Everyone is excited. You should be excited, too. Why? Because publisher Devolver Digital has partnered with developer Sabotage to bring to us The Messenger, a self-described love letter to 8-bit and 16-bit gaming. The Messenger doesn’t go halfsies in its adoration, however — its graphics do double-duty as both 8-bit and 16-bit at different points in time. The music is pure mind-melting nostalgia, and the gameplay promises to make even hard-core Ninja Gaiden fans sit up and pay attention. The Messenger‘s Steam page describes the game as thus:
“As a demon army besieges his village, a young ninja ventures through a cursed world, to deliver a scroll paramount to his clan’s survival. What begins as a classic action platformer soon unravels into an expansive time-traveling adventure full of thrills, surprises, and humor.”
Humor, indeed. The snippets of dialogue and character designs shown in the trailer promise a genuinely and thoughtfully funny game that is not just a copycat blast from the past, but an entry that defines itself as a new foray into the future. The Messenger releases on August 30 on Steam and the Nintendo Switch.
Game Pilgrim 