ary and the secret of seasons ps4 review

#Ary and the secret of seasons ps4 review full
#Ary and the secret of seasons ps4 review Pc

There are lots of puzzles throughout Ary and the Secret of Seasons, and your ability to manipulate the seasons is always the key to solving them. With winter, it may make ice platforms appear to reach new areas, or switching to summer may melt away obstacles. But scattered around the world are large runestones activating a season near one of these will affect a greater area. It’s useful when you come across switches that require a specific season to activate, for instance. Pushing a direction anywhere in the world creates a small microcosm of that season. Thankfully, with a push of a button she can change the world around her to winter – and as you progress through the story, she’ll gain the ability to summon other seasons, too.Įach direction on your d-pad will be assigned to a season. As beautiful as Yule looks in the warm glow of summer, the snow and ice that winter brings with it has some strategic advantages for Ari. You see, her hometown of Yule is always winter – her father was the Guardian of Winter after all – but after strange crystals fall from the skies, the snow melts away, leaving a green and luscious landscape in its wake. At the start of your adventure, Ary will gain the ability to control winter.

It’s easy enough to spot incoming attacks, but when you’re fending off several enemies at once it can be tricky you’ll need to also dodge incoming attacks and lock on to your chosen target.Īry‘s standout feature, though, is your ability to control seasons. To be successful in combat, you’ll need to watch enemies carefully and wait for them to initiate an attack before parrying and carrying out a counter-attack. Ary‘s combat system feels surprisingly robust for a game of its type it’s not a simple button-bash-and-swing-your-weapon-wildly affair. As we walked along its paths and through its fields we’d encounter enemies – often hyenas – itching for a fight. The preview took us around some of Valdi’s open world we spoke with NPCs, some who had quests for us, others just had a few words of wisdom (or not) to offer. The world is yours to explore: you can follow your main mission marker if you like, or wander off the beaten path and maybe pick up some side quests along the way. Its art style is cute but somewhat ‘last-gen’ in its design, yet colours pop out of the screen and Valdi has a cartoonish vibe to it that draws you in. How old-fashioned Ary and the Secret of Seasons appears can’t be understated – but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

#Ary and the secret of seasons ps4 review full

It was enough to give us a taste of what the full experience of Ary will be: if you’re a fan of classic 3D platforming adventures, then this is one to watch. It introduced us to the world and the game’s mechanics – puzzle solving, combat and exploration – and then jumped to a later point in the game, with Ary fully equipped with all the skills she gathers through her adventure. We’ve recently spent some time in a preview build of Ary and the Secret of Seasons. Off she goes on an adventure to find out what happened to her brother and discover what nefarious things are happening in the world at large. So Ary takes his place and with it, gains the ability to manipulate the seasons. She’s the daughter of the Guardian of Winter, but after the disappearance of her brother, Ary’s dad is unable to fulfil his duties. In it, you take on the role of Ary, a young girl from the magical world of Valdi.

#Ary and the secret of seasons ps4 review Pc

Due out on PC and consoles on 1st September, Ary and the Secret of Seasons is a third-person adventure that’s dripping with old school charm.