I’m not one to pick the games I want to review by the publisher name alone. But, after the chilling cosmic experience with the last title Bonus Stage Publishing put out, I jumped at the first opportunity to check out their next game. They’ve teemed up with developer by RunByCoffee to release Mythargia, an old-school inspired story driven adventure game on Steam on 21 February 2023.
Dig up the Past
Mythargia is a heavily story-driven game, and it’d be awfully rude of me if I went ahead and spoiled all the juicy details. All you need to know is that the game takes place on the titular island of Mythargia in the last century. You take on the role of an investigative reporter pursuing a breakthrough story. The eerie, abandoned island of Mythargia is more than meets the eye and hides spine-chilling secrets. It’s up to you, the lone reporter, to piece together pieces of the past and uncover the dark mysteries that lie sleeping. I’ll let you discover the rest like a good reporter.
It’s not a stretch when I say that the story is the main pillar of Mythargia. While not mind-blowing by any means, it’s got enough intrigue and thrilling threads to keep you entertained for 2–3 hours. While piecing together the report, the player will come across fragments of the island’s past, as well as that of those who used to dwell there. It’s a tried and true formula that has worked for countless games in the past, and it works here as well.
Casual Adventuring
When it comes to the gameplay, Mythargia is your standard 2D sidescrolling affair. The majority of the game is spent exploring, collecting clues, taking photographs, interacting with NPCs. There’s also some platforming and very basic combat involved, but they are not really the focus of the game. The ultimate goal of the game is to collect enough evidence and form a theory regarding what went down in Mythargia. It’s sounds fancier than it actually is, and it’s just a glorified way to decide which of the three endings you get. The same applies to taking photographs and collecting evidences. There’s barely any player agency, as these are all just “press a button” affairs.
Combat is essentially a stripped down version of the one from Alan Wake. You basically point a torch at enemies until they disintegrate. The torch do run out of battery, but the game is pretty generous with batteries as well as med kits. Overall, very casual as far as the gameplay is concerned. Can’t say that’s a bad thing.
Looks and Sounds the Part
Mythargia sticks true to classic adventure games when it comes to the visuals. While the animations are very basic, the retro pixel art style is gorgeous to look at and rich in detail. It’s not a demanding title and runs flawlessly on PC as well as the Steam Deck. The pleasing art design is enriched by a melancholic soundtrack befitting the tone of the game. Can’t ask more for $5.99.
Real Talk
Mythargia is a short and reasonably priced adventure that you can comfortably finish in one sitting. An unsettling atmosphere, intriguing story and gorgeous art design makes it a worthy purchase. Mythargia looks and plays as if it was meant for the Steam Deck.
FINAL RATING: 70/100