Publisher: DreamBox Games
Developer: DreamBox Games
Genre: Action-Adventure
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Release Date: Available now

As a child of the 80’s, the particular brand of action-adventuring pioneered by the Metroid and Zelda series is melded to my marrow. The way to my heart is paved through a tricky expanse of puzzling caverns that can only be surmounted by locating mystic artifacts which in turn unlock new pathways. At least, that’s what I tell my wife. It’s a game design that’s timeless in its ability to juice our inquisitive nature – with each new power up offering a chance to finally get our hands on that precious missile expansion or treasure chest that once dangled just out of reach. And it’s that nostalgia that drives many indie darlings, including last year’s Super Metroid homage, Shadow Conspiracy, and one that developer DreamBox Games employs in their new WiiWare release, Robox.

While many games have adopted the popular Metroidvania-esque design, popularized by the 2D Castlevania games, Robox takes a step back, and emulates the original Metroid by planting your protagonist down on an alien planet with little direction as to where to go. Players take control of a boxy little droid (think Wall-E) who is sent to explore the environment. In classic Metroid fashion, the robot loses power over his various abilities and must navigate the landscape looking for elements to restore control. These augmentations will then grant the ability to overcome previously insurmountable obstacles.

While the majority of the game plays out across a non-linear 2D plane (with the character controlling the robot as you explore the environment), there are occasional breaks which change things up, including an on-rails sequence that finds you blasting away at creatures as you stow away on board a larger beastie. As you explore, you’ll make contact with friendly indigenous critters that can be taken control of. This shifts the focus to the insides of your robot, where you’ll engage in some simple tasks including repairing the droid’s (can I say that without cutting Lucas a check?) controls and kick-starting those latent abilities.

Robox is an admirable title whose execution never quite meets its ambition. That core Metroid-esque game play is addictive as always, but some of the design choices are baffling. For starters, your clunky bucket-of-bolts navigates the environment too slowly, which only works to dull the charge one would normally get in seeing what lies beyond that next ridge. In combat this can prove deadly, as this little guy could never hold his own against the platoon of Space Pirates our beloved Samus always contends with. The combat sequences are rendered stressful by the feeling that you can never quite get out of your own way and counter the attacks of those nagging space bugs. While the adventure segments are thrilling and I appreciate the fact that DreamBox dispenses with the contemporary tactic of pointing gamers to every last waypoint, thus removing any sense of real discovery, a mapping system similar to that found in Super Metroid would have eliminated the constant frustration of chasing down too many dead ends.

There’s no denying that DreamBox has crafted a beautiful little downloadable title. In fact, I’ve found that the technological constraints imposed on the smaller independent developers tends to free their artistic side, and the world that DreamBox has crafted is equal parts ethereal and imposing. Too often, gamers are set loose on drab landscapes of beige and gunmetal grey so it’s a real thrill when developers pour on the Crayola and dream up some new and vibrant vistas. The colors of the various environments simply pop off the screen, providing gamers with a consistent visual treat as they slowly crawl their way through their planetary torment.

While I have a hard time wholeheartedly recommending Robox, I do tip my cap to DreamBox for wishing up a fairly compelling adventure utilizing a favorite gaming archetype from the past. The ambition of their title is commendable, but there are some elements that were better left in the past; with that sort of aimless wandering that the original Metroid featured being more a product of the time than a smart design choice. Almost three decades later, we know better. That said, this is a beautiful little title that fans of the genre should give a spin.

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