KAKU: Ancient Seal created by BINGOBELL, is a bold indie open-world action-adventure game that takes players across a vast continent. Launched in 2024, this game has caught the eye of many due to its beautiful graphics absorbing combat, and tricky puzzles. This in-depth review will explore the game’s strong points weak spots, and overall gameplay.
Visuals: A Treat for the Eyes
One thing that stands out in KAKU: Ancient Seal is its bright and colourful world. The game has four different biomes each with its special appeal and tests. From snowy peaks to thick green woods, every setting looks great and makes you want to check it out.
The way the characters look at Kaku shows their feelings well and has a good design, which adds more to the story. The game’s art style mixes playful and magical just right making a world that feels both known and strange at the same time.
Exploration: A Big World with Lots to Find
KAKU: Ancient Seal gives players a big open world to explore. This world has many secrets, treasures, and challenges. The game uses crystal towers as fast travel points. This makes it easier to get around as you unlock more of the map.
You’ll find lots of things to collect all over the world. These include ruined keys and treasure chests. They make you want to check out areas off the main path.
The game’s well-designed environments make finding these secrets exciting. They often hide things in plain sight.
But some people who reviewed the game say the open world can feel empty sometimes. They think there aren’t enough unique or interesting things happening to keep exploring fun all the time.
Combat: Variety and Challenge
The combat in KAKU: Ancient Seal offers variety and challenges. Players can choose from melee attacks, ranged slingshots, and elemental abilities.
Adding gems to weapons and armour gives players more ways to customize and plan their strategy in fights.
The game’s bosses stand out for their toughness and imaginative design. To beat these strong enemies, players need to get good at fighting and use the game’s systems well.
While the combat works well overall, some reviewers say it can be a bit tricky sometimes. They’ve noticed small problems with hit detection or how the controls respond.
Puzzles and Dungeons: The Heart of the Experience
KAKU: Ancient Seal shines with its tough and well-crafted puzzles and dungeons. The game’s “seal door keys” play a key role in opening up shrines that put players’ problem-solving to the test.
These shrines pack a mix of puzzles, from easy to hard, that push players to think outside the box and use the game’s systems in fresh ways.
Beating these tasks gives players boosts to their health and stamina making them a big part of getting stronger in the game.
However, some reviews point out that the timing of these upgrades can seem off. Players might get too many upgrades at once if they finish lots of shrines back-to-back.
Story and Characters: A Charming Narrative
KAKU: Ancient Seal has a captivating story even though it doesn’t take center stage in the game. The plot revolves around Kaku, a young boy who must bring balance back to the land by overcoming the four elemental regions.
The game features memorable and well-crafted characters, with Kaku standing out as a likeable and relatable main character. The dialogue, without voice acting, entertains players and helps to build the world and its inhabitants.
The story is enjoyable, but it doesn’t push the boundaries of the genre. Still, it provides a strong base for the game’s exploration and combat systems.
Verdict: A Promising Indie Adventure
KAKU: Ancient Seal is a promising and ambitious indie open-world adventure that delivers in many areas. Its beautiful graphics engaging combat, and tricky puzzles create a memorable experience that fans of the genre will love.
While the game has some small issues, like an empty open world and fiddly combat controls, its many strengths outweigh these.
The game’s emphasis on exploring and solving puzzles sets it apart from other open-world titles and makes it a must-play for fans of the genre.
All in all KAKU: Ancient Seal stands out as a big win for BINGOBELL and shows what small game studios can do in the open-world category.
Its fascinating world fun gameplay, and endearing storyline make it a game that’ll stick with you long after you’ve finished playing.