Xbox Game Pass has the undeniable ability to (re)bring to the surface titles small and large that would otherwise be overshadowed by the usual suspects, by triple A productions, by games that have simply been able to benefit from the services of an expert and Astute marketing and communications agency.
Free is beautiful, they say, and although you have to pay for the Microsoft service, as it should be, it is undeniable that you can download all the productions in the catalog with extreme freedom, without having to dig deeper into your wallet, incentives. and quite a desire to experiment and give a chance to proposals that we would never have considered otherwise.
La Review of Rainbow Billy: The Course of Leviathan will make you understand that this game fits perfectly into this category, being an RPG with platform sections published back in 2021, recently rediscovered thanks to its inclusion in the Xbox Game Pass catalog, an event that has given adequate visibility to an indisputably game intriguing. and endowed with charisma.
Precisely for this reason we wanted to play it thoroughly, to give you an opinion on the type of experience it offers and to warn all lovers of the genre who are looking for something bizarre, very colorful and original in its own way.
Happy creatures and existential dramas
Billy lives on a brightly colored island, inhabited by friendly and sweet animals who are always excited to chat and organize a party that includes launching fireworks. However, after another festive occasion, the dreaded leviathan, who was lying asleep at the bottom of the ocean, suddenly wakes up, deciding that the time has come to steal the colors of this dream world, a true protective shell that had remained immaculate until that moment in which the protagonist and his friends had left. proxy for him. refuge from an external and damn real world. A world that, according to the threatening words of Leviathan, exists somewhere and suffocates those who live there with problems and tasks of all kinds.
Following his escapist nature, Billy immediately commits to restoring order and liveliness to his world, traveling from island to island, aboard a talking ship, to free the animals subjugated by the dominant Leviathan and restore a little joy and happiness everywhere.
Although it is clear from the beginning that under the shell of what appears to be the plot From a product for very young people, in reality there is something much deeper, and sometimes disturbing, hidden, Rainbow Billy: The Course of the Leviathan supports the script for almost the entire adventure, allowing a glimpse of a second level of reading only every now and then. from time to time a lot.
Although more experienced players, looking for something more mature, may not appreciate the overall narrative approach, the indisputable skills from ManaVoid Entertainment writers capable of creating an epic that offers two completely self-sufficient interpretative keys and perfectly directed at two specific recipients, one more naive and interested in the vicissitudes of Billy and his team, the other more sagacious and capable of understanding and capturing the underlying drama that in reality is consumed.
Rhetoric battles
After all, drama, emotional shocks, psychological blocks and traumas of all kinds are the vital element that fuels game by Rainbow Billy: The Course of the Leviathan, which is based on non-violent battles like those you could participate in in the never-too-praised Undertale, a strange role-playing game that allowed you to fight to the sound of well-placed observations and calibrated praise. millimeter.
The weak exploration phases aboard the ship mentioned above represent, in fact, a small part of the total. Once you reach the island in question, it will mainly be a matter of solving some simple environmental puzzles to clear the way to the treasure chest, the collectible item, the creature to "fight" with. There is nothing particularly complex or original here either, but these puzzles still have the great advantage of keeping interest alive and stimulating progression, both to discover a further challenge conceived by the developers and to obtain the inevitable reward.
However, when confrontation becomes inevitable, Rainbow Billy: The Course of the Leviathan becomes a strange role-playing game. Instead of special attacks, choreographic movements, powerful spells, ours, above all, will have to understand the problem, the discomfort, the paranoia that takes over the opponent simply and literally, by speaking to us. By encouraging and stimulating him, choosing the most appropriate response based on the character of the little monster, you will gradually discover the colors necessary to "defeat" him, that is, restore his reason, tearing him from the grayness to which he was forced by the powerful Leviathan. .
To return the colors and thus go on the attack after the inevitable study phase, you will have to deploy the same creatures that, once freed from the yoke of the enemy, will decide to follow Billy in his epic. Each being is paired with at least three colors and to unleash the maximum of its power, in each turn, in each movement, you will have to overcome a certain minigame. Most of the time you will have to press a combination of buttons at the right time, other times you will depend on your quick reflexes to win at the slot machine. Although the idea may seem innovative and interesting at first, the repetitiveness of these small tests eventually ends up weighing down each battle, which is otherwise quite fun between the initial dialogues and the counterattacks to replenish Billy's morale bar, or rather his "life." . , and multipliers that will be activated by playing one or more creatures with your own money in combination.
Fans of the genre, in any case, will be attracted more by the style of the combat system than by the real repercussions in terms of depth and potential. Even during the much more challenging and prolonged boss battles, one does not witness who knows what changes in the game, although the greater attention and dedication required in these phases motivates enough to allow oneself to be seized by the desire to reach another supervillain more. defeat to the sound of praise and colors to throw.
All in all, in summary, the gameplay holds up pretty well for everyone. fifteen hours needed to reach the final credits, thanks to the sum of the parts. The platforming stages are occasionally worrisome due to a less than perfect camera, but the puzzles you'll have to tackle are challenging enough. The combats are based on repetitive mini-games, but it is still intriguing to talk to enemies to defeat them, as well as devise effective counteroffensives to counteract Billy's progressive drop in morale. Likewise, it is fun to return to the talking ship to gradually strengthen your team, giving each little creature the collectible objects collected around it, a practice that will unlock new colors and therefore new techniques that can be used in battle.
As if that weren't enough, Rainbow Billy: The Course of the Leviathan sports a peculiar and careful artistic sector. Bright colors, rounded shapes and backgrounds separated by clear lines combine to create a kind of interactive cartoon. Not everyone will like the style adopted, but it certainly cannot be denied that it has character, nor that the graphics are not taken care of in every detail.
Conclusions
Tested version PC with Windows digital delivery Steam, playstation store, Xbox Store, Nintendo eShop Price 17.99 € / 19.99 € Holygamerz.com 7.5 Readers (3) 6.1 your voteRainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan is an original RPG in its own way. If you have already played Undertale, you generally know what to expect from an experience that replaces the most classic fights, with real rhetorical battles interspersed with mini-games that you must overcome to defend yourself and conclude the altercation. Even the art design created by the artists at ManaVoid Entertainment only further characterizes the game, which features very colorful and well-finished graphics that are pleasing to the eye. The plot, as if that were not enough, provides a certain depth to the experience, hiding a level of reading that casts suggestive and disturbing shadows not only on the adventure in general, but also on the figure of Billy. Unfortunately, some limitations partially dampen the experience. The mini-games become repetitive in the long run; managing your own roster of creatures quickly exhausts the options offered to the player; The battles themselves don't introduce who knows what new long-term mechanics; The platforming phases are not supported by brilliant level design. In short, it is certainly a particular product, interesting until the final credits, but far from being brilliant or capable of continuous renewal. However, if you're looking for an atypical RPG, you should try Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan, especially now that it's available on Xbox Game Pass.
PRO
- The plot is anything but obvious.
- Atypical fights
- Artistic design with attention to every detail.
AGAINST
- The platforming phases don't rely on particularly brilliant level design.
- Minigames that can be activated during battles get boring quickly
- Staff management is far from profound
