Nano Apostle Review Explores Concentrated Boss Rush Gameplay with Deep Combat Mechanics and Precise Pixel Art Animation
In this age of gaming where we're faced with sprawling, massive open worlds packed with miles and miles of optional side quests, there's a certain relief I find in a game that's focused. Enter Nano Apostle, a dark, speedy, sci fi action game that forsakes all exploration in exchange for one thing to get your adrenaline going and your skills well honed in the form of bombastic boss fights.
The game places you in the context of Anita, a young girl amnesiac awakens in an inhospitable research chamber, a life prisoner and a living weapon suffering punishment. Soon, you'll be fighting your way out of this terrifying and inhospitable research center through the front line of bio mechanical prototype war machines. Along the way, she is mentored and comforted by the other test subject, Wenny, who becomes something of a sister figure.
Combat takes precedence over complex storytelling here, but despite all of the bloodshed and violence in the facility, the humorous banter and developing friendship between Anita and the younger girl helps soften the tone. The game is essentially a Boss Rush, meaning no killing hundreds of little minions. Your focus is on reading the complex attack patterns of giant two phased bosses where the game forces adaptation because button basher will be decapitated rather quickly.
Anita's arsenal is simple to learn a light attack combo, a dodge, a parry, and a ranged weapon but the dance between these techniques is what makes the game fun. Normal attacks do not do much. To really inflict a beaster like pain on these mechanical monsters, you'll need to learn to work in tandem with two other systems.
Destruction points involve perfectly parrying or dodging at the precise moment with flawless timing to create an instant weak spot on the boss. The following hit to the weak spot deals enormous damage and will immobilise the enemy temporarily so that we can follow up with the grappling hook. Additionally, the Infection System accumulates in stacks as you repeatedly shoot at the boss. When a certain number of stacks have accumulated, if you rapidly shoot several light attacks Anita will trigger an Absorb which damages the boss and heals Anita at the same time.
This creates a wonderfully addictive risk reward cycle where you are always arguing with yourself about how much of an aggressive stance you should take to regain health, versus how much very, very patient countering is necessary to perfectly block incoming, extremely fast hits.
As you die (and you will die many times), the game is cruel yet very fair. The parry windows are quite expansive, the dodge provides decent invincibility frames and the controls are precise. Progression is so elegantly handled by a fantastic Skill Module system. During boss fights you will be given a series of timed survival challenges survive this phase unharmed or kill that timer.
Completing the challenges earns you points that can be spent on what amounts to an extremely flexible skill tree. What is more these come with unique drawbacks such as increasing your damage potential but decreasing healing. In addition, unlocking certain other types of skills will also grant secret combination bonuses, changing your build completely and giving players a reason to try new load outs.
Visually, the game is a fantastic pixel art showcase. The bosses look grotesque, threatening, and are animated wonderfully. The most impressive thing visually is the culmination of any tough battle as the killer blow hits, Anita covers her eyes and her Apostate parasite savagely rips the boss to shreds in a deeply satisfying bloodied execution. All of this visual flair is elevated by an immense thumping soundtrack that embodies the tense high stakes nature of the combat.
Pc Version Tested.
Disclosure: We received a free review copy of this product from Devs
