you Olya is an indie game that was developed by the Skeleton Crew Studios, a dev studio located out there in Kyoto, Japan. Shoutouts to the dev for hiring Koichi, it's kinda obvious as to why Public Relations would be the perfect fit. But anyway, this game was published through Devolver Digital. One person in particular at Skeleton Crew is why we have this game in the first place, and his name is Thomas Olsen. He also did another game called Backglass that shared similar playstyles and presentation as Olya, with the exception of course being a multiplayer brawler along the likes of Smash Brothers. Now when it comes to Olya, for one person for the most part to be able to create this game is quite impressive, especially after completing it. According to the Skeleton Crew's official website, Thomas was inspired by the swashbuckler genre and critically acclaimed titles such as Another World and Prince of Persia. No no no no no no no no no, not that Prince of Persia. The OG Prince of Persia with the side scrolling mechanics reminiscent of the spin-offs of his offspring Assassin's Creed. Now how I heard about this game was through Devolver Digital's Expo, where the game was briefly featured. But anyway, Olya was released in January of 2021, and you know what version I'm rocking with so let's get into it. Bye! So, Olli is a very straightforward game within it's story. It's about this man by the name of Faraday, oops I mean Lord Faraday. He and his crew of men decides to go out to sea which doesn't end too well for them. He gets shipwrecked and wakes up in his land known as Terraphage. It is here he has to go on a quest to find his men and return back to his homeland. However, in the midst of all of this he stumbles across this harpoon, or spear, whichever word you would like to use. And with this he travels to different islands and hopes to find these keys that will supposedly allow him and his crew of men to go back home. But in the middle of this pilgrimage he comes across this lady named Olya and the little thing sort of develops between them two. So in order to find these keys you must travel to these different islands in order to pick them up. But within doing so you have to fight against these monsters that are preventing you and your men from going back home. So obviously this game utilizes pixel art for its choice of artistic direction. It's really not bad at all I really don't know how Thomas did it but watching this game go from like a low-resolution display to the next scene being high-definition It's quite amazing. The cutscenes are done in its old NES flash quality that is good at showcasing a cinematic storytelling of sorts But once it gets to the gameplay That's when this game really shines For a game that kind of looks a tad bit retro and somewhat outdated as far as frame rates go you would think that this game moves slow but On the contrary this game can be very fast-paced The combat and this game animation is as fluid as it can be and attacking your enemies feels like the blow is hit hard Especially when you knock an opponent back and blood ends up flying after they bodies collide with an object Speaking of enemies the variety of which the player will encounter is very diverse and some of them gives all this cartoonish feel to them Due to their mannerisms and seemingly comedic behavior For example, these guys pointing a finger at you as if they're that evil monkey from Family Guy and these Tingo looking creatures They're far whenever they run out of energy to fly other creatures look quite intimidating and disturbing due to their movements Like for whatever reason this guy's shook in a job and just didn't sit right with me It reminds me of how spiders behave before they kick the bucket The bosses in Ollie and although few is still memorable in their designs and in many cases provide some of the most cinematic Memorable moments some of the moments in this game looks very realistic due to how the choreography is presented to the player Even though these are just pistol-aided figures the way the animation was done makes it even more Believable because you can actually pull these moves off in real life It's almost as if Thomas actually studied martial arts and his forms just to put some of the moves and techniques into this game Lastly I want to talk about the environments the different landscapes provide an engrossing visual spectacle and to the land of tera phage even though This game is pistol-aided It still paints the perfect picture of how desolate and a struggle of time that the people who are inhabiting this land are experiencing There are a few things that I always remember when it comes down to Olya The place where people was hanging around, the landscapes and new areas and how well you're about to explore is somewhere previewed upon your arrival And lastly, one of the most noticeable sequences is when this game does this resident evil, home unique horror game, and that last door thing where the player has to sit through this animation sequence looking at the entrance before you enter This game has succeeded beyond my expectations in making Olya visually come to life Olya is a semi-metroidvania action platformer that sees the character traveling from different lands via this man who ferries his boat. In the beginning, the only abilities accessible to you is the ability to jump, move in various directions which is either left or right due to the constraints of the 2D art direction, punch, and for whatever reason has the ability to flail himself across the screen. Later on, you pick up weapons such as a sword, and of course the object what this game is somewhat focused around, the ancient spear. Both weapons are much better in defending yourself, better than the actual fist that you have to start off with. Every time your attack lands a hit on an opponent, this circle forms and when it hits a certain number it allows the player to do somewhat of a finisher when it comes to your attacks. Also, this game tries its hand at diversifying its attacks by applying the directional pad in combination with your attack button. If you do this, you can pull off more techniques depending on the weapon you use and the position of your character when trying to execute your attack. Speaking of weapons, you also have other weapons that will help aid you in your combat. Later on, you get a sword, particularly a rapier, a crossbow, a shotgun, and other weapons that come with their own gimmicks. But back to the main focus weapon, the spear. You see, this spear serves as not only the story's MacGuffin, but it's also what you will need in order to traverse the land. When the player throws the spear, it can return to you, but for platforming's sake, when you throw the spear at these black things with yellow eyes, an enemy, or an item, the character will somehow teleport to what that spear is. I am sure a lot of people will draw comparisons to another game I'm sure many have played that actually utilizes a similar playstyle. Daggerhood. You can also