Battle Princess Madelyn Reviews
Battle Princess Madelyn has some lovely animated cut scenes to enjoy, the plot begins in a charming manner that brings to mind the Princess Bride, and its retro inspired pixelated graphics are on point. If only they were attached to fun and compelling gameplay, then Battle Princess Madelyn really could have been a contender to capture the crown of Ghost ‘n Goblins. As it stands, it's probably best to avoid this one and break out your SNES from storage instead.
A decent platformer with nods to difficult classics, there are a few problems with this one that keep the score down. Might be best to look elsewhere until a patch arrives.
Battle Princess Madelyn is a difficult game to recommend on a whim. Its design and mechanics calls to mind the classics of yesteryear, but there's a distinct lack of follow-through. The story mode isn't hurting for content, as it features a slew of worlds to explore, bosses to battle, and goodies to collect. Unfortunately, not all of it is arranged in a manner that is appropriately compelling. The arcade mode trims most of the fat, but it lacks the challenge and polish that defined the arcade era. Still, one has to appreciate the effort that went towards appealing to fans of action-adventure and arcade games. If they're willing to look past the issues present in both modes, they might enjoy themselves. It helps that the art direction and music are really charming.
Battle Princess Madelyn might not be a bad game; it just isn't special. All the difficulty stems from tricks, meaning the difficulty no longer exists once a player realizes it's all smoke and mirrors. With enemies, bosses and stages lasting longer than they really need to, it's an experience that doesn't invoke a desire to replay. At most alternate paths and hidden story bosses might, though even that is limited. So, unless you really want to play something like Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, Battle Princess Madelyn is simply too hollow to be fun.
An interesting concept unfortunately marred by incredibly frustrating design choices, poor mechanics and directionless level design. Not recommended except for hardcore platformer aficionados who enjoy being masochistic.
Battle Princess Madelyn is not bad. But it's not good either. Apart from the compelling graphics, it is simply too uninspired, and thus the famous "one among many". In 2018 the competition is just too big. There are too many games that are better in terms of playability and gameplay than you should spend your time with this blender. Although the creators promised a few improvements via patch, at the time of the test, unfortunately nothing was yet to be seen.
Review in German | Read full review
There’s no doubt that in terms of both the look and overall feel of the controls in the game Madelyn nails the classic feel of Ghouls ‘N Ghosts...
One has to appreciate Causal Bit Games will that they tried to further develop the formula of the clear role model, which is of course Ghouls 'n Ghosts. It would have been better, however, to hand over the story mode only when it is free of it's faults and better designed. It's annoying that the difficulty of the game too often lies in finding the easiest and luckiest route through the dungeons with every new screen death, while the arcade mode seems to be much more polished. So Battle Princess Madelyn remains a likeable game which brings fun for a few hours due to the arcade mode. This and the charming character design can't fool you about the numerous annoyances, and so Madelyn finally awakens one thing above all else: The longing for Knight Arthur.
Review in German | Read full review
In trying to revive a decades-old series, Causal Bit Games created a Frankenstein's Monster of sorts. Adding adventure and exploration elements to the Ghouls ‘N Ghosts formula hasn't improved the experience. Forcing the player to replay the entire game only to retrieve a special weapon that can truly defeat the final boss was a better design choice than the ones made in Battle Princess Madelyn's Story Mode. The Arcade Mode saves it from mediocrity in that it allows players to enjoy the different environments, weapons, and bosses through a tough but beatable campaign. Regardless, questionable design choices and lack of gameplay explanations detract from the overall satisfaction. After spending time with Battle Princess Madelyn, I'm left with one lasting impression: I really want to replay Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts.
A game confused about what it wants to be — an accessible and fun side-scroller for the whole family to enjoy, or a brutal experiment into what Dark Souls would be like in a 16-bit format. Battle Princess Madelyn looks and sounds the part, but is so unforgiving it sucks all the fun out of it.
Battle Princess Madelyn follows the footsteps of 1980s 2D classics with very high levels of difficulty. With its metroidvania elements, Battle Princess Madelyn ends up not living up to its expectations but its more action-oriented arcade mode is certainly an enjoyable experience. While it's not a groundbreaking title and it suffers from gameplay problems, Battle Princess Madelyn has its redeeming factors.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Battle Princess Madelyn tries to deliver a new twist to the old Ghosts'n Goblins formula. Unfortunately, its broken level design forbids Causal Games hommage to reach the same heights as Arthur's adventure. With no clues on what to do or where to go, even players looking for a tough challenge will only consider the arcade mode worthy of interest, if they want to enjoy the game's gorgeous graphics and art direction.
Review in French | Read full review
Battle Princess Madelyn offers equal parts fun and frustration.
Battle Princess Madelyn is a good game with stylish retro graphics, cute characters and a variety of levels, which suffers from poor explanation of the rules of the world, terribly confusing navigation, understatement and a lot of glitches that make the stages impassable. However, we write something similar about one of the three surveyed games from independent studios. It seems that such an attitude to the audience for the modern indie scene has become almost the norm.
Review in Russian | Read full review
The arcadey gameplay of Battle Princess Madelyn is a treat, but the game's weak story mode drags down the package.
The game's love for Ghosts ‘N Goblins is obvious but its refusal to cater for anyone but hardcore fans results in a frustrating and tedious slog – especially in story mode.
Battle Princess Madelyn is an old game made today. It inherits all the virtues and all the flaws of its origin era. In addition it mixes styes which is tiring. It often shows why we wish to play old games, but when they come, we hate them.
Review in Polish | Read full review
The visuals and audio are excellent and the gameplay is challenging and rewarding. If only it were easier to find your way around.
WORTH CONSIDERING - I had such high hopes for Battle Princess Madelyn. The core concept works and if you’re just looking for another Ghouls ‘N Ghosts action game, play the arcade mode. The adventure mode is a mess with poor stage design and little to no direction on where or what to do next. Without a walkthrough most will never see the end.
As mentioned at the beginning of the review, the mode you choose to play will influence your impression of Battle Princess Madelyn. For arcade mode players, the game retains the spirit of Ghosts 'n Goblins, and while there are a few concessions to make the game seem a touch easier for newcomers, some of the design decisions suck away that enjoyment. For story mode players, those flaws are compounded by more design issues that make it a frustrating Metroidvania clone. In the end, the game's charm isn't enough to attract anyone but genre die-hards who are looking for a near-impossible challenge.