Driven Out Review - A Retro-Styled Gauntlet of Mythical Madness

Imagine a combat-driven game with no progression or loot. All you have is your sword, your wits, and a mysterious device that conveniently creates copies of you if and when you die. This is the world of Driven Out, a 2D side-scrolling indie action game that falls under the category of "git gud".

Patience is a Virtue

Combat in Driven Out is simple. You can strike and block within three zones - low, middle, and high. While this is all you have to work with when it comes to defending yourself and making progress, to be fair, your enemies are also limited to these three strike zones. 

Simple? You might think so, but the challenge here comes from how attacks are performed. Much like classic games from generations past, memorizing your enemies’ attack patterns, animations, range, and timing are strict musts. You will die in this game. A lot. Your strengths lie in your ability to adapt to each of the enemy’s patterns and find your places to block and strike.

If you can block an attack at the right moment, you’ll get a sort of perfect guard. The properties and advantages gained upon achieving a perfect guard will vary depending on the enemy and attack. The one constant with regards to the perfect guard is that you will recover significantly from your blocking animation, providing (for the most part) a wider opportunity to initiate a counter-attack.

The Witch's Contraption

At the beginning of the game, a mysterious device falls out of the sky in front of your character’s farm. This acts both as your 1-Ups, and your self-placed checkpoints. You're given two charges, allowing you to drop two checkpoints. If you die while the device is active, it will produce a copy of your character and allow you to continue your journey, meaning that enemies who have taken damage previously will retain their wounds, as the world does not reset when the device is in use. Be sure to drop these contraptions in a safe space, as some enemies can attack and destroy them if left unattended.

A Tough, But Fair Challenge

You can only take so much damage in Driven Out - three hits, to be exact. As there is no proper way of regaining health outside of beating a boss, the placement of these devices can aid in clearing out a zone more efficiently, or at the very least, make it less frustrating to get a second crack on that one foe who took you out. Don't fret, for there are proper checkpoints, acquired by way of defeating bosses.

Therefore, use your checkpoints without fear, as beating bosses will recharge the device, bring you to full health, and save your progress. Take note that there is no means of character progression in this game; no max health increase, no damage increase, nothing of the sort. It's really up to your skills and reflexes as a player to get through this gauntlet.

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A Moving Masterpiece of Pixel Art

The gorgeous modern 16-bit pixel work done for this game is a feast for the eyes. Lush and vibrant environments complement the enemies you encounter, and make it clear to you, the player, that certain enemies only appear in specific areas. The character animations work in tandem with the deliberate nature of the combat, as enemy attacks are clearly portrayed with regards to where they will strike. Some enemy attacks are made to look similarly in hopes of catching you off-guard, but there’s always a clear difference when it comes to the animation of said attacks.

I like how the difficulty ramps up throughout the game. Enemy placement is smart, and new enemies are introduced one at a time, giving you ample opportunities to observe and learn the attack patterns and find ways to block or counter before getting through for damage. 

Driven Out does that simple thing where it introduces one enemy, then throws you two at the same time, often having the second one slowly creep up behind its buddy on the edge of the screen. There’s even one boss that shows you his moves in a stationary position before actively charging towards you, providing a hint as to what each attack looks like beforehand.

The game is short, and the first run can be beaten within two to three hours. Keep in mind that after you do beat it the first time, a harder difficulty kicks in. Picking up right where you left off, you'll begin to notice that enemies strike a little bit faster, and certain enemies will hit a lot harder. You’ll still take one point of damage per hit, of course, but attacks you could once block safely will now cause you to stagger, meaning that your only option to get a clean counter-hit is to land perfect guards on most if not all attacks.

Despite all the praise I’m giving Driven Out, there are a few issues that keep it from achieving a higher score. It does what it wants to do, and does it well… most of the time. The most common issue I came across during multiple playthroughs was breaking enemy sequencing. While not game-breaking in any way, it has led to a few annoying deaths, and sometimes even resulting in my missing out on key moments. Enemies can turn around the wrong way, then end up moving in the opposite direction of where they’re facing, relative to the player. 

Certain events triggering prematurely could lead to your not witnessing them, or not fully understanding if and when an enemy can be fought. As examples, you might not see when a certain monster is formed and assume that they’re just a random happenstance tied to a location-based trigger. You might get past half of a boss’ wave of attacks, leaving ample time for your approach, only for the enemy to constantly run away as their last attack phase has yet to be completed and they’re programmed to do nothing but avoid you until said phase is done. These issues, plus enemies clipping through me at times, and a handful of questionable hitbox choices, have led to a small but notable number of frustrating restarts.

Final Thoughts

While Driven Out is short, I appreciate how it doesn't pull its punches, and offers a real challenge reminiscent of games from a bygone era. If you're looking for a grueling, sprite-based, 2D side-scrolling gauntlet to test your mettle, Driven Out might be right up your alley.

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8/10

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Highlights

+ Great difficulty curve

+ Gorgeous sprite-based visuals

- Enemies can sometimes be sequence-broken, which can alter how they are intended to be fought

- Not enough enemy variation

- Game is short

- No proper video/resolution settings

What I’ve Played

• Completed the first run twice

• Completed the Hard Mode that continues after the initial completion

[This review is based on a Steam review code provided by No Pest Productions]

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