Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark Review: A Deep Dive into Inti Creates’ Metroidvania Venture

Inti Creates, renowned for their expertise in crafting exhilarating action platformers such as the Azure Striker Gunvolt and Blaster Master Zero series, has ventured into the expansive world of Metroidvanias with Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark. While the studio’s pedigree in character action is undeniable, the Metroidvania genre presents a unique set of challenges. This review aims to meticulously examine whether Gal Guardians successfully navigates these challenges and delivers a compelling experience that stands out in a crowded field.

Story and Setting: A Familiar, Yet Engaging Premise

Gal Guardians casts players in the role of five schoolgirls, each possessing distinct abilities, who must confront a demonic invasion that has transformed their school into a nightmarish labyrinth. The narrative unfolds with a blend of lighthearted anime tropes and surprisingly dark undertones. While the initial premise might seem simplistic, the game gradually reveals a more intricate plot involving ancient rituals, forbidden knowledge, and the personal struggles of each guardian.

The setting, a corrupted school brimming with demonic creatures, provides a visually diverse and atmospheric backdrop. Classrooms morph into grotesque laboratories, hallways become treacherous obstacle courses, and the once-familiar grounds are now haunted by malevolent entities. Inti Creates’ signature pixel art shines, showcasing meticulous detail and vibrant color palettes that bring the corrupted school to life. The character designs, while leaning into anime archetypes, are expressive and contribute to the game’s overall charm. The story is told through visual novel style cutscenes with light voice acting.

Gameplay: A Unique Blend of Abilities and Metroidvania Exploration

Gal Guardians distinguishes itself through its innovative character-swapping mechanic. Players can seamlessly switch between the five guardians, each equipped with unique weapons, abilities, and traversal options.

• Shinobu: A balanced character equipped with a rapid-fire rifle, Shinobu serves as a solid all-rounder, capable of dealing consistent damage and navigating tight spaces. Her rifle is essential for early-game combat.
• Maya: Armed with a powerful burst rifle, Maya excels at dealing heavy damage to single targets. Her burst rifle is effective against heavily armored enemies and bosses.
• Kurona: Wielding a spread shot shotgun, Kurona is perfect for clearing groups of enemies. Her shotgun provides excellent crowd control and can be upgraded.
• Ekoro: Possessing a grenade launcher, Ekoro can inflict area-of-effect damage and destroy obstacles. Her grenades are crucial for accessing hidden areas and damaging groups of enemies.
• Risu: Equipped with a flamethrower, Risu can melt through enemies and ignite flammable objects. Her flamethrower excels at close-range combat and can reveal secrets.

This character-swapping system is not merely a gimmick; it is integral to both combat and exploration. Certain areas are only accessible by utilizing specific guardian’s abilities. For example, Ekoro’s grenades might be required to blast through a barricade, while Risu’s flamethrower can reveal hidden passages by burning away vines. This necessitates strategic character selection and encourages players to experiment with different combinations to overcome obstacles.

The Metroidvania elements are well-implemented, with a large, interconnected map that gradually unfolds as players acquire new abilities and unlock new areas. Backtracking is essential for discovering hidden items, upgrades, and secret bosses. The map is clearly marked, making navigation relatively straightforward, though some hidden areas are cleverly concealed, rewarding thorough exploration.

Combat is fast-paced and responsive, demanding precise platforming and strategic use of each guardian’s abilities. Enemies range from basic demonic grunts to challenging mini-bosses, each requiring a different approach. The game features a robust upgrade system, allowing players to enhance their weapons, increase their health, and learn new skills.

The “Purge” Mechanic: A Controversial Feature

A unique element of Gal Guardians is the “Purge” mechanic. When an enemy grabs a guardian, players must rapidly tap buttons to “purge” the demon’s influence. Failure to do so results in a suggestive, albeit tastefully censored, animation. While some players may find this mechanic off-putting, others may see it as a harmless addition to the game’s overall aesthetic. It is important to note that these scenes are skippable.

Graphics and Sound: Inti Creates’ Signature Style

Visually, Gal Guardians is a treat. The pixel art is meticulously detailed, with vibrant colors and fluid animations. The character sprites are expressive and well-designed, and the environments are varied and atmospheric. The game runs smoothly, even during the most chaotic combat encounters.

The soundtrack, composed by series regular, delivers a high-energy blend of electronic and rock music that perfectly complements the game’s action-packed gameplay. The sound effects are punchy and satisfying, adding to the overall sense of impact. The voice acting, while limited, is well-performed and adds character to the various guardians.

Level Design and World Exploration

Inti Creates have clearly put their best foot forward when creating this game. The Level design in particular is very well made and detailed, with a lot of secrets and hidden areas to find as you navigate throughout the game.

The Level Variety

The level variety is fantastic, because there is a lot of different types of levels to play in the game, there are library levels, pool levels, class room levels, and many other level themes that helps create diversity in the level gameplay.

World Exploration is a Masterpiece

In most Metroidvania games you need to go back and forth between areas, this game is no exception to that, it has that classic backtracking loop, but in a great way, which makes it so the level design and world exploration is a real masterpiece.

Difficulty and Accessibility

Gal Guardians offers a moderate level of difficulty. While the early stages are relatively forgiving, the game gradually ramps up the challenge, requiring players to master each guardian’s abilities and learn enemy attack patterns. The game features multiple difficulty options, allowing players to tailor the experience to their skill level.

The game also includes several accessibility features, such as customizable controls and adjustable text size. However, the lack of a detailed tutorial might prove challenging for newcomers to the Metroidvania genre.

What Could Be Improved?

While Gal Guardians is a solid Metroidvania, it is not without its flaws. One minor issue is the somewhat repetitive nature of some enemy encounters. While the enemy designs are varied, their attack patterns can become predictable after repeated encounters.

Another minor complaint is the lack of a more detailed map. While the map provides a general overview of the area, it does not always clearly indicate the location of hidden items or secret passages. This can lead to frustrating moments of aimless wandering.

Story Elements Needs Work

It should be noted that the story element is a weak point in the game, the story is rather dull and boring, and the story elements could have been improved for a greater experience.

Conclusion: A Promising Start for Inti Creates in the Metroidvania Genre

Overall, Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark is a solid and enjoyable Metroidvania that showcases Inti Creates’ talent for crafting engaging action platformers. The character-swapping mechanic is innovative and well-integrated into both combat and exploration. The pixel art is beautiful, and the soundtrack is excellent. While the game is not without its flaws, its strengths far outweigh its weaknesses.

Gal Guardians is a promising start for Inti Creates in the Metroidvania genre and a worthy addition to any fan’s collection. We recommend Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark to fans of Metroidvanias, character action games, and anime-inspired visuals. It is a unique and engaging experience that offers a fresh take on a familiar genre. If you are looking for a challenging but rewarding adventure, Gal Guardians is well worth your time.

Final Verdict

If you are a fan of the Metroidvania genre or Inti Creates’ previous work, you will undoubtedly enjoy Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark. The game offers a unique blend of character action and exploration, with a charming aesthetic and a memorable soundtrack. While the “Purge” mechanic may not be for everyone, it is ultimately a harmless addition to the game’s overall experience.