Review: Eryi’s Action is video game trolling at its best

DEATH. Oftentimes, it comes after us with sweet vengeance in video games. Mario’s shock and drop, Megaman’s explosion burst, Link’s over-dramatic fall. These all would leave a lasting impression on you, except death decides it isn’t their time and always brings them back to life. The same can be said for Eryi in Eryi’s Action. She will die many, many more times than your average character. But will dying a lot lead you to a state of unfathomable rage or leave a lasting impression of overall satisfaction of Eryi and her unthinkable enemies? Let’s take a look.

What can you say about Eryi? She is a cute plant/girl hybrid. The game begins with a letter at her house. It seems we are thrown into Eryi’s world as her hunger is on the rise and she is about to eat an absolutely delicious melon. Unfortunately for her though, a deadly enemy has stolen it and Eryi decides to go after the fruit-stealing perpetrator.

What she doesn’t know is that with each world she goes to, death literally awaits her with each step she takes. Nyu Media, the people behind Eryi’s Action, accurately describe their platformer, not as a platformer, but a “trapformer.” This 100 percent describes how this game will PUNISH you at every turn. From the start of the game, players will notice how difficult this game is going to be as death-wielding pans come flying from off-screen to kill your precious Eryi. Did I mention, the game hasn’t even officially started yet. You are still in Eryi’s house. Should be a safe zone, right? In this game, nowhere is safe!

If you’re a person who rages out any time your character starts dying a lot, this game may not be for you as there is a chance of breaking your laptop, controller, desktop or all of the above. This game provides the frustrations of random traps that will kill you as Eryi will die by getting hit only once.  Walk a few steps, spikes fall from the ceiling. DEAD. Walk a few steps, dodge the spikes, a random enemy pops out of nowhere. DEAD. It’s a constant cycle and a BATTLE to get through the stages that are available.

So dying a ridiculous amount of times isn’t your thing? I know it’s tough to fathom, but the amount of death you go through in this game is actually its charming quality. Yes, this game will trick you. Yes, you will die a lot. But it isn’t a challenge you can’t overcome. It harkens back to the days of the original NES and how you’d have to learn patterns over and over again to make it to the end of the game successfully. Sure, you’d die a lot. But with trial and error, you would eventually triumph and have a feeling that you’d actually accomplished something pretty significant. In the modern world of games, this concept is often forgotten and it’s always good to see a “nod” to the old school world of gaming.

So, is this game worth the $4.99 to download it? Well, you, as a gamer, need to look at a number of things. If difficulty in games isn't your thing, then you might want to stray away from Eryi's Action. However, the deaths were a motivator to me and presented an awesome challenge that kept me addicted and kept me playing. For those of you that like a good challenge, this is going to be a refreshing game to play. Although, it isn’t very long, and you should be able to get through it in a few hours. It also offers a hardcore mode that allows 30 lives to get through the entire length of the game. Not to mention, this is a perfect game for all you speed-runners out there.

The game has a vibrant and colorful environment that is just plain fun to play in. It’s fun. It’s cute. It’s colorful. With all the frustrating traps, it’s nice to sit back and admire the creative environment before it ruthlessly kills you over and over again. It creates a much-needed balance with the added negativity that comes with dying a bazillion times.

In the end, Eryi’s quest for her melon is a fantastic buy at $4.99. You’ll have a jolly good time memorizing patterns, laughing at the traps and eventually overcoming the difficulty this game presents. It’s a great, balanced platformer that is a must-play for platforming enthuisasts out there. So, try, try and die again in Eryi's Action and hopefully you’ll beat the game with more lives than I did. (It was in the negative, high hundreds.)