Today we are going to take a look at Wildfire. This 2D stealth platformer promises to enchant you with the power of the elements that you will use to overcome your enemies. Whether it can deliver on its promise is the question we will try to answer today. Wildfire is available on Steam for 14 Euro and 99 cents or your regional equivalent.
With this review you have a choice of either reading it here in text form or listening to the video review. They both contain the same content.
@kralizec and visit my YouTube ChannelWhenever a green glowing piece of a meteorite can be found in the entrance of the furthest away dungoeon… you know that trouble is brewing. And in Wildfire this certainly proves to be true. So… you, our hero, an ordinary villager – suddenly finds himself being the master of the elements. Fire, water, earth are there to obey you command. But the unscrupulous countess wants this power for herself. So, you can see, the story behind Wildfire is not that novel. But who gives a damn? The most important thing is whether the gameplay is fun.
The first thing I want to talk about are the graphics. They aren’t bad, you can see that for yourself if you just watch for a second. But, I felt that this game deserved so much more. The game mechanics are so awesome and I can sooooo easily picture them looking so amazing if the graphics weren’t in pixelart. But I guess that’s what the developers felt most comfortable with. And again, similarly to the story, in the end it doesn’t matter because the game is insanely fun to play.
The thing is, at its core, Wildfire is a true-to-heart 2D stealth platformer coming from a studio named Sneaky Bastards. So we get guards and a small bush, a box, or a dark place to hide in around every corner. In those you are supposed to hide and wait until the guards turn away and get far enough so they don’t hear or see you. But, what are you supposed to do if you do not want to wait hanging from the chandelier for hours? That’s where the special option of starting fiery inferno comes to play.
You see, most guards aren’t that observant whenever they are on fire making a bit easier for your to get around them without being noticed. And as you get more familiar with your newfound powers you will get more proficient with them. Thus, you can make your fireballs bounce around or even use it as a rocket to reach unimaginable heights. Or getting better with the element of water allows you to create water bubbles that function as elevators and earth will allow you to stun the attentive guards for a few moments.
But, if you do manage to not use your powers, you get rewarded. The rewards are tied to not killing the guards, the guards not being alerted at all, saving all the villagers or not using the save function at all. But, honestly, I never really got into playing Wildfire as a pure stealth game. I tried. But, using the elements was just so much more fun. Plus, the chaos that ensues whenever you use the elements perfectly manages to mask the fact that the guards aren’t the smartest guards you ever met. If kept alone, they just march back and forth. Stealing the keys they have in their pocket? No problem. Stealing the dynamite in front of their eyes? No problem. Landing on top of them? No freaking problem. But just don’t treat Wildfire as a game where stealth is the most important thing and enjoy the amazing mechanics of the elements at your disposal and you will be happy.
The only thing that can actually stop you from having fun apart from yourself are the bugs. And sadly, I have encountered a good few of them. Levitating dead bodies, strange issues with not being able to take screenshots, or enemies being alerted after you load a save in which you were never seen. These issues did take a bit away, sadly.
On the other hand, I have to praise the level design. They did certainly make sure you will not be constantly doing the same thing. Sometimes you will be saving villagers, then infiltrating the countess’s main base to end up putting bones of your ancestors back to their graves. There is good variability here and the levels do look quite distinct as well.
So… in conclusion: Wildfire is a game that is mechanically amazing. There is so much interesting stuff you can do with the elements. But for some strange reason the game decided it wants to be a stealth game. And playing it as a stealth game is probably the most boring way to play Wildfire. I wish this was an action platformer where I would actually get rewarded for using all the special skills you put into my hands instead of saying I did bad when I used them. Why give them to me if I get punished for using them? And importantly, the game really needs to get rid of all the bugs. But either way, I did have great fun with Wildfire. And if you forget about the stealth you will have great fun as well.
So, that’s it for today guys. I hope you liked the review and if you did, please up-vote the review, follow my blog, and be sure to share it with your friends. And comment, if you have anything you would like to add. See you guys later with more gaming content.
