Sydney Hunter and the Curse of the Mayan

Every once in a while, I’m glad to see that the olden days of gaming haven’t entirely vanished. Of course, big studios won’t make a retro throwback title on their own, because that’s usually not where the money lies anymore. However, leave it to indie studios to dip into the 8bit/16bit era every now and then. The shining example of such is Shovel Knight, but there are many others.

Spears, fireballs, and a moving wheel with a
skull. Yep, everything's trying to kill you.

I was first told about today’s game for two reasons: First is the “retro throwback” aspect, which… Hey, I grew up playing NES and SNES games, I’d love to see more homages to those times. The second reason is that it was developed by an indie studio based in the province of Quebec. CollectorVision is a studio that creates homebrew games for various retro consoles. So far, they only have one title that made it to digital platforms: Steam and the Switch, Xbox One and PS4 stores. And considering how many homebrew games of theirs bear the name of this game's protagonist, I can safely say he’s their mascot.

"Gee, let's hope this thing doesn't trap me in."

I know the "Item split into many pieces" trope is common
in retro games, but these pieces are quite a bit bigger than
the usual objects a hero has to pick up on their journey.

Sydney Hunter and the Curse of the Mayan was released on September 12th, 2019. Its concept is simple: Adventurer archaeologist Sydney Hunter has decided to explore the Mayan ruins, but he falls and gets trapped within. As it turns out, the Mayan civilization is still alive in there, but struggling. The feathered serpent Kukulkan has shattered their sacred calendar into seven pieces, freeing their Sun God Kinich Ahau. Both appear to be possessed by some sort of curse. And this, just as Wayeb, the five unluckiest days of their civilization, are about to begin. If the calendar is not restored before the end of those days, chaos will strike the land… after which, time will freeze forever. As it turns out, this prophecy mentions an outsider coming to help the Mayan civilization in these dire times. And Sydney is more than willing to lend a hand!

Alas, you don't get cat powers from this one.

The nods to classic video games are everywhere: The store page openly cites the Commodore 64 title Montezuma’s Revenge as an inspiration. The hub pyramid feel like Peach’s Castle in Super Mario 64, with doors that open once you’ve collected a certain number of Crystal Skulls. There are slight elements of Metroidvania, as some crystal skulls are off the beaten path and can’t be grabbed until you’ve obtained the required upgrade – but the game is split in levels rather than being a single large world to explore. The designs of the Mayan deities you fight as bosses are reminiscent of the Robot Masters from early Mega Man titles.

Fire-pooping firebirds. Now I've seen everything.

As for difficulty? It’s a pretty difficult game. It’s a lot harder than the average Mario game, but it’s a little more lenient and forgiving than the average Mega Man game. It does not use a lives system; Sydney has infinite lives. But don’t let that fool you – it’s not going to make the game any easier. Save points within levels restore all of Sydney Hunter’s HP, but the path between two save points can be lengthy and it’s easy to die along the way. All it takes is a set of spikes you didn't notice, or a monster that struck by surprise... Although, like all platformers, once you know the layout of a level, it becomes a lot less threatening. It’s a game where you’d feel comfortable running around with 10 HP… which is why you start out with 3.

Sometimes, the question isn't where they are.
It's how to get to them.

And if you’re like me, you’ll try to get every single skull on the way… or at least, as many as you can find in one go. There’s a total of 108 scattered around this Mayan world, and in order to access the final level, you need 100. There’s also a number of yellow diamonds that can be found; they are worth a lot of money, but are collectibles like skulls, which means they don’t reappear once grabbed. Going through previous levels again will not only be recommended, it will be necessary – but, on the plus side, you won’t need to beat a finished level all over again, as you can return to the hub after saving to a Mayan statue and keep the collectibles you’ve found.

The Adventurer's Inventory

There are three items you can use, provided you have them in your inventory. The first is a green potion that restores one heart of health; the second is a yellow potion, which restores all of your hearts. Then there’s bombs, which you much pick up around levels and use to destroy blocks on the floor level, since Sydney cannot attack downwards with his weapons. You only have 10 inventory slots, so use them wisely – but don’t worry, you keep those items between levels.

These red skeletons burst into flames when
killed. I heard of fiery digestion, but this is silly!

Sydney starts the game with his trusty whip, which attacks quickly but has short range. He picks up two additional weapons over time. First is the spear, which is the only weapon he can use while underwater; it also has the best range of the three, but is slow. Last is a boomerang, a bit weird to find this in a Mayan world… It’s got average range, but it comes back to Sydney after being thrown, which can let him score an extra hit on enemies and some bosses. After I got it, it was my go-to weapon to fight bosses, unless I needed the spear for long range or the whip to attack quickly.

Good think I found suba-diving gear within
these ruins, or else I wouldn't have been
able to come down here!

Our protagonist can also gather items around these 13 levels that will grant him extra abilities. Two of those are upgrades to his whip, which will allow him to break obsidian blocks (which frequently hide the path to skulls) and, later, shoot fireballs with it when he’s at full health. Why, yes, that does sound like a Zelda thing! At first, he can only stay underwater for 15 seconds, until he finds scuba-diving equipment. Sydney can also use the money he gathers throughout his journey to purchase Mayan meals that add extra hearts to his life bar, going from 3 to a maximum of 6. An item found late in the game will also halve all the damage he takes, which means he ends with what’s functionally a 12-HP bar. Then there’s the mask, which reveals secretly breakable blocks; it’s used a few times in the hub world, but almost never in levels.

