「Infernax - One Hell Of A Good Time!」
Infernax is a game about going on a holy crusade to save your homeland from demons. This game was forged in the depths of NES hell by Berserk Studio and published by The Arcade Crew. It will challenge you and bring you to your limits, and teach you that your actions have consequences.
It's very much inspired by the likes of Castlevania II: Simon's Quest and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, ironically two of the most polarizing games in their entire series. Infernax takes those ideas from those games and expands upon them, making them more cohesive and complete. You play as the Duke Alcedor, who has returned to your homeland from the Crusades only to find out that your homeland has been infested with demons and the undead. On a surface level, this game plays very much like Zelda II, with low attacks, high attacks, and the ability to block with your shield. This by itself is a very fun system.
THE RPG
The game even has light RPG elements. Enemies will give you experience, and they also drop gold as well. With experience, you can upgrade three different stats: your health, your mana, and your attack power. You can definitely grind in this game, but grinding isn't necessary though it can help alleviate some of the early game difficulty. You can find more substantial upgrades throughout the world, and you can even purchase them from various shopkeepers. Some of the most important and substantial upgrades can only be found throughout the world, so keep your eyes peeled.
Speaking of the world, it is pretty big, and there are plenty of different areas and castles to explore. Honestly, I think it's a perfect length. The world isn't so big that it becomes a chore to explore, and there are plenty of unique areas as well. And of course, in true Metroidvania fashion, more of the world opens up to you when you get more upgrades. There are a number of different side quests that you can partake in as well. The objectives for each side quest can be quite varied, and some side quests can only be completed during a certain time of day. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the game has a fully featured day-night cycle, kind of like, well, you guessed it, Simon's Quest. It even takes a million years too. In most areas of the game, nighttime features more dangerous opponents to face. The danger is also much higher as well.
DIFFICULTY & DEATH
All of this together already makes a spectacular game. However, the game can be fiendishly difficult, and if you're not accustomed to these types of games, you may be overwhelmed. Death is abundant, and the developers know this, which is why this game features multiple different death animations depending on how you die. Dying over and over can be a little disheartening, but seeing the many ways your character gets brutalized makes it kind of fresh, especially when you encounter a new way to die.
Typically in Classic Mode, when you die, you're sent back to your last save point. But for players worried about the difficulty, there is a Casual mode that you can enjoy. If you decide you're sick of Classic Mode, you can change to Casual mode at any point in time. Just know that you can't change it back to Classic, and there's an achievement tied to beating the game in Classic mode.
YOUR ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES
You may be asking yourself, "Wow, this is a great game, but what do you mean by 'your actions have consequences'?" At various points in the game, you have the ability to choose Fates. In most games, it's pretty obvious which one's the good option and which one's the evil option. But in this game, the options aren't that clear-cut.
The game teaches you early on that trying to help can sometimes make things worse. And of course, sometimes your choices have consequences – consequences that may lead to innocent people dying horrible deaths. You can never know what will happen next unless you've already played the game a few times. The number of choices you have, as well as what choices are presented to you, gives this game some true replay value. And of course, depending on your in-game karma system as well as the choices you make, there are multiple different endings you can take.
THE STEAM DECK SEGMENT
This game's a bloody good time, and it's worth playing through multiple times if you want to see all of the endings too. Oh, and did I mention that it works on Steam Deck? I've been playing this game on Steam Deck, and I have recorded footage from my Steam Deck. You can extend your battery life by turning down your GPU clock speed all the way to minimum. You can also reduce the Steam Deck TDP to 4 watts, and it'll still run perfectly at 60 FPS.
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