Get 'Shantae and the Pirate's Curse' instead.


Game had potential to be awesome, yet some parts fell flat undermining the whole experience.

Things that went right:
- presentation: the pixel art is great and remains this way throughout all zones
- bosses: big and well animated, offer multiple attack patterns without the feel of being spammy or stunlocky
- controls: had no issues with those - snappy and responsive (keyboard)

Things that were ok:
- genre?: platformer? - sure, but not metroidvania
- music: hit-and-miss; it's fine, but features no catchy melodies or memorable tracks
- puzzles: some rely too much on your key-pressing rather than solving skills
- gore: it feels right in Metal Slug, but in Iconoclasts most of time gore appears to be added for shock values only

Things that went wrong:
- story: focus-less, convoluted and overcomplicated mess. The game's world is poorly thought out with player getting showered with heaps of bland exposition monologues. There is also a number of 'controversial' themes, but game never fully commits to a single one. oh and does this game even contain a single joke?
- characters: 90% of the cast is uninteresting, underdeveloped and lacking significant character arc. So many stubborn and selfish chars, yet barely any kind or friendly ones. Not sure how player should relate to any of them (except maybe for the protagonist, though I suspect it's because she gets no lines at all)
- pacing: gets really bad towards the end, with corridors replacing puzzles\challenges. And don't get me started on the final boss?.. it made zero sense.. Did the developer run out of patience\motivation?
- tweaks\crafting: useless mechanic, completed the whole thing with a single 'swing time' upgrade


In summary, a pretty platformer with staggered pacing and incoherent writing.

[h1] TLDR: Mediocre.. (65 out of 100) [/h1] [b]Get 'Shantae and the Pirate's Curse' instead.[/b] Game had potential to be awesome, yet some parts fell flat undermining the whole experience. [i] Things that went right:[/i] - presentation: the pixel art is great and remains this way throughout all zones - bosses: big and well animated, offer multiple attack patterns without the feel of being spammy or stunlocky - controls: had no issues with those - snappy and responsive (keyboard) [i] Things that were ok:[/i] - genre?: platformer? - sure, but not metroidvania - music: hit-and-miss; it's fine, but features no catchy melodies or memorable tracks - puzzles: some rely too much on your key-pressing rather than solving skills - gore: it feels right in Metal Slug, but in Iconoclasts most of time gore appears to be added for shock values only [i] Things that went wrong:[/i] - story: focus-less, convoluted and overcomplicated mess. The game's world is poorly thought out with player getting showered with heaps of bland exposition monologues. There is also a number of 'controversial' themes, but game never fully commits to a single one. oh and does this game even contain a single joke? - characters: 90% of the cast is uninteresting, underdeveloped and lacking significant character arc. So many stubborn and selfish chars, yet barely any kind or friendly ones. Not sure how player should relate to any of them (except maybe for the protagonist, though I suspect it's because she gets no lines at all) - pacing: gets really bad towards the end, with corridors replacing puzzles\challenges. And don't get me started on the final boss?.. it made zero sense.. Did the developer run out of patience\motivation? - tweaks\crafting: useless mechanic, completed the whole thing with a single 'swing time' upgrade In summary, a pretty platformer with staggered pacing and incoherent writing.