Unlike other pixel-based games you can grab from Google Play, Evoland isn’t about an unoriginal adventure and a silent protagonist (except for when it is). Evoland is about the evolution of RPGs in general, from simple 8-bit sprites all the way to current day three-dimensional graphics. And while there are certainly some gripes to be had with some of the game’s mechanics, Evoland knows what it is, and more than anything, that is a victory for the game itself. The rare RPG where the leveling-up is done by the game itself, Evoland can be best described as a museum honoring RPGs from their earliest days on the NES, leading players through a world of Zelda, Final Fantasy, and so much more.
The earliest parts of this game limit you to moving around the world, finding chests and unlocking not just new abilities, but new effects as well. For example, the game is played completely silent until you find a chest containing “Sound FX,” which input some standard footsteps and other noises into the world around you (the music for the game comes later, locked in a separate chest). Camera movement, weapons, and even enemies are all unlocked in the first few minutes of playing the game, as you use the chests to effectively build the world around you. The first twenty or thirty minutes of this game feel as fresh as anything we’ve seen on the Play Store previously. Hidden references and nods to moments in gaming history, like the SNES’s Mode 7 map, expand the game in ways you don’t see coming. Random encounters are added, and though the game retains some of its traditional combat when you’re in a village, town, or cave, the turn-based system feels so much better that you’ll inevitably wish the whole game played with that combat style. Some other references, including adult townsfolk that won’t talk to you while you’re a child, or locked areas until you upgrade your equipment, do a fantastic job in making this feel like the 90s games it’s emulating without going too over the top.
Evoland isn’t without some flaws, both technical and mechanical, and several of those problems relate back to the controls. Though you unlock a circle pad over your D-pad within the first few moments of the game, moving your character in this game never feels fantastic. Because you’re moving your character over a grid-based system for much of the game, but your character can move in 360 degrees, it’s easy to get caught on elements of the environments, like rocks and trees. Despite playing through much of the game, I never improved at navigating through the world without some issue, and this also translated into problems with the combat. Getting hit by an enemy in Evoland is a one-hit kill, booting you back to the main menu, and since it’s easy to accidentally walk into an enemy, deaths can often feel unfair or cheap.
Problems aside, Evoland is an excellent addition to RPGs on Android. Unlike so many mobile games before it, Evoland seems to understand the history of classic games like Zelda and Final Fantasy at a core level, including wink-nudge references and in-jokes that give the game a distinct sense of humor. Though a bit pricey at $4.99 on the Play Store, as a crash course in classic game history and as a quality RPG on its own, Evoland is worth picking up. The game begins to slow down a bit in the latter half of the game, as unlocks and upgrades become more rare and the game refocuses its attention on the plot. Despite some missteps with its story and control system, Evoland is a great game for the classic gamer in all of us. If you long for the day of sprites, chiptune music, and finding quests from NPCs around town, this is one of the best nostalgia trips available on the store.
