Another banger from INTI CREATES!
It's that time again for a new episode of Chichuki Plays, the show where I go hands-on with upcoming games and show them off. Usually it's about an hour or so but I don't want to spoil too much of the game for you. This time, we're looking at Gal Guardians Servants of the Dark on Steam. The game is also on the Nintendo Switch eShop!
Demons plus maids equals a kickass metroidvania-like journey. The folks at INTI CREATES has a knack to create games that combine the classic feel of a retro game with the modern flair. They have done it again with Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark. Servants of the Dark takes a page from Demon Purge where you control two interchangeable characters with different abilities/attacks. You have the choice to play with Demon maid Kirika, who has a gun or Masha who attacks with a whip. I found myself playing more as Masha but Kirikia is good for ranged attacks. Long story short, the maids cut their vacation short to get back to the castle of their master, Demon Lord Maxim but all is not right. The head maid, Lysa, was in cahoots with Lord Lyzenorg, and attacked Lord Maxim. He was badly wounded but alive so it’s up to the maids to get his bones back and return his body to its former glory.
You’ll have to master different abilities and powers of the two girls and find which ones work best for you. Similar to Castlevania, enemies will drop weapons that you can use throughout your journey. From grenades to throwing knives, there is a wide range of weapons to use. I mentioned that you’ll have to collect Lord Maxim’s bones and those have benefits. Lord Maxim will level up after you collect bones and will learn new abilities as he levels up. These abilities will help the girls explore. An air dash and double jump are just two of the helpful abilities you’ll get on your adventure. I was having an issue with the dash on the ground to go underneath things as it felt a little clunky. I also had slight issues exiting from the map. I found myself using a weapon when I wanted to exit from the map.
Another interesting collectable is souls of other maids/monsters in the castle. These creatures were caught in the aftermath of Lord Lyzenorg’s attack and lost their lives. Lucky for them, their souls are close by and we have the chance to collect them and bring them back to their bodies. The souls could belong to maids in the castle that will help Kirika and Masha in their journey. One could run a shop or another could upgrade weapons. You’ll have to find them and find out!
I have a great time playing INTI CREATES projects. I think they are becoming one of, if not my favorite developer for classic/retro centric games. If you want your game to have that retro and modern feel to it, let INTI CREATES have a go with the property.
Make sure you check out the hands-on/thoughts video below!