Eliosis Hunt

Note: I received a key from the developer to share my thoughts on this title. This means my review has not added to the percentage rating on the store page.
This is a challenging, fast paced and dynamic top down static camera shooter / platformer hybrid with beautiful graphics. Very impressive for a small indie studio and very accessibly priced at £4, but it does have some flaws.
We play Eliosi, a diminuitive bounty hunter who needs to prove that he can be just as tough and fierce as the big guns. You move from map to map (5 total) hunting a target (boss) and collecting optional power upgrades.
The controls are basic but easy to pick up and intuitive both with keyboard and mouse, or a controller. Twin stick shooter style, hold down a button to shoot and then you move, jump and dash. You have a main gun and can collect different weapons and useables, but unfortunately they have very limited uses and then they disappear. They are often very situational for the surroundings. If a rocket launcher appears on the map, you have a clue to look out for a breakable wall, for example. If you collect a jetpack, expect some complicated jumps up ahead. I would have preferred being able to permanently add these to my collection and having a proper loadout, but perhaps that would have been too unbalanced.
It's primarily a top down action shooter; but has quite a few platforming elements. The problem is the controls aren't quite tight enough for a real platformer, making it hard to move whilst in the air and not as precise as it should be. I felt the shooting was on point though and would have preferred it simply as a shooter.
Graphics
The graphics are great! Very beautiful, with each level having a distinct environment. I loved the bright colours and the intricate detail. The art aesthetic feels really special and I would have really enjoyed this in a more relaxing setting. Both the visuals of the gun shooting and the sound effects have impact and feel satisfying. The music works very well with the fast paced sci-fi setting and the cutscenes are interesting and detailed - although there is no dialogue. They manage to give you a feel for the game from animation alone, without needing words. Visually this game presents a very attractive package.
Challenging Experience
You gain health from exploding health objects in the surroundings but at some points you can easily get one shot by the enemy. When you load from a checkpoint, you always load at one health, not full. You really have to pay close attention and are constantly dodging and shooting. Sometimes monsters can ambush you from the terrain and they always have the advantage in numbers. Movement feels pretty solid and if I died during combat, it was usually my fault for not responding quick enough. It felt very challenging for my geriatric hands and I did end up quite frustrated early on, having to repeat entire sections multiple times. I did get better with time, but I'd personally describe this on the higher end of the difficulty scale and for those who like a challenge and don't mind repeating sections when they die.
There is an interesting ability of being able to use a checkpoint to save - or destroy it to get a move speed bonus. You may need those move speed bonuses to complete the game in the allotted time, but with the amount I died, I couldn't sacrifice many checkpoints.
Frustrating Deaths
A major flaw in my opinion is the static camera angle. It's top down and there is a lot of environmental interaction - such as triggering doors, activating things, shooting health, jumping from platform to platform and you can't change the camera angle at all. No rotation. As such, sometimes the environment simply gets in the way and you are blind. At one point I was jumping from leaf to leaf and there was simply no way to see where I was going other than to guess - this is poor level design at work, and leads to a death that is absolutely not my fault. It is a throwback to retro top down shooters; but some things are better left in the past.
I wanted to love this game but ultimately the high difficulty level coupled with the static camera left me feeling frustrated a little too often. If you've got mad skills and like a challenge then the difficulty level may well be a plus for you.
I'm giving it a fairly lukewarm recommendation 6 / 10. Play in small doses to avoid frustration. At a full price of £4 the game is decent value for money and will be a bargain on sale.

Seriously ignore the hating and let me tell you why.
this is love letter to ps1 games:
this really do be feeling like a ps1 game, none like a PSX-style horror indie game this genuinely feels like a game from that era, graphics and all.
so don't be expecting a Triple AAA game either visually or mechanically, this is straight up pick and play challenging run n shoot game.
on sale this is a must, its short but its challenging with some secrets for replay-ability also it could be fun to speedrun.
yes the platform can be challenging but FAR from unfair , you're in control of your character and are given plenty of ways to move around , dash jump , jet pack , double jump + combination of these.
people saying there's no way to heal they didn't even realize there's plenty of heal pickups you need to destroy and they respawn with you.
my only beef so far and yes other people mentioned this : the corpses of enemies get in your way. pls try to fix this.
if you enjoyed the psx era i think you definitely will this,

This game is a top-down shooter/platformer mix heavily inspired in Crash Bandicoot. For those who like this genre, like myself, this will be a fine addition to your collection.
This plays in a really fast pace and there are lots of collectibles to search for in each of the stages. The enemies and platforming aspect of the game sometimes feel unfair, but it's mostly about getting used to the patterns and timing. The game also has nice speedrunning aspects.
This game was the most fun and challenge I've had in while. It was really hard getting 100% achievements on this game. Great experience, overall!

Great game. Fast paced and really dynamic, Eliosi's hunt successfully preys the player's attention to explore good-looking maps while fighting off enemies. The visuals are as great as the soundtrack, which fit nicely to each stage design. The difficulty and enemies' reactions are at a good level and the search for collectibles is fair and fun. I haven't completed the character's upgrades, but they do add differences in the gameplay, which affects replayability, even more if you're a completionist or a speedrunner. About the controls, they're very responsive and the game feels both fluid and intuitive.
Devs do support the players and are active on forums listening to the players. Price is great and very accessible. Cutscenes with eye-candy 3D models is a big plus in this game as well. Good job, TDZ!

Great game overall! It can be hard sometimes, but it's almost always your fault when you die. I really liked the platform/action mix. I can't remember the last time I had this much fun with a top down shooter! It gets especially better after the first level.
The upgrading system after each level is simple and to the point. Boss fights are fun.
There're a few problems in my opinion but they're minor and doesn't spoil the overall experience. Such as some foregrounds scene object getting in the visual way too much in a few places.
And the production values such as the cut scenes, the overall game polish and all are far better than expected for this price!

If you really like a challenging games buy it, otherwise just skip this.
There's no story at all (indeed there's no dialogue), controls feels strange at first but you can get used, enemies are dumb and less polished than the scenario, usually they just charge at you throwing 1 or 2 things and there are only 5 levels (so buy it on sale).
Beating the game was enought for me, but if you are a perfectionist and wants all the achievements you will have a hard time.

Well designed top-view acion platformer. The devs really put a lot of effort into this game and the artists as well.
Getting all the "artifacts" if you will in a level is quite challenging and does require some backtracking with items you get further on in the level.
Anyway 10/10 for 5$ CAD, One of the best bang for your buck deal on Steam right now.