Quick Review: Nefarious

Let’s swap the roles around for once, let’s be the kidnapper of princesses.

♪♫ I'm the baa-aa-aa-ad guu-uu-uu-uy... ♪♫

Made by StarBlade and released on January 23rd, 2017, Nefarious is the result of a successful Kickstarter campaign. In it, you become Crow, the famous villain of Macro City and frequent taker of Princess Mayapple. Fully aware of tropes pertaining to franchises that have been going on for decades (Especially that of red-clad heroes who go karting with their worst enemies), this game takes full advantage of, and pokes some lighthearted fun at, them.

A surprise attack by bees? This was a sting!

After the umpteenth time Crow kidnaps his victim, the hero Mack gets fed up of the shtick, breaks up with Mayapple, and leaves Crow be, not considering him much of a threat anymore. Now unrivaled, our villainous protagonist decides to expand his operations and go on a princess-kidnapping spree across the other kingdoms, all to fuel his greatest plan ever! Aboard the Sovereign, his trusty ship, accompanied by his minions, he’s on his way to make history – perhaps in the worst possible way.

How about an explosive to the face, good sir?

Crow, whom you might also remember as the final boss of Arcade Mode in Indie Pogo (reviewed in 2019), has two attacks. The first is a punch that you throw with the Right-click button. The second is an explosive that he can toss with the Left-click; however, if he throws too many, he needs to wait through a cooldown to reload. Both forms of attack require moving the mouse to aim, using a crosshair on the screen. Both can also be upgraded into more powerful or peculiar forms (ex. A further-reaching punch or sticky bombs) using the money you find in levels, alongside Crow’s health bar and number of bombs available at any one time.

"Buzz Off", supervillain Crow tells
Insektia hero Dash the Bee.

The levels are varied and include the occasional encounter with a kingdom’s resident hero or villain. Gameplay gets frequently switched around. Some princesses will grant Crow an ability that he has access to only while holding them, like a higher jump. Several battles against heroes are set in what the Kickstarter describes as a “reverse boss battle”, i.e. you take the command of a war machine larger than the hero and must beat them down using that machine’s functions. The first such fight involves a wrecking ball machine like Eggman’s, against a hero who’s an unsubtle mockery of Sonic. Some levels are more peculiar; one is an underwater adventure, as an example.

Unexpected gameplay change?
Try unexpected game style change.

Mentioning bizarre etiquette rules of his
being a villain? Check.
Equal opportunity's always good.

The dialogue and several scenes are hilarious, always highlighting the trope-savviness that permeates this world, but instead of staying at the surface level of merely mocking these conventions, something very interesting is done with the setting. The story is super engaging. I’d say more, but since I want people to play this game, I’ll hold back on giving too many spoilers. The characters are endearing and a ton of fun, and there are bonus levels and some fun scenes that put a twist on the rest of the game. The game looks absolutely gorgeous, a treat to the eyes. The music is also highly memorable, and several tracks were made by Matthew Taranto, of Brawl in the Family and Tadpole Treble fame.

Spend some money - I mean Lucre - on
improving your arsenal!

The game starts out pretty easy, but the final levels and bosses can be a doozy. Having so many gameplay changes, while nice, means you need to constantly adapt to the new situation. This is fine, but can be more than a bit tricky especially as the end of the game comes near. The game features two different endings, and the trickier one to obtain requires completing all bonus levels and getting all the lore – which is pretty good. You can edit your equipment to any combo of upgrades – four types of explosives, four types of punch attack, with the possibility to mix two punch upgrades together after you’ve unlocked all four.

This game is great. I recommend it to anyone who loves platform games. Putting aside its relatively short length, this is an excellent experience throughout. Nefarious is available on Steam for 14.99$. Oh, and this story has expanded into an entire webcomic to be read here.