Aggelos 2 - Switch Review

Gaming is all about memories. When I played the original Aggelos on the Nintendo Switch, my wife was about to go into labour with our first son, who is now about to turn five. I can’t actually remember why I was playing it at the time (I wasn’t reviewing it), but I was. And now, whenever I think of Aggelos, I inevitably think of that period of my life.

Aggelos was awesome (there you go, that’s the review), and upon hearing about the sequel, I have been incredibly excited. It’s finally here, a whole eight years before the original was released on Steam. I don’t have any impending child arrivals on this occasion, but at least I get to give this one a proper review!

The Good

I also remember some mild hoo-hah about Aggelos as to whether it was a metroidvania or not; I would have described it as a semi-linear metroidvania. Aggelos 2, however, is very much a metroidvania, mainly because it is much less linear than its predecessor. Aggelos 2 is set 1000 years after the last one, and you play as an angelic hero who is trying to save the Kingdom of Lumen from a mysterious Army of Darkness. From the offset you must defeat an array of creatures and bosses as you meander your way around the map, which feels pretty meaty. I loved the mental gymnastics of trying to figure out where to go next and often you had to explore off the beaten path to rather circuitously find your way to the next main story beat. The craft and complexity of the map are incredible; I always wonder how these guys do it all the while ensuring there is no possibility of a soft-lock, but it all fits together nicely.

The combat in Aggelos 2 is simple but challenging, and it also feels satisfyingly responsive. From the get-go you have a sword for close-up melee and a tractor beam-type weapon for long range. You’ll soon find that the melee is more powerful but, of course, comes with more risks. What I found really impressive is how both forms of combat, along with the spells, were all used on an almost constant basis. This is a sign that there’s enough variation within the enemy AI behaviours; often in a game you find a way of combat that works for you and you stick to it, but in Aggelos 2 you will need to be constantly interchanging between melee, range attack and spells as enemies come at you from all angles. 

The graphics and music in Aggelos 2 are satisfyingly retro; it looks and sounds like a Mega Drive game, but this is no detriment to the excitement. I’m also pleased to say that it runs as smooth as a pair of silk pyjamas, and I experienced no bugs or crashes throughout my gameplay time, which in this day and age is a welcome surprise (it happens a lot more than you think, especially at launch)!

TL;DR

• The interconnected map is fun to explore
• Well-balanced and varied combat
• Satisfyingly retro look and feel

The Bad

I think we’ve all become accustomed to hard bosses in metroidvanias, but Aggelos 2 is an exception to that rule. It feels refreshing to have something a bit more palatable after all the souls-like bosses in Silksong (for example), but I would say in Aggelos 2 the scales are tipped a bit too far the other way. The bosses are generally pretty easy; I either did them the first time or, at the very worst, within four or five attempts. I just wanted to flag that up because it will disappoint some of the more hardcore metroidvania fans.

I also felt that Aggelos 2 could have done with more side quests and/or NPCs. There is at least one hub/village-type place, but the side quests are generally confined to finding a certain number of x collectibles… Something a bit more imaginative would have been welcome and would have made the general exploration way more rewarding than it already is.

TL;DR

• Bosses are a bit too easy
• Unimaginative side quests

Final Score: 9/10

Aggelos 2 is the perfect concoction of all the key ingredients in a 2D non-linear adventure game. The game world is intricate and expansive, and the combat is punchy and fun; I couldn’t put it down. Developed by an indie developer who goes by the name Wonderboy Bobi on socials, I sincerely hope they’re already cooking Aggelos 3!

Thank you for checking out our Aggelos 2 Switch review, thank you to PQube for providing the review code and thank you to our Patreon Backers for their ongoing support:

• Andrew Caluzzi (Inca Studios / Camped Out)
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• Bobby Jack
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