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Enchanted Portals

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Enchanted Portals
Steam header
Developer(s)Xixo Games Studio
Publisher(s)Xixo Games Studio
EngineUnreal Engine 4
Platform(s)Windows, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Release
September 5, 2023
  • Windows
    • WW: September 5, 2023
    PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S
    • WW: September 8, 2023
    PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
    • WW: TBA
Genre(s)Run and gun
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Enchanted Portals is a platform video game developed and published by Xixo Games Studio. It was released on September 5, 2023, for Microsoft Windows, September 8, 2023 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, and it will be released on a later date for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. The game drew comparisons to the 2017 platformer Cuphead, with whom it shares its gameplay and visual style.[1][2] The game received largely negative reviews.

Gameplay

Enchanted Portals is a 2D platformer in which players take the role of Bobby and Penny, rookie wizards stuck between dimensions after an accident involving a magic book.[3] The game can be played either alone or cooperatively. Enchanted Portals consists of platforming stages broken up by boss fights, with players being able to utilize various magical power-ups to help them overcome challenges.

The players have four hit points in levels, with their hitbox being shown on the top of the screen. The players' hitboxes are represented by Bobby and Penny's faces with their expressions changing every time they get hit. By defeating certain enemies in platforming stages, a heart will sometimes appear, which can give players an extra hit point if they come in contact with it. Along with the hitbox is a meter that represents Bobby and Penny's attack power. The meter will slowly fill up automatically and increase the player's attack power when it's full.

Plot

While Bobby and Penny are doing housework, the former accidentally knocks a book off of a shelf. When the two look at it, they see instructions for creating a portal and follow the steps to make one. However, after seeing their cat being sucked into the portal they make, Bobby and Penny get sucked in as well, along with the magic book, which soon comes alive.

Bobby and Penny end up in a variety of different worlds, including a forest with a haunted mansion and a witch, a spaceship piloted by a cyborg cow, an island with a temple and a gang of pirates, a castle with a princess who uses frogs as minions, and a town populated by roosters. While making it through all of these dimensions and fighting the hostile inhabitants, the two chase after the sentient magic book.

As Bobby and Penny continue to chase after the magic book, they encounter and fight a pianist resembling Beethoven, as well as a dog with three heads. Finally, Bobby and Penny are forced to fight the magic book, who tries to kill them with his spells. After Bobby and Penny finally defeat the magic book, they beat him up and return home right when their caretaker returns. Later, the magic book tells another book (most likely his father) about what Bobby and Penny did to him, hinting that the latter book might take revenge on the two magicians.

Development

In October 2019, Xixo Games Studio, a Spanish two-person development team, announced that they were planning to fund Enchanted Portals via a Kickstarter campaign. After a delay due to negotiations with a prospective publisher,[4] the campaign was launched in 2020.[5] The Kickstarter failed to meet its €120,000 goal.

Enchanted Portals was released on September 5, 2023, for Windows via Steam and the Epic Games Store, and three days later for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S. A physical release of the PlayStation 5 version referred to as the Tales Edition was released on September 29.[6][7]

Reception

A trailer for the game was released on YouTube and Twitter on October 8, 2019. Viewers negatively compared the game to its inspiration, Cuphead.[8]

Upon release, Enchanted Portals received a number of negative reviews, with review aggregator Metacritic summarizing the critical reception of the PlayStation 5 version as "generally unfavorable".[9] Jaz Sagoo of COGconnected criticized the game's imprecise controls, uneven difficulty, lack of sound design, and sometimes inconsistent aesthetics, but noted that it (almost) captures the 1930s art style overall.[11] Writing for WellPlayed, Kieran Stockton voiced similar criticisms, calling the game an "Aldi-style mimicry of Cuphead" and giving it a "poor" rating overall.[12] Joey Rambles of Cultured Vultures reviewed the game more favourably after having played a pre-release demo and stated that Enchanted Portals was frustrating but also rewarding,[13] but revised his impression after the game had been released and noted that it primarily failed where it diverged from Cuphead.[14] On OpenCritic, the reception from the elite critics is "weak", with only 10% of the general critics recommending it.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ Doolan, Liam (June 23, 2023). "Cuphead-Like 2D Platformer Enchanted Portals Coming To Switch This Summer". Nintendo Life. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  2. ^ Renadette, Brian (October 10, 2019). "Enchanted Portals Draws Ire Over Cuphead Comparisons". TechRaptor. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  3. ^ Loveridge, Sam (June 10, 2023). "Enchanted Portals is a magic-filled 2D platformer with Cuphead-style visuals". GamesRadar+. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  4. ^ Carvalho, Jared (October 28, 2019). "Enchanted Portals Kickstarter Canceled After Cuphead Anger". Game Rant. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  5. ^ McFerran, Damien (April 16, 2020). "Cuphead Lookalike Enchanted Portals Is Heading Back To Kickstarter". Nintendo Life. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  6. ^ Quirk, Tom (September 5, 2023). "Enchanted Portals isn't exactly spellbinding". Checkpoint. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  7. ^ Roxburgh, Megan (September 1, 2023). "The Month in Games". The Indiependent. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  8. ^ Marshall, Cass (October 9, 2019). "Indie game Enchanted Portals draws backlash over Cuphead similarities". Polygon. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Enchanted Portals for PlayStaion 5 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  10. ^ "Enchanted Portals Reviews". OpenCritic. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  11. ^ Sagoo, Jaz (September 5, 2023). "A Leap Too Far". COGconnected. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  12. ^ Stockton, Kieran (September 5, 2023). "Enchanted Portals Review". WellPlayed. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  13. ^ Rambles, Joey (August 23, 2023). "Enchanted Portals Sets Itself Up for Fast, Frenetic Fun". Cultured Vultures. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  14. ^ Rambles, Joey (September 6, 2023). "Enchanted Portals (PC) REVIEW — Visuals Over Gameplay". Cultured Vultures. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  15. ^ "Enchanted Portals Reviews". OpenCritic. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
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