Possessor(s) Review - Dazed and More Than a Little Confused
At first, it seems like everything can and will attempt to kill you in Possessor(s), the new Metroidvania from developers Heart Machine. Indeed, after being accosted by a seemingly never-ending assortment of objects possessed by insane demons from the moment our heroine, Luca, awoke, I was sure that the only other character interactions I would have during my journey would be with Rhem, the rather surly demon I was carrying around inside me. While this would change over the course of my playthrough, the horde of demons I would have to slay as I made my way through the various sections of the giant city would always manage to challenge me, especially the fights against the powerful boss demons that held the keys to sending Rhem home.
After an explosion opens a giant dimensional rift in the middle of the city, causing chaos and mass panic, Luca finds herself missing her legs and bleeding out, courtesy of a rampaging demon. Sitting nearby is Rhem, a demon who is suffering from a rather large hole in his chest, and yet shows none of the madness and rage the other demons possess. The only way for either of them to survive is for Rhem to possess Luca, providing her with the strength that will allow them both the chance to escape the crumbling ruins of the city.
This isn’t a story of a hero going headfirst into danger to save the world. Luca is just a normal teenager whose only wish is to find out what happened to her family and her best friend, Kaz. For his part, Rhem wants nothing more than to access the rift so he can return to his home dimension, to escape from this world where he was tortured, enslaved and experimented on like all the other demons who came through the rift when it was under the control of the company that owns the city.
There is so much I could say about the narrative of Possessor(s), which delves into some pretty dark subjects like torture and mad-science-like experimentation alongside feelings of guilt, betrayal and revenge. It is a testament to the strength of the narrative that I was so invested in the story that I spent over 6 hours trying to find a way to progress when I hit a wall. I will discuss that further later, but it was the story of Luca and Rhem and their pasts that kept me hooked, determined to see the story through to the end.
The combat gameplay and movement are generally pretty solid. While it can seem like the combat movements are jilted, this is an intentional part of the design, and once players get the hang of it, they can find themselves able to pull off various combos that allow them to juggle enemies in the air, well, when they aren’t overwhelmed by projectiles hurtling towards them at the same time. You have a few different weapon options that can fit your preferred playstyle. As mentioned, Luca, despite being possessed by a demon, is just a normal teenage girl. As such, the weapons in the game are things that can be found throughout the world. From the quick-slicing kitchen knives, to the always classic baseball bat and the heavy-hitting electric guitar. Each of these main weapons plays differently, allowing you to combine them with your preferred secondary weapons and gear to find a playstyle you are comfortable with.
The secondary weapons are where things get cool. As you traverse the world, you will find different items that you can make use of in your battles. Whether swinging a computer mouse to launch enemies into the air, utilising a cell phone as an area of effect taser, or donning a pair of sunglasses at the right time to allow a powerful counter attack, each of these secondary weapons can be upgraded with affixes that provide bonuses to Luca, such as one that provides a small amount of health when you dodge an attack at the right time.
As with any Metroidvania worth its salt, Possessor(s) provides an expansive interconnected map that the player will need to spend time exploring to find the best upgrades and complete all of their objectives. As is tradition, some areas are progression locked, but there is also a large map area that you are free to explore from relatively early on. You will also find yourself doing a lot of back and forth, especially if you are the sort of player who must discover every upgrade and collectible there is to find within a game.
And here is where we come to the section I alluded to above. As noted, I was invested in the narrative of Possessor(s) and was really enjoying my time with it until I hit a wall in the progression that I only overcame through sheer luck. Every time you unlock one of your new abilities that allow you to access new areas, you have to make use of the skill to progress. This allows the player to get used to the action and helps to condition them to know what to do when they encounter these instances within the greater world. The first of these traversal abilities you receive is a whip made from demon energy. This whip can be used to anchor onto certain points in the world and swing through the air, and be used to pull enemies in for an attack.
The whip can also be used to move objects within the world, denoted by the little circles you anchor onto when swinging through the air. What the game does not tell you is that the whip can be used to pull down certain walls denoted with a demonic glow. So, as I was making my way through the various sections, I would always bypass these walls, assuming I would unlock an ability that would allow me to get through them at a later time. After wasting numerous hours traversing the map backwards and forwards trying to find an area I had missed, I stumbled upon the knowledge that the whip could be used to pull down certain walls to access new areas.
After more time spent wandering around the map trying to find just where I needed to go, sure that this new knowledge would open the path if only I could discover it, there it was, at the uppermost part of the map that I had reached up until that point. The one corridor that would provide me a path forward into a new area and allow me to proceed. Praise the gods.
What I find really confusing is that even the description of the whip in the abilities section of your menu does not mention that it can be used in this manner. All that was needed was a little bit of text, and I would have known what I needed to do long before I accidentally figured it out. This was by far the biggest frustration I had with Possessor(s), and it can be avoided by reading this review or, barring that, the developers including it in the ability description.
Overall, Possessor(s) is a solid entry in the Metroidvania genre, and one that provides an excellent narrative journey on top of the combat and exploration elements. If you enjoy the genre, then grab Possessor(s) as I firmly believe you will really enjoy the experience.
Possessor(s) was reviewed on PC with code kindly supplied by the publisher.