find secret treasures by throwing your spear into locations that are off-screen that may seem a tad bit too convenient to be there. There is this place called Oat Tide that serves as the main hub or the place where a character will grow to rest, stock up on items, and other things. Here you can purchase hats that are actually very important pieces of equipment that grant the player perks and extra attributes when journeying. Not to mention it gives your character some sense of a stylistic change. For example, there's a hat that makes you look like Raiden from Mortal Kombat and ironically grants you the power of electricity. Then there's another hat that straight up turns you into Benny from Fire Force. With this hat equipped, whenever you throw a spear, somehow many other spears come up out of nowhere and go in the same direction. It's better used for a delayed attack. You can purchase more hats when you acquire all the necessary ingredients that you will come across while adventuring. Keep your eyes peeled and destroy everything that you come across. This is a sure-fire way to stack up on these blue things which serves as the game's currency, materials for your hats that you find along the way after breaking stuff, and also health packs. Over time as you continue to find and free your shipmates, you will notice the hub area becoming a little bit more lively as more people congregate. At Oat Tide, you will find a student who will help extend your health bar, a place where you can drink and participate in public littering afterwards, a person who you can pay to go out and bring back random items that can help you, and of course a place where you are introduced to this character who serves as the narrator. And the navigator is supposed to be taking the character to different islands to essentially acquire these keys to go back home. Speaking of this land, the player has this world map showcasing all the places you must venture off to. And before you even get off the boat, you have the option of picking up which hat that you will want to equip, which can hopefully grant you an advantage for the area you're about to go into. Now this game does have a loop in which you'll have the player go in here, defeat this thing, get the key, return back to hub base, and do it all over again. But surprisingly, this game also features some stealth segments where if the enemy catches you, you have to start all over again. So, in order to progress, you have to sneak by without allowing any of the guards to see you. With the equipment that you have, there are also some puzzle elements that is peppered into this game where you have to think about how to unlock certain doors, with your understanding of this game mechanics, as your only hope of passing through these obstacles. you So, Olya in games like this where it looks very retro and pistolated always seems to have the most magnificent sound design. But the visuals may lack for many if the sound design overcompensates and makes up the difference. It even gets to the point where these simple small blocks of colors actually sound a little bit more realer than the object it's trying to emulate. But in this game you'll probably hear the environment more than any background music. Whenever you throw your spear and it drops to the ground or bounce off an object it sounds like a dropping bamboo stick. One of my favorite sounds is the shotgun going off with the stylish reload. But what needs to be mentioned is the voice acting. The voice acting of Olya is impeccable. Even though I had no idea what language these people was talking in, their tone in which they spoke always sounded like an old person was about to foretell scriptures of an old prophecy. Other times people would sound like they're mumbling, then there are other times where you will have Oh, and did I mention that there's a whole lot of- The music was done by, you guessed it, the only person that developed this game, Thomas Olsen. But he didn't just do it by himself. According to this article, Olsen had a little help in the music department from his wife. The funny thing about this game is that music isn't always the thing that's played, but rather the background noises of the terror-faced environments. Doing this within the game sorta gave me the Samurai Jack type of vibes and set in the atmosphere. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do this without the music. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do this without the music. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do this without the music. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do this without the music. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do this without the music. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do this without the music. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do this without the music. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do this without the music. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do this without the music. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do this without the music. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do this without the music. But when the music does play, usually it's this slow and seemingly tribal like with a touch of electronic touch to them. I remember doing this boss battle where a somewhat hip hop inspired track was played that had this very pleasant classical flair mixed in. It provided the right atmosphere as I went in on this monster. During the time of this review I was unable to find Olius OST, but if a winner drops I'll provide a link in the description for y'all. Check back soon! I'm gonna give Oli a 9 out of 10. This game is short but quite memorable. You can probably get through this game in like 3-4 dedicated settings. Some of the things I love about this game other than it's gameplay is how humorous things can get. Like blowing on his horn pisses off the dude that takes you to your destinations. And how every time these segments where the main character is trying to get his Romeo worn to be with Olya, only abruptly ends with him being jazzy Jeffed out the door. But overall, the gameplay is tight, there was no issues within the animations, meaning that there was no bugs or glitches whatsoever. My experience with this game was enjoyable and fun, however I kinda wish that this game was a little bit longer. And then up on top of that, there's no new game plus or anything like that. After you beat the game, it sorta gives you a thank you for playing and then boots you back to the main title screen. And if you wanna play this game over again, that means you'll have to, literally play this game over again. But other than that, this game is pretty awesome. Olya is now available for Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Steam for Windows. On all platforms, this game is gonna run you about $15. And if you played this game, let's talk about it. But until next time, be safe out there, and peace y'all. Peace.