My first experience with Swedish developer "konjak" was with his underrated beat-em-up
classic, Noitu Love 2: Devolution, and I totally loved it because of its punchy combat, bombastic
bosses and over the top action sequences.
You hardly had to aim your weapon to pull off magnificent combos and the stellar art
style gave such satisfying feedback that it's goal was obviously to see how the different
scenarios could build on one another to create unique and climactic moments.
Every stage brought something new to the plate and it never stopped catching me off guard
with what was coming next.
Now, after 7 years in development, konjak has released his newest title and I can see
a lot of similarities to Noitu Love 2, but for me, it became so much more than campy
conflicts and flashy scenery.
Let's talk about why you need to play Iconoclasts.
I honestly didn't know much about this hi-bit gem before diving in, just that you use a
wrench to solve problems and that it was inspired by Metroid Fusion.
Of course the gorgeous pixel art drew me in, but I was surprised right off the bat to realize
how deep the narrative was.
In the world of Iconoclasts everyone is assigned a specific job from the government and it's
a terrible sin to practice otherwise.
If you disobey, they can sentence you to Penance, which leads to certain death.
You play as Robin, who is essentially a rogue mechanic that helps villagers with their various
needs, but because of the laws of the land, she's seen as a fugitive to the One Concern
and discovers all sorts of covert information as she tries to outrun them, such as what
ivory, humanity's main resource, is being used for, the government's secret plans,
and how their warped vision of society can tear people apart and leave them brainwashed
or in disarray.
You'll meet a huge cast of characters, from hyper-religious villains like General Chrome,
to carefree, albeit smelly, pirates like Mina.
What I liked is that everyone had their own motivations, backstories and ideals that explain
their actions, and there are plenty of twists and turns that you won't expect.
It may have a cheery exterior near the beginning, but things turn dark pretty fast.
Your party will consist of several different members on your journey, including Elro, Robin's
reluctant brother and Royal who believes it is his destiny to be the new ruler of the
world someday because of his magical inheritance.
As you uncover the mystery of One Concern and their totalitarian beliefs, you'll travel
to a variety of locations and gain new abilities.
Obviously your wrench is used to open doors, turn on electricity, and ricochet projectiles,
but you also collect an array of weapons as well.
Robin starts with a simple stun gun that has a little bit of an auto aim as well as a downward
stomp maneuver to take down baddies, but eventually she upgrades to a concussive grenade launcher,
and my personal favorite, the usurper shot which allows you to swap locations with objects
and enemies.
All of these guns have secondary charge attacks which can do more damage but have a longer
cooldown, and I don't think the game explicitly tells you this, but they can even increase
your jump height if you time it right.
These are also used, however, to solve assorted puzzles, and I didn't expect this going
in, but there is a heavy focus on puzzle elements.
Of course there's a ton of combat and platforming, but part of the main experience is using your
arsenal to solve intricate level layouts to proceed.
This will range from blowing up red buttons to move platforms, to using electricity to
activate doorways, to riding rails at breakneck speeds to crash through blocks.
Eventually your wrench can be enhanced with an electric charge as well, so you have to
use all of your skills together and think outside the box to succeed.
The game continues to switch things up and it never gets stale, which is impressive because
it's about a 10 hour experience overall just to go through the main story.
On top of these abilities you can also purchase tweaks which are little upgrade nodes you
can equip to have more power, such as extra speed, holding your breath for longer periods,
or dealing more damage.
You unlock these powerups by finding hidden chests throughout the world, which are mostly
gated behind a mini-challenge or tucked away in secret alcoves.
Inside they provide you with raw materials used to buy the powerups.
I like that it's actually beneficial to swap out tweaks depending on the situation, though.
For example, when you use your electricity to light a dark tunnel, it might help to increase
the duration, or if you're struggling on a boss fight you can go for all 3 health upgrades.
And then, near the end of the game once you're fully decked out, you can find the rest of
the collectibles as you scour the map you've trekked before - all that good metroidvania stuff.
The fluidity in the animation and music are all top notch.
Especially when you remember this was developed by ONE PERSON.
But what I loved most about Iconoclasts was the same thing I enjoyed about Noitu Love 2,
the fact that it kept raising the bar and getting crazier and crazier as you progress.
It never feels like you're retreading old ground, and it changes up the gameplay so
often you can't even blink or you might miss it.
It starts with silly minigames, like not mixing certain boxes of chemicals while they're
being stacked in storage, but it quickly builds to things like an epic escape sequence where
you're running away from Agent White who is essentially the terminator.
Occasionally it'll switch playable characters completely and allow you to have totally separate
attacks and capabilities, such as Mina's shotgun that you have to aim before firing,
or Elro who moves very slowly but carries a deadly sword.
I think my favorite moment was when you have to undergo training from this recluse in the
woods named Ash and he wants you to defeat him by being strong and stealthy at the same time.
So you have to hide with one character to lure him away, then sneak up behind him with
the other one to damage him.
It's just so creative and this is seriously the tip of the iceberg, I don't want to
spoil it all.
And the BOSSES, oh man, these are probably what shine through the most!
I thought it was insane when I had to fight this huge skullface monstrosity with rocket
launchers on his back and a spiny tail, but this is only the first boss of the game.
They only punch the gas pedal from there and never let up.
It starts off with a bang, but by the end you'll go "what game am I even playing
anymore?"
In an interview with PC Gamer, konjak explained his design philosophy with Iconoclasts by
saying "[it] originally had much more complicated powerups.
But he didn't want it to feel bloated-he wanted players to have 'just exactly what
they need' So he pared back the upgrades to emphasize finding the right strategy as
opposed to stronger gear".
And that's exactly what this game is all about, there's not a huge collection of
weapons or armor, and yet it does so many things so effectively without
any extra weight to bog it down.
All the characters are likeable, especially Mina and her sarcastic quips.
In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if we see a ton of lore analysis videos in the future
because there's a lot to unpack about this game by the ending.
Each screen is unique and memorable, and other than this tower that was a huge confusing
labyrinth, I enjoyed every minute of this game.
I can't emphasize enough how much you need to play Iconoclasts, I may use a lot of hyperbole
sometimes, but I can truly say that it has become one of my favorite hi-bit games of
all time, and DEFINITELY the best game I've played of 2018.
Well, so far.
Hey guys, thanks for watching and I hope you enjoyed, I wanted to give a huge shoutout
to my patreon supporters this month, we've had a massive increase in support for the
month of January and I can't thank them all enough.
In fact, because of reaching our next goal we've officially relaunched the Snocast
on Twitch and a 2nd channel, Snoman Gaming 2 for VOD's, stream highlights and all sorts
of other content.
In case you missed the big reveal, you can check out the link in the description below.
If you ever want to become a patron yourself and receive all kinds of exclusive rewards,
you can do so at patreon.com/snomangaming.
I'll see you guys next time.
Stay frosty my friends!
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