Humbug!
It certainly isn’t a “Silent Night” while playing Ebenezer and the Invisible World. Instead of three French hens and four calling birds, your relatives will hear a ruckus as you scream at the game. There’s a lot to like, but the combat needs to be refined before this Metroidvania’s release. The visuals call back to those old Christmas specials you watch as a kid, but other than that, there’s a lot to be fixed in this holiday-themed game. Here’s a preview of the stunning, yet currently flawed Ebenezer and the Invisible World.
Ten lords a-leaping for a great art style
Set after the events of the Christmas Carol storyline, Ebenezer Scrooge is now fighting for the city’s people with the help of the spirits he meets along the way. While the demo doesn’t particularly show an intriguing storyline, the environments truly stand out with the premise. You see a prosperous holiday version of London with gorgeous architecture, lighting, and seemingly hand-drawn characters across the city. It really pops on the screen and the art style reminds you of straight-to-video/TV animated movies like Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer and The Snowman.
During the main boss battle of the demo, you can see the shimmer of the ice below while Big Ben is beaming in the distance. Buildings around the area are also adorned with greenery and garlands. The way the game uses the forefront is also striking; for example, the lantern on the bottom left of the picture above adds depth to the scene. It’s almost like a painting.
While the visuals look fantastic, it does make me wonder if the London area may get dull after a while. The observatory at the end of the demo and the sewers show that there may be other major environments to find in the game.
The disappointing combat is certainly a Grinch
While the graphics are certainly promising, Ebenezer and the Invisible World’s combat certainly isn’t. The biggest issue is how your enemies aren’t impacted by your strikes. Like Buddy the Elf jumping through crowds for Santa, your attacks do not stagger your foes during their animations. You can’t stun them with your strikes, and that befuddled me so many times. As a larger enemy begins to swing its heavy sword, your strikes should interrupt or slow their movement; however, they still carry on with the heavy thud of their weapon. A dodge feature or a way to counter the incoming strike would be appreciated.
Additionally, there’s a frustrating foe that throws grenades at Ebenezer. They’re hard to avoid and tough to attack. However, there’s one spirit that can provide a diagonal attack, which helps greatly. There is a magic meter, on the other hand, so they might not be able to perform the action. You’ll have to conserve your magic, like Scott Calvin in The Santa Clause 2. Other foes have annoying patterns that should be addressed during development. For example, there’s a flying lantern that sends fire towards Ebenezer. It’s just outside of the old man’s reach so you need to jump, and if you come into contact with it, you’ll take unnecessary damage.
More checkpoints would be a “Joy to the World.”
These issues are compounded by a checkpoint system that is too far apart, and the time it takes to run through empty spaces to get to where I was can be supremely irritating. The light platforming, with the help of a friendly spirit, can be entertaining enough to keep you going. With the new abilities you gain along the way, I expect it will be satisfying to revisit previously inaccessible areas.
Despite this demo featuring 30 minutes to an hour of gameplay, I already witnessed a copied battle stance from one enemy to the next. They slam the hammer toward you and have it stuck to the ground; this happens with two different foes so far. Hopefully, there’s more variety in the full game like Bloodstained.
Please change the music
Christmas movies often have catchy songs and imaginative music that captures your heart. Think of The Polar Express’ “Spirit of the Season” and the North Pole theme from the Santa Clause movies. Unfortunately, Ebenezer and the Invisible World lacks that holiday spirit in its soundtrack. There are depressing 30-second loops that have some elements of jingle bells, but the overall composition is such a downer. During my playthrough of the demo, I had to turn off the game’s music and put on some Castlevania tracks. It was a much better experience after that.
If it wanted to go for a dark take on the Christmas season, it would be intriguing to hear the composer’s creepy takes on classic Christmas tunes like “Silent Night” or “Jingle Bells.” Perhaps, it could also take inspiration from Danny Elfman’s Scrooged movie score, which has a darker edge than most holiday flicks.
The elves have a lot of work to do
There is so much potential in Ebenezer and the Invisible World. It has a unique holiday-themed world to explore, and the spirits may provide fun Metroidvania elements to the game. The combat system needs to be refined heavily, though, for me to not regift this title.
