Review: Oniken: Unstoppable Edition (PlayStation 4)

by Jim Smale · April 9, 2020

When a global war nearly decimated humankind, an evil military organization called Oniken takes advantage of the situation to dominate and oppress the few remaining survivors.

Pros:

66.24mb download size.
8 Bit style graphics.
CRT TV filter-on/off.
Retro Chiptune soundtrack.
Action-platformer gameplay.
Platinum trophy.
Contra feels to it.
Proper nice cutscenes.
Arcade presentation.
Pickups are in-game for grenades/health.
Big boss fights.
A mix of platforming and auto scrollers.
Constant checkpoints.
Fun to play.

Cons:

No, tell on boss damage.
Respawns are not instant.
Difficult.
Grabbing platforms and getting up them is tough.
No replay value.
Lacks leaderboards.
Never sure when you trigger a checkpoint.

8/10
Graphics - 8/10
8/10
Sound - 8/10
8/10
Accessibility - 8/10
7/10
Length - 7/10
8/10
Fun Factor - 8/10

7.8/10

Summary

Oniken is another modern game attempting to recreate the feel and presentation of games past. It nails the presentation with jaw-dropping visuals especially in the cutscenes, the gameplay is solid and has a lot of niggles and gripes so maintaining the retro feel checks out. It’s a difficult game and the boss fights, in particular, are tough, I got strong Contra vibes from it and appreciated the difficulty and overall playstyle but the controls and ledges especially wore out on me. Glad I tried it but for me, it doesn’t offer much in terms of new advancement.