Farlands Journey Review (PlayStation 4)

“Farlands Journey” offers a charming experience with its delightful pixel art graphics and a happy, bouncy chip tune-inspired soundtrack. The game is a puzzle platformer where you play as a little wizard who can cast spells to break blocks and trap enemies in a Bubble Bobble style. The 2D perspective with animated backgrounds adds to the visual appeal, and the game includes handy features like a deadzone slider for the controller and tutorial signs as you play. The camera can be moved slightly with the right stick, providing a bit of flexibility in viewing the levels. The game is relatively lightweight with a 293.3MB download size and works smoothly on the PlayStation 5, offering a platinum trophy for dedicated players.

The gameplay involves navigating through levels that are generally large enough to offer multiple routes, with your health represented by three heart pieces. Losing all three hearts sends you back to the beginning of the level, but you retain all collected gems. Levels are split into smaller sections, and you always progress from left to right. There are many treasure chests to find, hidden puzzle pieces to collect, and an end-of-level breakdown to review your performance. The world map allows you to replay levels and shows which collectibles you have found, adding to the game’s replayability. Additionally, you can find many hidden rooms and secrets throughout the game.

However, “Farlands Journey” has its drawbacks. The bubble magic, which is central to the gameplay, requires charging and takes a long time, and touching anything solid with the bubble will instantly pop it. The level design, while functional, feels plain and familiar to players of this genre, and the music, though initially enjoyable, begins to sound repetitive. The inability to remap controls can be frustrating, and the game lacks unique or different elements that set it apart from other games. The trophy list is basic, focusing on ease of capture rather than integrating challenges into the gameplay, and the settings are minimal, offering only the bare essentials.

In summary, “Farlands Journey” is a visually appealing puzzle platformer with charming graphics and a catchy soundtrack. It offers a variety of levels with multiple routes, hidden secrets, and replayability. However, the game is held back by its repetitive music, plain-level design, and lack of unique features. Despite these shortcomings, it provides a solid experience for fans of the genre, especially those looking for a light and enjoyable game on the PlayStation 5.