Fenix Rage (PC) Review

Games like Demon's Souls and Super Meat Boy started a trend in modern Western mainstream gaming: to take players back to the old-school difficulty that has been lacking in recent times. To be quite honest, though, the difficulty in itself is not what makes a game good. There are some traps to avoid and Fenix Rage does that in a great way.

When reviewing a difficult game like this and explaining why it is good, it is impossible to not mention these traps that so many hard games before it have fallen into, both old and new. The most common pitfall to base difficulty on is hard-to-learn or unresponsive controllers. Fenix Rage, however, doesn't offer these flaws.

The control in Fenix Rage is wonderful and not in any way limited in favour of fake difficulty - rather, the opposite. Fenix cannot double jump or triple jump, but he can float in a Kirby-like fashion and dash at an incredible speed in a straight line. With these abilities and freedom, would Fenix not be immortal? Wrong. What makes this game so great is that the difficulty and level design is balanced around this feature. Several of the levels in the game are designed around mixing floating and dashing to get through the obstacles in Fenix's path.

The second pitfall many games fall into when they try too hard at being Nintendo Hard is having an unfair difficulty curve containing several difficulty spikes. The list of titles that fall into this trap could be made very long, but Fenix Rage would definitely not be on it. The difficulty curve is indeed harsh and in no way flat, but it starts at a fair level and is consistent building up in an even pace. Seldom is there ever an urge to rage quit, which is more often than not sadly when these games stop getting played and the magic of the difficulty rubs off.

The third common pitfall is more subtle than the other two and harder to spot, but can most easily be described as difficulty contra rewards. There are some games that simply do not create a feeling of reward for hard work by being repetitive or simply offering the very same obstacle, and only get more frequent for every level. Fenix Rage succeeds by its wonderfully short and varied levels and worlds. The goal is always in sight and the levels are different enough to feel rewarded.

After checking off what Fenix Rage doesn't do wrong it is time to check off what it does right. The first thing that comes to mind is the achievement system. It is made in two ways: time to complete and cookies. Cookies are usually placed in hard-to-reach locations filled with dangers, which makes them a risk-contra-reward decision whenever or not one wants to take them, and the time reward is given for completing the stage fast.

Later on these two will more often than not become almost impossible to collect on the same run. This offers replayablility, making this game live longer. The longevity offered is further expanded by the ingenious and creative level design, and ensures attempting to achieve the rewards feels fun rather than a hassle. This does in the end result in a game that will be returned to every once in a while, just like the classics it tries to mimic.

Overall, Fenix Rage is a game that offers the very best of the past without all the limitations the hardware used to provide when it came to processing power, which inflicted problems with physics engines and speed. It is a game that feels extremely refined and is ageless in its execution. This is a modern classic in the genre.