We tend to say that “gaming used to be a lot harder” back in the day, but while that is somewhat true, that wasn’t because we were better gamers as kids. Games were shorter in the 80s and 90s, and in order to artificially bloat their length, or to make them last for at least the duration of a Blockbuster rental period, developers would make them a lot more challenging, unforgiving, sometimes even intentionally clunky. They wanted you to fail over and over again, memorize patterns, and make what would otherwise be a two hour long experience something that would last a weekend, maybe even an extra rental. The game I’m reviewing today, Haunted Lands, is an “homage” to that specific era, and I don’t particularly know if this is a cause worth celebrating.

If only I didn’t have to bother / worry about magazines and reloading them… this would have been so much cooler.

First things first, I want to commend Arbolev for developing an entire game as a solo dev. Regardless of my thoughts about the end product, I cannot underestimate the achievement that is making an entire game on your own: graphics, visuals, music (pretty good music, in fact), and so on. With that out of the way, what is Haunted Lands, exactly? Think of it as a horror-themed 2D platfomer inspired by older titles from the NES era, such as Ghosts n’ Goblins, Castlevania, and Contra, but with an art style that mostly resembles gaming computers from that same period, such as the Apple II and MSX. The level of contrast and brightness is a lot stronger than what the NES was capable of, for instance. It’s a clear amalgamation of old-school computer gaming with NES influences.

Checkpoints only show up when you reach a new subsection inside a level. Get used to dying. It’s part of the learning experience.

Arbolev calls Haunted Lands a platformer / shoot ’em up hybrid, but I honestly disagree with the latter. Sure, four of the six playable characters at your disposal have ranged attacks, and your objective is to shoot the hell out of a bunch of demons, but I don’t think this game’s mechanics reward you for constant shooting and insane action as a shoot ’em up would. Between having to reload your magazine / magic meter and not having access to a truly freeform aiming system, even though you have to deal with enemies flooding you with scratches and bullets from all directions, Haunted Lands‘ combat feels intentionally clunky, to emphasize you’re not in for a cakewalk. That goes against what a shoot ’em up is, but sure, it’s the developers vision. Something truly hard just like a game from the 80s.

That, consequently, turns the game into an acquired taste. Enemy placements, as well as their attacking behaviors, mean that you will probably die once or twice before learning their patterns. Some assets thrown into the background may blend in with the rest of the screen (a consequence of the ultra-saturated art style), resulting in an occasional loss of life points. You have only four hit points before you die, and health pickups are extremely rare. Dying is expected, but the checkpoints in question are few and far between. You will only find one when you move onto a new section of a level. Lives are infinite, but you may lose quite a lot of progress in between deaths.

Haunted Lands might be trying to sell itself as a shooter, but it’s a lot more exploration-heavy than action-packed.

You may either love or loathe Haunted Lands, all based on your tolerance towards a game design philosophy that leans towards making a game difficult for the sake of it, “because that was the style back in the day”. It can either be a throwback to how much you used to struggle and overcome challenges in Ghosts n’ Goblins, or it will act like a reminder of why accessibility has been one of the best features implemented in gaming over the past few decades. It is a fine platformer, but I wish it had leaned a bit more towards its so-called shoot ’em up vibes, being more hardcore and action-focused. As it stands, it can be fun for a while, but its artificial hurdles will bore you quickly, depending on your patience.

Haunted Lands is available now on PC.

Reviewed on Intel i7-12700H, 16GB RAM, RTX 3060 6GB and Asus ROG Ally.

A copy of Haunted Lands was provided by the publisher.