Evoland

Evoland
Developer(s) Shiro Games, Playdigious (iOS, Android)
Publisher(s) Shiro Games
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, iOS
Release Microsoft Windows, OS X
April 4, 2013
Android, iOS
February 2, 2015
Linux
March 9, 2015
Genre(s) Action Adventure, RPG
Mode(s) Single-Player

Evoland is a 2013 role-playing video game developed by Shiro Games, a French video game development company based in Bordeaux. Evoland was first released for Microsoft Windows and OS X in April 2013, Android and iOS in February 2015 and Linux in March 2015.

The design retraces the history of video games. Inspired by The Legend of Zelda, Diablo and Final Fantasy gameplay, the game has many references to movies and video game history. As the player progresses, they unlock new technologies and graphical upgrades that nod towards different eras of the video game industry.

A sequel, named Evoland 2: A Slight Case of Spacetime Continuum Disorder, was announced at the end of 2014 and was released August 25, 2015.[1]

History

Originally, Evoland was a video game created by Nicolas Cannasse during the 24th Ludum Dare, an "accelerated video game competition". Participants have 48 hours to create a video game respecting a given theme. The 24th Ludum Dare theme was "Evolution". Nicolas Cannasse proposed Evoland in about 30 hours and won first place despite the competition of 1,400 other participants.[2][3] The concept he proposed can be defined as a game which changes as the player follows the history of RPGs.

The player feedback was very encouraging. Evoland Classic quickly reached over 300,000 players within a couple of months, and is still playable on the Evoland Website for free. Also, as common in Ludum Dare, the Haxe source code was made available, in this case on GitHub.[4][5]

Development and release

Platforms

Given the success of Evoland Classic, Shiro Games decided to create a new version of the game with new bosses and monsters, new play styles, full environment 3D and an extended play-time.[2] This version was released on Steam[6] and GOG.com[7] at $9.99 in 2013.[8]

In 2015, the game was ported by Playdigious on iOS App Store[9] and Google Play[10] for $4.99.[11]

Gameplay

Evoland is based on the concept of tracing the evolution of video games. When the player begins his or her adventure there are only two colours, big, simple pixels and a 2D character. Through the adventure, the player gradually unlocks new graphics, new technologies and new gameplay until reaching the HD age and a three dimensional world. This evolution in-game of video game history is punctuated by many references to classic role-playing games[12] and movies.[13]

The game alternates between A-RPG phases and Active Time Battles. The character moves in a world made of dungeons, caverns, forests and villages full of NPCs. In addition to completing the story mode, players can also attempt to find hidden stars and cards that are scattered around the game world.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
MetacriticPC: 61/100[14]
Review score
PublicationScore
TouchArcadeiOS: [15]

The game was received by critics with an average rating of 61 out of 100 on Metacritic.[14] Specialized press and websites acclaimed the potential and originality of the concept as well as the references to cinema and video games history.

According to Destructoid[16] "Evoland's elements form a love letter to some of the most venerated games in their respective genres, and it's surprising just how well the shifting gameplay types work together." Many critics comment on how nostalgia helps make the game excel.

Main criticisms concerned the play-time and the lack of variety. Some players and specialized websites criticized the fact that the game stops evolving much after 30 minutes.[17][18]

Evoland reached approximately 460,000 sales on Steam alone according to Steamspy.[19]

References

  1. ↑ "Evoland 2 on Steam". Store.steampowered.com. 2015-08-25. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  2. 1 2 "Evoland". Evoland.shirogames.com. Retrieved 2015-03-30.
  3. ↑ "Evoland tous les détails de ce jeu créé en 48 heures". Jeuxactu.com. Retrieved 2015-03-30.
  4. ↑ ld24 on github.com/ncannasse/ld24
  5. ↑ evoland by Nicolas Cannasse (Aug 29 2012)
  6. ↑ "Evoland on Steam". Store.steampowered.com. 2013-04-04. Retrieved 2015-03-30.
  7. ↑ "Evoland". Gog.com. Retrieved 2015-03-30.
  8. ↑ "Evoland evolves to the point of being released on gog and steam". Pcgamer.com. Retrieved 2015-03-30.
  9. ↑ "Evoland on the App Store on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 2015-03-30.
  10. ↑ "Evoland - Android Apps on Google Play". Play.google.com. Retrieved 2015-03-30.
  11. ↑ "Evoland Mobile - Playdigious". Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  12. ↑ "Evoland takes you through the history of the jrpg". Pcgamer.com. Retrieved 2015-03-30.
  13. ↑ "Hipster tuesday: a game that evolves with you". Gameinformer.com. Retrieved 2015-03-30.
  14. 1 2 "Evoland for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  15. ↑ Musgrave, Shaun (February 9, 2015). "'Evoland' Review – A Brief History Of RPGs". TouchArcade. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Review: Evoland". Destructoid.com. Retrieved 2015-03-30.
  17. ↑ "Evoland la revue en accélé des RPG". Playtime.blog.lemonde.fr. Retrieved 2015-03-30.
  18. ↑ "Evoland : review". Pocketgamer.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-03-30.
  19. ↑ evoland on steamspy (May 19, 2017)
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