Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster
Critic Reviews for Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster
Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster brings some interesting ideas, mainly in the use of transformations and animal-related powers. However, these are ultimately hampered by an execution that falls short in fundamental aspects of a Metroidvania game, such as combat, progression, exploration, and enemy variety.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster is a well-intentioned game that stands out for its boss design...
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster is not the kind of Metroidvania that completely changes the genre. It doesn’t need to be. What it does have is personality. The hand-drawn art immediately gives it an identity, while the Beastmaster mechanic provides a genuinely interesting reason to explore the world. Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster feels like a game made by people who genuinely love old-school fantasy adventures. It wears its influences proudly, throws a ridiculous amount of blood and monsters onto the screen, and gives you enough unusual systems to keep the adventure interesting. It’s rough around the edges. But underneath all that roughness is a surprisingly likable Metroidvania.
Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster transports us to the fictional world of Arborea, where a realm still recovering from war finds itself plunged into a new conflict, foresworn by a prophecy that marks a young warrior to save it. Will you be the one to end the tyrant's reign of terror?
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Barbarian Saga: The Beastman is a clunky, disjointed Metroidvania that struggles to find a smooth rhythm, bogged down by sparse abilities, missing control settings, and a frustrating sense of direction. While its tiny file size, forgiving checkpoint system, and cheap entry price might tempt hardcore platforming fans looking for an easy platinum trophy, the tedious grind and chaotic progression mean most players will find their patience wearing thin long before the credits roll.
Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster is a good Metroidvania with a strong identity and interesting ideas, though it occasionally stumbles on the technical and narrative fronts.
Review in Italian | Read full review
I was really on the fence between a 7 and an 8 for Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster. That might sound like small beer, but I think those scores hold very different perceptions. I went for a 7 in the end because, while I mostly enjoyed my time in Arborea and the environments and characters are gorgeous, there were significant elements that felt clunky and/or derivative, but these could be fixed with some tweaking and patching over time.