By the way, as Sydney obtains the mask, he gains the companionship of a strange green bird that will start following him around. The bird does nothing at first, but can become an invaluable ally after Sydney feeds it bird food in the hub world. It will revive the adventurer instantly a limited number of times if his health drops to 0, and after another upgrade it also becomes an attacker that gets rid of small enemies for the player. Why does it tag along? Oh, there is a reason, but this is one instance where I genuinely don’t want to spoil anything.

This game has animal companions too?
Awesome! Only 5 more and I'll have a full team!

I do have to praise this game; the gameplay feels a lot like a classic retro title. Even with my keyboard, I was playing through and thinking “This feels like so many gaming experiences I’ve had on my NES or my SNES”. And yet, the sensibilities of modern indie gaming are present as well; the lack of lives and a fair difficulty with very few, if any, cheap death tricks. Not to mention a storyline that hooks the player in, while including a lot of comedy and geek references. And the music, oh the music, it’s so good. Classic chiptune, once again a throwback to the 8bit days. I don’t remember the last time a chiptune track made me headbang before I played through Sydney Hunter and the Curse of the Mayan.

Tales from My Gaming Experience

It's kinda hot in here.

-The Mayan Soldier Training Grounds: The game was showing its true colors by that point, but the Training Grounds, unlocked once you have 30 skulls, are a sadistic test of skill. There’s only one save statue, and it’s at the end of the level, just before the boss. Prior to that point: Roughly twenty screens of grueling, tough platforming. It’s also the most straightforward level in the entire game, with most skulls being easy to find, whereas the other levels tend to be a lot more labyrinthine.

-I said that the Mayan deities look very similar in design to the bosses in early Mega Man games. They even feel similar in how they behave, although I do feel like they’re a lot easier than Mega Man bosses tend to be. Also, their life bar is represented by five skulls. This game loves skulls, doesn’t it?

Okay, what killed me here exactly? All I did was jump
and land too close to the edge of a cliff that's shorter
than Sydney's height!

-Late in the game, you unlock a mini-game, another Sydney Hunter title that homages an even older era of video games. I say mini-game, but really, it’s a full 10-level game in which a weaponless Sydney must jump and duck his way around enemies to enter crypts and steal their artifacts. Also, for some reason, he’ll die even if he comes into contact with a cliff or even the edge of a cliff… what’s up with that? To reach the final boss of Curse of the Mayan, you need to obtain a key given to you by beating the first two levels of this game.

-I maintain that the game itself is pretty hard when you venture through the first time, but that’s due to your puny 3-4 HP in a world full of traps and enemies. The game doesn’t become easy per se, but key items upgrade Sydney’s health and abilities, and this coupled with your knowledge of the levels’ layout, make the game feel easy when you’re close to 100% completion. Oh, it doesn’t make the early game any easier though, and I bet I’ll struggle again when I’ll open a new save file. And in fact, even with all the upgrades and boosts, the final level is still very difficult. In fact…

I'm only showing a screenshot from the boss rush;
I want to keep secret as many details about the final
boss(es) as possible.

-I’ll reveal some details abot the last laps of the game but I'll remain sparse on finer details. Let’s just say that the final level is truly something to behold. You have 100 skulls and the special key, you go in… and you’re in for a long ride. The level is tough, but what’s even tougher is what follows it: First is a gauntlet against the five deities you fought before. If you beat that part and die to the final boss, the game is nice enough to not force you to redo the boss rush. After this, it’s time for the final battle, a memorable and extremely tough fight that requires both puzzle-solving and quick reflexes to win. And once you’ve won… there’s an extra boss to take down. And you do need to beat both bosses, one after the other, every time. It took me a while to finish that fight, but damn was I proud of myself for doing it. The ending was worth it, too.

Final thoughts

Also a lot of little fun details, like the
twins who speak in code (read: backwards)

Sydney Hunter and the Curse of the Mayan is a fantastic experience for retro fans and modern gamers alike. A tribute to the 8bit era that combines tough platforming with an engaging story and a lot of gaming and geeky references sprinkled in, this indie title has nary a flaw that I could list.

Okay, fair, most of the jokes are rather easy and the references are of the kind that every homage to retro gaming already does (be it Mario, Zelda or Mega Man among others). And some geek references came a bit out of nowhere as well; that nod to The Big Lebowski was a reach, whoever wrote that in must’ve pulled a muscle.

The difficulty curve is steady overall. Some levels stand out in difficulty, such as the Mayan Soldier Training Grounds. Most levels are tough at first, but they get easier as Sydney accumulates key items. Those, by the way, vary in usefulness; like I mentioned, the mask could have been used for more, as its gimmick winds up seldom utilized. The attacking options are nice, and the inventory for temporary items (bombs and potions) is also a good idea, though I wished it could contain more than just two types of items. I also love some of the little details here and there, like the pictures of Sydney’s health on the item menu.

The guy is worried and he still has 10 HP.
How will he be when he's down to 1?

108 skulls, a lot of yellow diamonds and some secrets – the game will keep you busy. And you need to find 100 of those skulls to battle the final boss… Anyway, yeah, barring some very small critiques, I’ve got almost exclusively good things to say about this one. And no, I’m not shilling because it was made by an indie studio from my province! …okay, maybe a tiny bit. But seriously, check this one out, you won’t regret it. It deserves to be known more.

Starting next week, if all goes well, I should start another set of quick reviews.