Conan Chop Chop – Review
Resurrecting Conan Exiles, Conan Chop Chop is a new entry in the series of Conan the Barbarian games. It’s a 2D roguelike with a comedic tone, set up by an introductory cutscene with a few amusing, though not obvious, jokes in the beginning of the game by Mighty Kingdom.
The art style carries on the lighthearted theme. Cyanide and Happiness, a webcomic that features stick-figure limbs and bodies but blocky heads and torsos, are an inspiration for this style. Playing Conan Chop Chop makes you feel as if you’re slashing and hacking your way through a Conan comic strip.
Everything looks and reads well, despite being a direct copy. It’s easy to tell when an enemy is about to attack because they’re always visible. With a soundtrack that fades into the background and builds up when necessary, you’ll feel like you’re on an exciting journey through exploration and combat.
More than that, the experience of playing Conan Chop Chop is similar to playing a game that never ends. However, its characters and combat are enjoyable when they work, but other aspects of the game still need improvement.
When Thoth-Amon fails to revive Xaltotun completely, the storey begins. Because Thoth’s ritual only restores half of Xaltotun’s power, he devises a scheme to entice Conan and his companions to their lair by staging a contest of strength. Thoth-Amon intends to use one of the heroes’ bodies to revive Xaltotun once the heroes arrive.
Traveling through the world of Hyboria, which includes forests, deserts, tundras, and even a volcano, to get to Thoth-lair Amon’s requires you and up to three co-op partners. It’s possible to enter one room and be trapped there until all the enemies have been defeated in that room.
As soon as the bad guys are defeated, you’ll be presented with a number of options for your next move. The area’s dungeon and the area’s boss can only be accessed via a single path. The dungeon route is highlighted in a different colour by Mighty Kingdom, so you can go straight to the boss.
Hyboria is a completely fictitious concept. While starting a new dungeon run allows you to experience it in a different way than before, it does not fundamentally alter your gameplay in any way. There is nothing unique about any of the enemy rooms, and they all look the same. No matter how many times an enemy attacks, it doesn’t really matter; if an enemy attacks once or twice, it doesn’t really matter. Because of this, a greater variety of enemy types would have lessened the sense of familiarity.
Combat is exciting, but the lack of enemy variety is a disappointment. Conan Chop Chop resembles a twin-stick brawler in which the right analogue stick is used for melee attacks. Your character will repeatedly attack in any direction if you hold the stick in that direction. The fights are fast-paced and brutal, with a heavy emphasis on movement. It’s a lot of fun to avoid enemy attacks while still dealing damage with your three primary weapons — a shield, a roll, and an i-frame ultimate ability.
Every one of the four playable characters has their own set of advantages and disadvantages that are based on their various skills and abilities. Despite the fact that Conan and Valeria both prefer swords, Valeria prefers to dash around the battlefield, whereas Conan prefers to get up close and personal with his opponents. Slowest and most dependent on parrying, Pallantides is the most vulnerable character. Bêlit relies heavily on bows and moves constantly in order to maintain a safe distance.
Despite having the same resources, each character manages to feel distinct. When you play multiple times in similar situations, it can get a little stale and boring.
Loot and progression systems help alleviate the monotony of Conan Chop Chop. With each run, you gain experience points that you can use to level up your characters. When a run is completed, your level rises and you gain experience points that can be used to purchase buffs or new abilities.
Having these abilities affects how each character handles the battlefield and the enemies they encounter. After inflicting damage with her bow, for example, Bêlit gains a burst of speed. After unlocking all of these perks, you’ll feel like you’ve progressed between runs.
There are four types of items that can be found in chests or bought in town: charms, weapons, armour, and shields. There are a variety of different stats and attributes to consider when preparing for battle. When you parry with a certain shield, you can unleash a fire tornado or summon allies with your bow. These have the potential to encourage you to try parrying or using the bow more frequently, but the impact these attributes have on combat is relatively small. Using all of your available resources, not just one, is usually the best way to achieve success.
It’s not like Conan Chop Chop doesn’t already have issues with his playerbase. From the character selection screen, it emphasises its co-op nature, with slots for other players always being shown and a few charms only being viable in a party. Sadly, multiplayer isn’t really an option in this game.. Not many people use online matchmaking services.
Even during peak times, I frequently went online in search of a fellow player and came up empty-handed. Fortunately, I was able to test the online multiplayer with someone who was willing to participate. It was a solid performance. When one player earns gold, the entire group benefits. The health of the enemy is proportional to the number of players in the game. Solo play is still possible in Chop Chop, but it’s like missing a course in a four-course meal.
