Rob reviews Fearmonium on PlayStation 5…
It’s seems to be every week-or-so that indie game publisher Ratalaika Games has a new game out on the market. This week it’s no different as the publisher is premiering developer Redblack Spade’s psychological Metroidvania, Fearmonium to consoles. Utilising a unique story that plays upon our own fears and worries, Fearmonium is a journey across one young boys psyche that’ll stay long in your mind once the credits roll.
Fearmonium takes place within the mind of Max, a teenager who’s going through quite a tough time. The death of his beloved grandfather has hit the family hard and Max particularly is having a tough time with the sudden bereavement. Not only this but Max doesn’t get on with his abusive stepfather, he’s the subject of taunting from a few high school bullies, and his girlfriend is breaking up with him and moving to another town. While Max attempts to settle his troubled mind for a nights sleep, our real protagonist starts to take shape within his mind. Playing on Max’s worries, he manifests a small bout of coulrophobia (fear of clowns) that threatens to grow into a full-blown phobia. It’s this phobia that we control as she wreaks havoc across Max’s mind, while living his very real fears.
As is traditional for the Metroidvania genre, your little phobia starts off quite under powered with a simple jump and attack. As you progress (essentially growing in fear) you’ll then be able to unlock more powerful attack combos, and more traversal abilities. This then opens up more of the maze that’s Max’s psyche, which in turn gives more areas to explore - and back track to. The playable map is gigantic and is full of all the elements that make up the genre. There’s plenty of enemy’s to tackle, and handy traps, pitfalls, and other obstacles that serve as a barrier until you unlock the required skill to navigate them. It’s all incredibly simple and anyone who’s played Metroid or Blasphemous will feel right at home. Markers can also be placed onto the map to denote points of interest, however there isn’t much variety to the type of marker you place - so you’ll have to keep track.
To help you along in the adventure, you’ll be aided by the aptly named “Lady Depression”. Much like the real-life mental disorder, Lady Depression feeds on Max’s fears and worries. But, for our little phobia she acts as a save point and fast travel point. Depressions location is also automatically marked on the map and her bathtub is always placed near a clown merchant. It’s also to these location you’ll respawn to if the inevitable happens so it’s always best to utalise Lady Depression whenever you see her.
When it comes to its gameplay, Fearmonium again remains faithful to those that came before. Enemies can be simply dispatched by learning their attack patterns, to then attack yourself when safe. The games many platforming elements give a good degree of challenge, yet none ever felt too taxing or frustrating. To add further help you also have a pretty healthy HP bar, along with three refillable health kits to aid you in reaching the next checkpoint. Special abilities are tied to a stamina bar, and while you can only equip one at a time, they are freely available. Passive abilities can also be earned, with up to three being active at once. For those who want more, there’s also a plethora of collectable masks to be found with each scattered in some very fiendish places.
Visually Fearmonium is a beautiful looking game, and developer Redblack Spade has shown a real talent for crafting an atmospheric experience. Everything from enemies, to locations has a hand drawn feel to it, and is extremely reminiscent to that seen in Cuphead and those olden day cartoon shorts. Each location is also packed with unique elements that play upon that particular area, with in turn keeps the game feeling fresh. Boss characters are also particularly well designed with their looks based upon Max’s kernel fears such as his school bullies, and his stepfather. The games soundtrack also adds to the atmosphere and is the perfect accomplice to the overall adventure. While there’s no voice acting, the games animated cutscenes, along with the tonal shifts in its soundtrack are just as good. You’ll certainly feel for Max’s plight, even if you are essentially playing as the troubled teenagers latest fear.
Overall, Fearmonium is a great Metroidvania that utalises the unique location of a young man’s mind to tell its story. Mental health is still a taboo subject for a lot of people and here with Fearmonium Redblack Spade tackles the subject in a meaningful and educated way. While the game doesn’t necessarily bring anything new to the genre in terms of gameplay, it’s still a superb experience that’ll long stay with you once the credits roll.
Rating 8.5/10
A code was kindly provided for this review
Fearmonium is available now and can be purchased on the PlayStation 5 store.
Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow us on X/Facebook @GeekCultureRev, TikTok/YouTube @Geekculturereviews, and BlueSky @geekculturereviews.bsky.social
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