Iconoclasts

A mechanic tries to fix a broken world with her wrench in Iconoclasts.

Robin is a mechanic, but the authoritarian society that she lives in doesn’t want her to be. Jobs like this are outlawed for regular citizens, forcing her to keep her tool-slinging talents a secret from One Concern—the sinister religious regime in charge. Even so, she still helps out around the village with repairs, using a wrench which she keeps hidden in her basement. You can’t keep a good mechanic down. After an unexpected run-in with Concern agents, she decides the thing that needs fixin’ most is the world. And so she embarks on a quest to make it a better place, accompanied by a group of rebels who share her hatred of One Concern and the society it has created. It’s an engaging premise, bolstered by colorful writing, lavish pixel art, and superb animation.

Iconoclasts is clearly inspired by games like Metroid and Castlevania (if only there was a clumsy portmanteau to describe this), but it has enough new ideas to stand on its own and not feel like a direct homage to either. It’s also a lot heavier on story than these games usually are. It balances pathos and humor well, although I found some of the jokes a little too goofy.

A grease monkey is nothing without her tools, and Robin’s best abilities stem from the variety of gadgets she has hanging from her belt. As well as projectile weapons, including a stun gun and a grenade launcher, she can batter enemies with her wrench and spin it around like a gunslinger. She can also jump in the air and unleash a devastating Super Mario- style butt slam.

The wrench has other, more interesting uses, too. Around the large, interconnected levels you’ll see glowing bolts, some of which can be swung on to leap over obstacles, and others that operate machinery. The latter forms the basis of the game’s well-designed environmental puzzles, which involve finding hidden bolts and cranking them to slide complex networks of doors and platforms around, creating a pathway.

Otherwise, Iconoclasts is a fairly standard shooter-platformer—but, thanks to its responsive controls, an enjoyable one. Leaping around feels snappy, and there’s a huge bestiary of enemies to fight, all with their own distinct attack patterns and weaknesses. It’s evident a lot of time has been spent refining the controls, making them feel just right.

The art is impressive, with chunky, smoothly animated characters reminiscent of SNK’s Metal Slug, and some beautifully detailed environments. Robin’s journey takes her to a lush forest filled with weird geometric plants, a sun-baked desert, an underwater city, the roof of a speeding train, and other locations, all of which beam with color and personality.

It’s a challenging game, too, especially when one of the screenfilling bosses shows up. While they all boil down to memorizing a few patterns, some of them are incredibly fast-paced and chaotic. Often you’re accompanied by an AI partner, and you’ll need all the help you can get.

Tip off

The level of challenge is nicely balanced, although a few sharp difficulty spikes did catch me off guard. I also had problems with clarity, occasionally unsure where to head next to progress, or how to take down a particular enemy. Sometimes characters will yell out hints during boss battles about how to beat them, but I found the wording of these confusing more than once.

Upgrades called tweaks bring a little customization to the game. These can be crafted by finding materials hidden in chests, and offer buffs when equipped. And you get to choose which of these you equip, giving you some freedom to tailor Robin to your own specific playstyle.

Iconoclasts is a fine game, offering sharp platforming and shooting, and some smart puzzles. It’s enormous, too, packed with secret areas and other stuff to discover. And although I found the humor a little glib and childish at times, it tells its heartfelt story well. A lot of Metroidvania games go for a bleak atmosphere, but Iconoclasts is infectiously vibrant, even if the story does venture into dark territory sometimes.

It’s evident a lot of time has been spent refining the controls