In developer Dreamirl’s haunting, hand-drawn world of Noreya: The Gold Project, players are thrust into a dark fantasy Metroidvania adventure. You begin your journey as Kali, a shadow-like creature recently resurrected by Saliuste, the god of greed. Separated from your physical form, you awaken in a cemetery for warriors—a touching homage to the game’s Kickstarter backers.
This premise sets the stage for an epic quest—one that explores themes such as loyalty, power, and freedom. Unfortunately, in a year packed with Metroidvanias like Ultros and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Noreya doesn’t always live up to its peers. Thankfully, the game offers just enough novelty in its puzzles and progression to stand out.
Choose Your Path
The narrative of Noreya: The Gold Project is driven by your allegiance to either the god of greed or the goddess of light. Your choices at each statue—where you access the game’s skill tree and upgrade your abilities—determine the routes you can take on the map and ultimately shape the game’s multiple endings. Will you aid Saliuste and lead his army of shadow warriors, or will you break free from his tyrannical grasp and seek the goddess’s light?
Throughout your journey, you’ll encounter stone tablets left by a mysterious figure, detailing his adventures and experiences with the gods. These tablets provide crucial lore, explain game mechanics, and offer hints about the gods’ true intentions, which may or may not align with humanity’s interests.
Gold Is Life
Combat in Noreya: The Gold Project is relatively standard fare, but the game introduces an intriguing mechanic by way of Saliuste’s blessing: gold.
Gold serves dual purposes. It’s used to upgrade your combat, defensive, and special abilities via a robust skill tree. It also functions as your healing mechanic, with players paying 10 gold to refill a heart of their health bar. This creates a thoughtful interplay between progression and survival. Financial management becomes crucial, especially as you unlock more hearts and the cost of healing adds up.
Investing in the god of greed generally enhances your attack strength and speed, while pledging to the goddess of light focuses on healing and defense. You can also upgrade your abilities, incorporating moves from the bosses and mini-bosses you face. However, the lack of enemy variety and generally bland enemy design can make combat feel repetitive until you encounter the game’s more intricately designed bosses.
Platforming, Puzzles, and Presentation
One of the standout features of Noreya: The Gold Project is its clever platforming puzzles. While some lever-based puzzles can be frustrating, the overall design adds a unique strength to the gameplay. As you explore the interconnected world, you’ll solve puzzles that test your wit and agility, adding depth to the adventure.
The hand-drawn art design, featuring simple yet pretty sprites, doesn’t particularly stand out but complements the dark fantasy atmosphere. The music, a blend of rock and fantasy epic themes, is atmospheric and matches the game’s environments well, enhancing the overall immersion.
Final Thoughts
Noreya: The Gold Project is a competent Metroidvania that excels in storytelling and platforming puzzles but falls short in enemy variety and design. The slow-healing mechanic creates tense moments during boss fights, and the game’s multiple endings and replayability add value to the roughly seven-hour adventure. However, the presentation could benefit from more refinement, particularly in enemy animations and variety.
Overall, Noreya: The Gold Project offers an interesting blend of historical lore, complex dynamics between humans and gods, and engaging platforming puzzles. While it may not redefine the Metroidvania genre, it provides a solid and enjoyable experience for fans of dark fantasy adventures.
Score: 7.5/10
Noreya: The Gold Project, developed by Dreamirl and published by PixelHeart, is available now on Steam. MSRP: $24.99.
Disclaimer: A review code was provided by the publisher.
