Lovish | Review

The review code for Viewfinder was provided by LABS Works

Lovish is a love letter to the classic 8 bit RPG adventure. It is not a love letter in genre or gameplay mechanics but purely in parody. The latest game by LABS WORKS and DANGEN Entertainment is a series of puzzle platformers that follows the hero Sir Solomon trekking through Castle Cornelius to save Princess Tsuna from the Demon Lord. Solomon and his party arrived at the entrance of Castle Cornelius and right then and there, Solomon betrayed his friends. He was worried that Princess Tsuna would fall in love with one of his friends instead of him, and he could not have that. Sir Solomon is a greedy hero.

The twist of the heroic party being taken down by their own leader really sets the tone of Lovish. It is a very lighthearted game playing on the tropes of classic fantasy RPGs, featuring an unlikable protagonist who will not even answer the phone to speak to his own mother. The tone of this game is best represented through one of the 150 random events that take place after every level.

Upon beating a level, something random occurs that could either reward or damage the player, and each usually plays on a trope of the RPG genre. You might see a random encounter that forces the player into a turn-based battle, a treasure chest with money in it (or maybe nothing at all), an old man pondering an orb, or perhaps a rogue game producer talking about NFTs. These are all the terrifying and strange events one might expect in the Devil Lord’s castle.

These random events really add to the charm of the game, but they are also responsible for what might be the main flaw: randomness. Random elements in games can be quite good, but Lovish runs on a life system, and some of these random events can just take lives from you with zero input from the player. If you are low on health, this could end your adventure through no fault of your own.

Thankfully, I did not find the game to be too hard and never got that low on health, at least in a normal run. However, if you attempt a low health run through the castle, then the fear of getting a health draining random event adds some unnecessary stress.

Solomon can make his run a lot easier by obtaining power ups and skills. When he enters Castle Cornelius, Solomon is armed only with his sword, his stereotypical blue armor, and the Video Helmet, which allows Solomon to make anyone fall in love with him. There are several artifacts that can be found throughout the castle and abilities that can be purchased, like the power to swing up or down and an aerial dash.

Skills that change Solomon’s abilities are the must have upgrades as they make it easier to get the secret crowns of the game, which are required to unlock… well, that is a secret. Just make sure that when you go for these crowns, you can actually finish the level afterward. There are over 250 of these crowns to collect and only 70 rooms in Castle Cornelius, at least from what the player can see on the map. Some equipment can be randomly found in events and these open up access to more missions for crowns, while others provide faster ways to build up currency.

The puzzle rooms themselves are quite clever and manage to do a lot with Solomon’s limited base moveset. You can technically make it to the end without getting any upgrades and without hurting a single enemy. You can tell that these puzzles were tested to perfection. With all the different enemies, unique mechanics, and hidden secrets found in these levels, it was truly a good time playing the hero who fought the mice and saved the princess (even if he is a jerk). The boss fights are also quite varied and fun, ramping up the difficulty and gimmicks with each floor.

Right from the start, the game lets you pick between soft pixels and sharp pixels, the former replicating the visual style of looking through a CRT. I opted for the sharp option, and if you dislike that, then go play the game for yourself! The sprite work of Lovish is adorably chibi, bringing to mind classic 8 bit games like Bubble Bobble. A lot of the visual style evokes classic video games, fitting the parody vibe. Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy are obvious influences, but there are also references to Castlevania and The Legend of Zelda, both the NES version and Link’s Awakening. The presentation is overall very charming.

Lovish is much longer than it initially appears, but it is still not a game that will take actual RPG lengths to beat. Rather, Lovish is a fun, gameplay first romp with an outlandish protagonist and comedic scenarios that put a smile on my face. If you want to play a real “video gamey” video game, then Lovish is absolutely a recommendation from me. Go and give it a try.