Konjak’s first commercial game is his first sequel, to his first completed game. Its unique control scheme sets it apart, and Sandberg’s animation prowess as of 2008 has resulted in a fantastic-looking game too!
Set 100 years after Noitu Love, Devolution features the same antagonist faction in the Darns, and the protagonist Xoda Rap resembles Noitu and shares some of his abilities. Some setpieces have also been repurposed and revamped; however, this game also interestingly takes some ideas from his innovative pointer-based game Chalk! You move your character through a sidescrolling world, but most of your attacks are done with a pointer (in the case of the Wii U port, you have the choice of Wii Remote + IR sensor bar or using the GamePad’s screen with a stylus, both of which work quite well).
For Xoda she’s still mostly a melee fighter, which means she dashes around the screen a lot, but the two additional unlockable characters change it up in fun ways with more ranged attacks and even a light-gun-esque mode. As I’ve come to expect, Devolution is fairly short but with plenty of variety. The plot involves different time periods being recreated, which gives an opportunity for some wacky themed stages (and the occasional cultural stereotype), including big, impressive, Mina-style bosses. Sandberg does good bosses and is always careful to have them telegraph their attacks.
So with Devolution, Konjak has built on Noitu Love wonderfully, following up on its story and with lush pixel animation, as well as importing Chalk’s control method. And it all works so well. Also, there’s no more lives system, just a generous health bar and checkpoints; this is a good thing!
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