Good morning, Ladies, gentlemen, and those of a non-binary nature, my name is Daibhi and this is the Gamerhub Community. I have to admit to you all, I’m a bit of a retro gaming nerd. There’s some security emotionally within the nostalgic and the familiar, and as such, when we get games through that are retro-based, I’m usually the guy who gets the game to review. This week has been no different as on Friday, we got this game to review, and of course, I got this one. Before I get cracking with the review, I have something important to tell you. As my absence was noted by a lot of you, I’d just like to say that my mental health for a fair chunk of the spring hasn’t been the best. I am thankfully on the road to recovery and managing to get through this. If you feel like life has gone bland, that nobody cares and you’d be better off out of this life, talk to someone. I can guarantee that more people care about your existence than you realise, and that there’s no shame in asking for help. I’ll leave some useful details at the end of this review after my usual sign off.
“Teared” is a new addition to the arcade action-platformer genre, developed by Juan-Mod and published by JanduSoft. Released on April 25, 2024, this game is available on multiple platforms, including Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC, with an Xbox version slated for a later release. Thanks to the efforts of the truly awesome and unique Lew Langton, we got review copy for my PS5. For clarity, I’ve spent about 26 hours playing the game, which is unusual for me, as I normally spend more time on a game. That being said, the reason for why I spent so little time on playing through will be revealed to you shortly.
Graphics
Oh man, I really wish I could be a bit more positive about the graphics. This game, however, is nothing special on the graphics front. That isn’t to say it doesn’t look good (the artwork is awesome). Teared leverages the Unreal gaming engine to deliver a visually complex experience, filled with rich and detailed texture and realistic environmental effects. The game’s dynamic 3D landscapes are immerse players in a fantastical world where every detail, from the rippling water underfoot to the crashing waves along a coastal path, enhances the sense of immersion to a relatively competitive degree. I mean, the game’s graphics are good, but they’re not exactly reinventing the SNES.
The problem with the graphics in this game is that the game relies quite heavily on shadow effects due to the 2 dimensional nature of the game. I can’t help but feel as if this game had been made by a bigger group of people, then some of the graphical issues wouldn’t exist. For example, no matter how I messed around with the options on my PS5, I had to increase my brightness settings, as this game’s issues with lighting make the game nearly unplayable. In a nutshell, this game’s graphics are impressive when you can truly see everything, there’s a lot of room for improvement.
Now for the gameplay.
The gameplay of “Teared” is a thrilling mix of retro and modern elements, designed to engage players with its challenging mechanics and dynamic combat. Players navigate through nine meticulously crafted levels, each filled with a variety of mythical creatures such as dragons, skeletons, bats, spiders, and cyclops.
The gameplay of this game is quite the mix of classic and modern elements which engage with dynamic mechanics and challenging combat. As as player, you’ll have to navigate your way through nine increasingly difficult platforming levels as you walks from left to right of the screen to some amazingly detailed backdrops. As you walk, jump, roll and duck through levels, you’ll find different weapons to help defeat your enemies. Learning when to throw a weapon and when to roll to avoid getting hit is a mechanic which will take you time to learn how to get right.
That being said, a perfect platformer this game is not. This game only has a narrow variety of weapons and moves that you can do, and the game limits firing projectiles to a horizontal plane, which makes even the first boss battle difficult, but leads to an annoying flaw I’ll address later on in this review. The limitations present in this rely on you getting everything with precision timing and your positioning, which creates a steep and frustrating learning curve which can get you turning the air blue.
The level design is where this game really should shine. The range of challenges and environments is commendable to say the least, as side-scrolling and vertical platforms lead to complex puzzles and boss battles that require lateral thinking and quick reflexes. Unfortunately, the collision detection in this game is about as reliable as the positioning on Scooby-Doo And The Cyber Chase, leading to really unpredictable situations when meeting obstacles and enemies. You often feel out of control, as if this game is deliberately made to be unfair.
Teared offers a gameplay experience that ultimately wants me to get engaged with it, but presents a challenging slog due to technical issues which really detract from my enjoyment of this game. When a game offers Vikings, dragons, platforming levels and challenging boss battles, I expect a game that is at least fully functional. Sadly, this game can be best described as “barely functioning”. That being said, flick the game onto the easy mode and at least this game can give you a fun but difficult challenge.
Soundtrack
This is where the game truly shines. This game explores the full range of the orchestra, and is honestly reminiscent of some of the Game Of Thrones soundtrack. The soundtrack is honestly the thing that stuck with me long after I put the controller down, and it’s a testament to the game, because I largely suspect this is where most of the game’s budget went. I loathe dunking on an indie game, and particularly because this one shows promise, but the soundtrack is honestly the best part of this game. I really did enjoy the soundtrack more than most of the other aspects of the game, and after putting the controller down, I felt myself wishing that I’d enjoyed my experience of gaming as much as I had enjoyed listening to the soundtrack.
Final Thoughts
For the cost of what it is, and for the time you spend playing it, this game really isn’t bad value for your money, but honestly, for the hang ups I had with this game, I can honestly tell you that this game isn’t one I’m going to return to any time soon. However, after conducting some research, I am aware that updates are coming and hopefully, some patches will fix my major issues. So, I am going to give this game a tentative joystick rating and I hope with the patches to be able to come back to this and update it when the game’s quality improves.
This game gets…
2.6/5 Joysticks
For the Gamerhub, I’ve been Daibhi and you are all legends.
Try not to get eaten by a dragon whilst wearing a viking helmet
(Thank you to Javier at JanduSoft for providing the code for this review)
