On top of all of this, there are a few places where enemies will always spawn in glitched, teleporting across the screen and glitching into the ground.
Ironically, the increased ammo upgrade is what caused me to run out of money and spears during the previously mentioned spear platform level. One is a weapon upgrade, one is a health upgrade, and the last is increased ammo capacity. This store, for some reason, actually uses the A button to confirm purchases, and it is where you can buy character upgrades. Getting back to the original point though, there is a second store in Ghoulboy But to access it you need to quit back to the main menu. It’s a nice break from the standard linear levels, but it’s a shame there aren’t any others in the game.
These encounters didn’t really stand out to me, but one boss fight is a chase sequence.
Pretty much as you would expect in a boss fight. These bosses have one set of moves that they use for the entirety of the encounter and defeating them is just a matter of hitting them enough times without dying. It’s just an awkward series of steps to go through to continue playing.Įvery few levels there will be a boss fight. This means that the only way progress can be made is to go to another level, get the items needed, and then quit, head back to the level select, and restart the level. One level even starts with moving spike traps that need to be turned into platforms using the spears you may well be unlucky enough to reach it with no ammo left. These secondary weapons had a set amount of ammo and dying would clear your inventory, so losing them like this could actually cause some issues. If I didn’t manage to jump far enough away from a wall that I was next to while throwing a spear, the spear would spawn inside the wall and I wouldn’t be able to use it as a platform. The spear mechanic is also a bit awkward.
This led to some trial and error, but in the end was more of a minor annoyance than anything. For example, platforms that were placed out of reach were always just barely too far away, and there was no rhyme or reason to which ones couldn’t be reached without creating a platform with the spear. The movement and combat are nothing special, in fact, more often than not it was awkward to try and even action simple things. My overall impression of Ghoulboy is that it is a rather mediocre game.