14 DAY TRIAL // 
Journey to the West is one of the most popular Chinese novels, hence the myriad of media adaptations that try to capture the spirit of the book written in the 16th century. The novel has strong roots in Chinese folk religion, mythology, as well as confucianist, taoist and buddhist philosophy.
If you haven't yet seen Netflix's The Legend of Monkey live-action television series, direct adaptation of the novel, we strongly recommend it to anyone interested in Chinese mythology. Now, the folks over at Magic Design Studios have decided to offer gamers their taken on the Journey to the West novel.
Unruly Heroes is an action, puzzle-platformer that uses different characters to try to recreate the novel's epic atmosphere. It's the closest thing to a spin off without actually being a spin off. The good news is you don't have to have read the novel to get an idea of what's happening in the game, only good reflexes to reach the end of it.
Unruly Heroes is a beautifully hand-drawn 2D platformer, something that you don't see everyday in a game. It reminded me of Ori and the Blind Forest and Rayman, but gameplay-wise, Unruly Heroes is more akin to Trine since you can control one of the four characters at any time during your playthrough.
Now that we've mentioned some of better parts of the game, let's see what's its weakest point, or at least what I think is the biggest disappointment. Because Unruly Heroes draws inspiration from such a famous novel, I wouldn't expected developer Magic Design to match its value in their game, but at least have something to show that equals the gorgeous art and more than decent gameplay mechanics.
Well, to put it bluntly, the problem is not really the quality of the story, but lack thereof. There isn't enough in the game that could be considered a story, although I did like some of narrator's humor thinly scattered throughout the game, but that's just about it.
Truth be told, a 2D platformer doesn't really need a good story or any at all, but coming from someone that takes pride in the fact that his game is based on Journey to the West, this is a bit underwhelming.
The game starts with a short story in which you're being told that the sacred scroll keeping the harming in our world has been torn up and scattered across the land corrupting it and sowing chaos. Your job is to travel to the west and gather the piece of the scroll while fighting an army of evil creatures.
But you won't be alone in your journey as four heroes have risen up to meet the challenge: Sanzang the wise, Wukong the fearless monkey, Kihong the greedy pig, and Sandmonk the sensitive brute.
Of course, the game can be played solo, but you can also play cooperatively with up to four players, but only in local play. Each of the four heroes have their own special abilities and playstyles, and you can switch between them on the fly. Some puzzle require a certain hero, while others can be overcome with any of the four.
Just like most 2D platformers, Unruly Heroes is split in a number of level, which you can replay to obtain a better time or gather more coins, the in-game currency that allows you to buy skins for your heroes. Each level has a special scroll that you must find in order to unlock concept art, as well as a boss with a unique mechanic. Obviously, you can skip on the scroll if you want, but killing the boss is mandatory if you want to get to the next level.
I was quite surprised to see that the enemies and level design is varied enough to keep you wanting for more after you finish a level. Also, combat feels good with each hero offering a different playstyle and different set of combos, which can be easily mastered over the course of a few levels.
There's one thing that keeps me from saying that combat is perfect and that's the fact that characters moves feel sluggish, which doesn't leaves room for even the slightest error. What makes the game even more fun is the puzzles scattered throughout the levels, which will put you to the test more than boss fights in some cases. There are times when you can take control of an enemy to get past some of the puzzles, which adds to the fun.
Overall, Unruly Heroes is a surprisingly pleasant experience thanks to the gorgeous environments, exceptional soundtrack, great combat mechanics, and fun puzzles.
The Good
- Beautiful graphics and animations
- Expert level design with enough enemy variation
- Interesting, fun boss fights
- Challenging, satisfying puzzles
- Gratifying combat
The Bad
- Lackluster story
- Gameplay can feel repetitive at times
Conclusion
Although I wouldn't have like to know more about the four heroes who are trying to save the world, there are so many other good things about Unruly Heroes that haven't missed it that much. The game definitely meets all the expectations of someone looking to have some fun playing a platformer, so the only disappointment comes from the fact that with a little bit more work it could have been perfect.
Unruly Heroes is not a long game (8 hours), but it's tense and quite entertaining. It challenges both your reflexes and your brain, but it will also amaze you with its graphics, music and animations. If you're a fan of the genre, Unruly Heroes is a title you don't want to miss.
