A Hole New World | PS5 Review

Like a mixture of Castlevania and Mega Man, "A Hole New World" bursts on the scene in all it's retro glory as an action platformer with a story and a gameplay gimmick. As it turns out the world of Versee that the game takes place in was decisively divided into two separate good and evil worlds by the observing goddess that created it due to evil's growing corruption. Leaving the home of the good to retain the namesake of Versee, and the evil world being a nameless one ruled over by Lord Baduk. 

In the division of the two new worlds, as a safety measure, the goddess Yakshini put her power into five different Orbs sending them to separate locations as to not have them stolen in her weakened state. She knew if anyone gained control of her powers that they would have power over her. In the midst of this undertaking though Lord Baduk finds the Orb of Darkness, and uses it to invade Versee through holes opened up in the ground. All of Versee's weapons were useless against the evil invaders save that of the potion master. It is as this potion master that you set out to defeat the minions of darkness, and Lord Baduk. All as you collect the goddess's Orbs of power.

Through a story mode that includes several elementally, and environmentally themed stages you play as the potion master who was resurrected via a fairy named Fay after having been mortally wounded by Lord Baduk in stage one of the playthrough. Thus you set out with this new lease on life dealing the deathblow to devilish enemies in a topsy-turvy world with pitfalls that aren't what they seem. Your goal, therein, is to collect crystals, avoid losing all five hearts of health in the process, and to kill enemies using your potions. 

Initially you begin with a basic throwable potion that arcs or that can be tossed upward. After the intro stage you also gain the use of a charged Fay Attack from your fairy friend as a straight shooting projectile option. Defeating bosses along the way will additionally net you elementally charged potions Mega Man style for use in following stages. Weapons which must be used on the surface level, and the reversed underbelly of each stage.

Stage progression, itself, is done by traversing and searching both the upper lands, and lower levels made accessible via pits in an inverse kind of way. On the surface movement and jumping handles normally with gravity in check, but on the flipside gravity operates inversely making jumping and directional movement opposite of what it was. It is through these two alternate stage platforming types that you will find the hidden crystals, extra health items, and enemies that must be dealt with. Ultimately leading you to a boss fight with a health bar far more beefy than your own. Using all potions on hand as well as the Fay Attack will mean the difference between victory or certain death. 

In addition to the main playthrough points you'll find a high score is tallied that incorporates both enemy kills, and item collecting. There's that, and hidden NPCs to be found in each stage that make cameo appearances under certain circumstances. The added checkpoints, and respawn in place lives make progress less challenging, to a degree as well. The end goal above all else in this endeavor is, of course, to ultimately defeat all the bosses including Lord Baduk, and to collect the five Orbs. Should you toggle on the speed run feature or completionist feature at the main menu this will add HUD goals to the display making for a decent replay or two.

The further you progress in the adventure at hand the more complex the underbelly of the overhead world will become making traversal more difficult. In fact some later stages are spent mostly underground unlike the earlier ones. In some instances there's even choices of branching paths to take each with their own threats and hazards. Making simple progress into a maze solving puzzle. 

The Presentation ...

A Hole New World, looks like a game made for the NES or SNES consoles. It features a retro pixel design reminiscent of the late 80's and early 90's. Filled with colorful sprites, and chiptunes that make the action onscreen pop. The color palettes, themselves, are mixed and varied making the characters, creatures, and environmental details seem varied in kind. It stays true to it's inspirations in stage design as well though adding in it's on upside down twist.

The Verdict ...

A Hole New World, is a game that knows what it is, and shamelessly flaunts it's inspirations while adding it's own twist on the familiar gameplay formula. While later stages can be tricky to navigate with their maze-like structures, and branching paths the game consistently offers a progressive state of challenge that doesn't overstep the boundaries into an unfair threshold. That being said some boss fights feature projectiles that are a bit unfair and unpredictable by design. The topsy-turvy gameplay can also become jarring at times as well. Overall it's not that bad of a game though, and offers something that definitely adheres to retro gameplay standards. If you haven't played it yet you might want to give it a try, especially if retro is your thing!