, and artstyle, with no stones left unturned. Absolutely everything looks completely different, and the game aims to evoke completely different feelings, too.
I think labeling the more shocking parts of Super Junkoid "horror elements" would be kind of an understatement. There are some really fucked up gross things in this hack, but what gets to me about them isn't just the pure shock value, or fear for Junko's well being, it's the psychological implications of what I'm seeing that really mess me up in the moment.
For those of you that have played the game, you'll know what I'm talking about. "Where did all of these come from? Why did they do this to themselves? Who did this to them? Am I one of them?" I totally had the Super Metroid part of my brain shut off while playing this hack, and I think that's why I keep having the temptation to call it a game. It just feels natural to refer to it that way.
As for gameplay, the level design is phenomenal. It's very open, I started a new playthrough recently and my path has not even remotely resembled my first path. Every streamer I've watched play has taken a different path, too. And yet, I never felt lost, or stuck- I was always pressing forward, and completion times for the hack always seem to hover around the 4 hour mark. I think that's a tremendous achievement in design.
The one element I feel is lacking in this hack is sound and music. Every song in the hack I've heard in another hack, which tended to pull me out of the experience for a little while whenever a new song came on. I almost think I'd have been more immersed if it were just vanilla Super Metroid tracks, since those are etched into my mind at this point. Of course, I don't expect a one-person "team" to build an entire soundtrack alongside this complete visual overhaul. That still doesn't change the fact that this is the weakest part of the hack.
It also doesn't bring it down a full orb in score, though, especially considering how excellent the other elements are. Play it, if you somehow still haven't.
None of this is a bad thing. Indie games on the steam marketplace that are majorly inspired by one game or genre can be hyper-derivative and still stand entirely on their own. The Messenger is clearly building on Ninja Gaiden, but it is also clearly a distinct work with its own identity, purpose and design goals that make it a different experience.
Super Junkoid seems to come at the problem from the opposite direction. Don't get me wrong- it takes a great many steps to build a unique gameplay experience. It relegates charge beam to an ammo-restricted magic system, gives Junko (the player character) a smaller hitbox than Samus, and remixes a lot of the more iconic elements of Super Metroid into different powerups with distinct purposes.
However, the game really manages to immerse you in its own world with its visuals and its storytelling. It has a completely different tone and atmosphere, and artstyle, with no stones left unturned. Absolutely everything looks completely different, and the game aims to evoke completely different feelings, too.
I think labeling the more shocking parts of Super Junkoid "horror elements" would be kind of an understatement. There are some really fucked up gross things in this hack, but what gets to me about them isn't just the pure shock value, or fear for Junko's well being, it's the psychological implications of what I'm seeing that really mess me up in the moment.
For those of you that have played the game, you'll know what I'm talking about. "Where did all of these come from? Why did they do this to themselves? Who did this to them? Am I one of them?" I totally had the Super Metroid part of my brain shut off while playing this hack, and I think that's why I keep having the temptation to call it a game. It just feels natural to refer to it that way.
As for gameplay, the level design is phenomenal. It's very open, I started a new playthrough recently and my path has not even remotely resembled my first path. Every streamer I've watched play has taken a different path, too. And yet, I never felt lost, or stuck- I was always pressing forward, and completion times for the hack always seem to hover around the 4 hour mark. I think that's a tremendous achievement in design.
The one element I feel is lacking in this hack is sound and music. Every song in the hack I've heard in another hack, which tended to pull me out of the experience for a little while whenever a new song came on. I almost think I'd have been more immersed if it were just vanilla Super Metroid tracks, since those are etched into my mind at this point. Of course, I don't expect a one-person "team" to build an entire soundtrack alongside this complete visual overhaul. That still doesn't change the fact that this is the weakest part of the hack.
It also doesn't bring it down a full orb in score, though, especially considering how excellent the other elements are. Play it, if you somehow still haven't.
