What would you do with the ability to peer into your memories and past? How would you wield the Mistcaller’s powers?
To lose one’s memories can be a terrible thing. In Mistcaller, that’s the focus of the story. Sometimes, an event, big or small, can have an effect on what one remembers. But there are times when something so unbelievable occurs, the brain removes any recollection of it. Where did the memories of the Mistcaller go? And where will she find them? From Onyx Wings Studio, comes a tale where a young girl named Eve must go on an otherworldly adventure.
Eve is suffering from amnesia. She wakes up in a room, with pictures of people that look similar to her. And one is her. But what is with the picture of the castle? Who is the man in the portrait next to hers? And why does she feel such a heavy weight on her shoulders, even with no memories of her past? Only by venturing into a world that seems more like a dream can she come to a conclusion. She must take on the power of the Mistcaller and get back her memories. Only then can she remember any part of her past.
As a platformer, the title was relatively simple. All controls, with the exception of the space bar, were located to the right of the computer keyboard. Personally, it was a relief to have the simple W, A, S, D and E for action configuration. With the controls so easy to understand, it allowed for the game itself to take up a player’s attention. Getting the hang of the controls wasn’t at all hard. The space bar, like most platformers, was how Eve jumped in Mistcaller. For the first and most of the second chapter, this was what was needed.
Eventually, Eve would gain a double jump. And, having had bad experiences with the double jump before, I was having trouble thinking this would be different. Sure enough, jumping at the wrong moment or jumping too high in the wrong spot spelled disaster. But it was fascinating when combined with the ability to push objects away. This was done with a special Mistcaller ability triggered by using Q as one jumped. It allowed a burst of mist power to push certain obstacles out of one’s path.
The creation of portals would eventually become a power. It sure sounds badass, but in practice, it proved far more difficult. Even when presented with directions on how to place them, ensuring they did get placed didn’t always work as one might intend. That being said, it was an extremely useful and sometimes fun power. Who wouldn’t love retrieving objects using Mistcaller portals?
There’s nothing in the way of traditional enemies. But the difficulty comes in the form of various puzzles, and hazards where movement must sometimes be timed perfectly. Some might find the puzzles increasingly difficult, which is completely understandable. My playthrough was a tad frustrating, as the game itself gives absolutely no hints as to whether you’re close to solving certain puzzles or not. Certain puzzles were so very simple if one had the patience to really examine things. When the objective of a game is to retrieve memories, having roadblocks like difficult puzzles.
For example, one puzzle involved a statue holding various colored plants. In order to solve this puzzle, the location of the plants in a similar statue had to be in a specific order. And it turned out to not be in the order I thought of at first. When the solution finally came to my mind, it was a “that was simpler than I thought” moment.
Other puzzles proved slight tougher. Typically, one might see a slight glow of some sort. This would indicate a “start here” point. But the places that did glow weren’t very obvious. And when they did glow enough to be noticed, it didn’t always make sense to me. It’s an odd feeling staring at a puzzle and not getting it. Getting stuck every so often would ruin the immersion into the game.
Visually speaking, Mistcaller is fantastic. Every single bit of the character and her environment is hand-drawn. It truly added to the fantasy angle of the whole story. One could be solely invested in nothing but the artwork and still have a good time. Taking closer notice of the drawings, it seemed that there were at least 4 or 5 layers when it came to the levels themselves.
Seeing how the drawings all overlapped was very interesting. There was so much beauty to the game overall, it’s unfortunate it was not a little longer. Environments in Mistcaller were fantastic, of course. And one would think that with such a beautiful environment, the MC should present with the same aesthetic. The character design for Eve, personally, appeared very plain. That’s not to say she wasn’t drawn well. I just wish there was more to her than a red dress, black eyes, and blue skin. So much more could have been done with the main character, and it felt like there was a lot missing just from her.
It was a nice ride listening to this title. Throughout the game, the events of the past are narrated by an unseen person. Each and every word that she speaks is done in iambic pentameter, and the poetry used to narrate is very beautifully written. The music for Mistcaller is fantastic. Despite the simplistic nature of the title itself, the intensity of the music gave one a sense of urgency in completing the level and helping Eve find out what happened to her memories. Hopefully, developers will package the OST for the game and offer it as a DLC of some sort.
Mistcaller wasn’t a terrible title over. Through numerous trials and errors, one can eventually solve all the puzzles the game has to offer. But it might take away from those who wish to conduct a speed run in any sense. It might be possible, however, one would have to remember the solution to every single puzzle at every level to achieve that feat. As a platformer, it earns itself recognition for the artwork alone. I truly believe the game draws most of its base from that.
With as short as the title was, I cannot say that it earns a high replay value. But, if one is of a mind for puzzle solving and having their wits tested, it’s definitely a game for you. Who knows? You might even be able to challenge your friends with a bet for how fast they can solve certain puzzles contained within the world of Mistcaller. If you’re ready to be left scratching your head, have at it. You can currently find the title on Steam now.
