3D platformers have made something of a resurgence in recent years in the indie scene. Titles like A Hat in Time and Frogun show there’s a market for inventive platforming ideas with amazing worlds to explore.
Many of these take inspiration from N64 titles like Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie in various factors, echoing a time when 3D platformers were more common while remaining accessible to modern audiences. Pseudoregalia by developer rittzler is no exception to this, but that doesn’t stop it from being excellent.
Pseudoregalia follows a goat-bunny girl named Sybil as she journeys across Castle Sansa to free its prisoners. To achieve her goals, Sybil must explore its secrets, becoming more powerful along the way.
In other words, Pseudoregalia is an open-ended 3D platformer structured as a Metroidvania, and it encompasses the best of both genres. Without question, this is one of the best controlling platformers I’ve played in years. It’s also one of this year’s most underrated games as traction for it remains relatively slow.
Pseduoregalia nails retro aesthetics like no other
It’s hard to nail down one specific element that makes Pseudoregalia as special as it is. The excellent gameplay is certainly a factor, but its general aesthetic and atmosphere deserve praise too.
Pseudoregalia has a low-poly look that’s more N64 than PS1, but differs itself by keeping environments largely foreboding. Castle Sansa feels far larger and more intimidating than it really is, with many dimly lit interiors and a thick fog surrounding its exterior. It’s never scary, but even with music, it’s isolating.
If it were to come out in the ’90s, Pseudoregalia would still be considered a mascot platformer with its cute protagonist, but one with a bit of a darker edge. However its reception would have been back then, Pseudoregalia looks like an ancient gem that only surfaced now.
Helping sell its vibe is its soundtrack, which takes cues from old MIDI scores while attaining its dream-like vibe. The Sansa Keep music is a personal favorite because it keeps the same qualities as the other tracks while having an ethereal eeriness to it.
The sound design is excellent also, with each step, jump, and hit reverberating this echo to emphasize how grand and empty the environments truly are. These echoes also bring more impact to each action, amplifying how satisfying they are. Audio/visual feedback is an underrated aspect of game design, and Pseudoregalia excels in this department.
It is honestly worth the asking price for these factors alone. It perfectly embodies a lo-fi aesthetic while remaining unique in its ideas. The characters and environments help sell this surreal and isolating experience that’s also relaxing to play through.
As amazing as these things are, they’re not Pseudoregalia‘s best elements. That’d be its superb controls and platforming.
Hopping and skipping into my heart
If Pseudoregalia was just vibes, it would already be one of my favorite games this year. What places it among some heavy hitters is that it feels amazing to control.
Sybil only starts with a few basic commands, but that quickly expands as she collects more gear and upgrades. Since Pseudoregalia is a brief game, these tools come quickly while remaining well-paced.
My favorite piece of gear arrives early on: the Sun Greaves. These allow Sybil to kick off walls up to three times in their initial form. While this capacity can increase, even the base amount is incredibly satisfying. All the best platformers have wall jumping, and Pseudoregalia is no different.
The Sunsetter upgrade is a close second, however, as it acts as both a high jump and a ground pound. This can also be found early into Pseudoregalia and works amazingly in place of something like a double jump.
Double jumps and high jumps are awesome, but necessitating a previous action to gain momentum adds something to platforming. Even long jumps have that flavor since that ability is only useable while Sybil is sliding.
How Pseudoregalia handles movement is what makes it special. Every action has an amazing blend of weight and control which significantly adds to the overall experience.
Take for instance tall platforms and hallways where the floor is caved in. Much like Hollow Knight, these untraversable parts eventually are passed through without a second thought. When players receive the right upgrades in both, suddenly everything previously known about an environment shifts.
Sunsetter turns the ground into a trampoline, Sun Greaves turns walls into jump points, and Strikebreaker turns enemies into more platforms. Other games explored these ideas, but Pseudoregalia refines them to near perfection by keeping the actions simple while presenting increasingly complicated platforming challenges.
Making old-school freedom of movement accessible
Besides feeling great, Pseudoregalia‘s gameplay shines with its freedom. Players can wall-jump to a high platform if they don’t have Sunsetter, and they can also high-jump onto the same platform if they don’t have Sun Greaves.
Combining both with especially high points and using the last kick to jump off a ledge before circling back to hang on is one of the most nerve-wracking and amazing things I’ve added to my regular tricks within a platformer. Hell, slide-jumping and wall-kicks can help with completely circumventing some early game challenges players missed.
Even superfluous actions, like sliding under a gap to reach a platform when there are far easier paths to take, pop up now and again. Little moments like that allow Pseudoregalia to shine as the playground it is, while keeping its actual controls easier to consistently pull off when compared to actual platformers from the N64 era like Super Mario 64 while sacrificing none of that game’s freedom of movement. It makes redoing certain challenges a blast on repeat playthroughs or even when goofing around.
Pseudoregalia also doesn’t over-stay its welcome either. It’s sold as a brief experience built around players exploring it for a few hours. Interesting secrets and areas litter the world, but its content never becomes bloated.
This isn’t a review of Pseudoregalia, but it’s at the least in my top five games this year. Its retro inspirations never trap it in that past by updating its movement to feel contemporary. I realized these are the kinds of lo-fi titles I enjoy most because they provide a phenomenal blend of old and new.
Anyone on the fence to try Pseudoregalia out can try its first few hours created for a game jam. It’s shorter and less polished than the current version, but it also offers a taste of one of this year’s best platformers.
