Analysis Pampas & Selene, a gem for fans of classic ‘Metroidvania’ (PC). Created as the spiritual sequel to The Maze of Demons, Pampas & Selene is much more than a simple tribute.
Already on sale on PC is Pampas & Selene: The Maze of Demons by Francisco Téllez De Meneses (Unepic, Ghost 1.0, Unmetal ), an adventure that could be summarized as the spiritual sequel to Knightmare 2: The Maze of Galious, but probably This may not be very illuminating: today’s public will be unaware of this Konami classic for MSX.
That 1987 title with a labyrinthine map similar to what would later be called metroidvanias – exploration and obtaining objects or skills that give access to new areas – influenced later works that are surely beginning to be popular a lot more, such as Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest, La-Mulana or precisely, Unepic. The game, starring Popolon and Princess Aphrodite – with the option to switch between the two, as they have slight differences in gameplay – took us to a castle to save the soul of her unborn son Pampas (wink, wink).
A new generation of heroes
The beginning of Pampas & Selene tells us how Popolon and Aphrodite entered a castle to defeat the dark cleric who invaded the Greek kingdom. Peace lasts forty years but, surprise, the threat inevitably returns when a supernatural power spreads through towns and villages.
New times and new characters, the descendants of the ancient heroes, rise in this adventure in the castle of Mogdoss to destroy the source of that power: the knight Pampas and Selene, an apprentice sorceress.
The basics of the game will sound familiar to anyone who tries The Maze of Galious, so we effectively have a role-playing metroidvania with the possibility of instantly switching between the two protagonists, who are designed for different playing styles.
Pampas is designed for direct combat with a sword, although he also has a bow of arrows – consumables – and the armor offers extra resistance, while Selene uses powerful magic with mana expenditure that allows her to distance herself a little from her enemies, but she resists fewer blows. There are other differences here and there, for example – in another nod to The Maze of Galious – the girl can hold her breath longer underwater.
Pampas & Selene show that sometimes it’s not about reinventing the wheel or adding new systems to what already works. The fun is in discovering 250 “rooms” or screens in a non-linear route that hides secrets and shortcuts to advance as far as possible or empower the protagonists. Yes, there are options to find coins and make purchases, to complete divine quests that are commissioned by the gods of Olympus that provide rewards, or to improve the parameters of Pampas and Selene after defeating bosses.
It will take us more than 10 hours if we play at a normal pace, although as is customary in these cases, you can play in a rush style or on the contrary search for 100% of its secrets, so its duration is quite variable.
But a good tribute is not limited to simply following in the footsteps of the original, you can always improve aspects or add home-grown novelties. We have mentioned that in Pampas & Selene, you exchange characters, but it also includes local and online cooperatives so that two players can explore the castle and its dungeons separately: it goes to split screen.
It is preferable to collaborate in the same area but nothing prevents you from going to your ball instead of following your partner. In any case, this multiplayer should be considered the icing on the cake, one more alternative: the solo experience already more than justifies its purchase.
There are some interesting or at least curious customization options. You will be able to accompany the pet heroes, there is an internal achievement system, appearances – the return of Jesse Fox from Unmetal -, the… peculiar Director’s Cut soundtrack – wait until you hear it – and gameplay modifiers that affect the damage of the barrels, the possibility of gaining life by defeating enemies – in exchange it is lost little by little -, a hardcore mode and others to facilitate speedruns. We would say that it is not an excessively difficult title in general, not as much as other modern Metroidvania, but there is the occasional difficulty peak, especially with the bosses.
It is difficult to find fault with Pampas & Selene: The Maze of Demons because even those aspects that we found could be improved – like everything, it is a very subjective matter – can be understood to be justified by the limitations of its origin and pretensions. For example, the control at the beginning – before the improvements – can be a little hard and slow, but that is the sensation that is sought and it never feels unfair within its design.
It’s not the most spectacular Metroidvania we’ve seen on the indie scene – and we would have liked a more realistic scanlines effect – but of course, it was created for MSX; It’s not an “8-bit inspired retro” But it worked on the platform. The soundtrack, by the way, offers the original MSX one for those who want to maintain the spirit they are looking for, but there is also a new one on Steam with better sound quality.
Conclusions
You don’t need to know The Maze of Galious to appreciate Pampas & Selene: The Maze of Demons. The new gem from unepic_fran appeals directly to nostalgia and a design from decades ago, like Infernax or Astalon: Tears of the Earth did, without forgetting quality. The known formula brings various improvements in comfort and cooperation that without fear of being wrong we can say that they do it even better than their references. One of the most entertaining Metroidvania of the season.
We have carried out this analysis thanks to a code provided by unepic_fran.
