For hundreds of years the Rose Cross has shielded mankind from the evil that lurks within the shadows, the Rose Cross Knights meet in the Great Hall where the last apprentice of the Rose Cross Order, Mateo Lambardo, is tasked with putting a stop to a threat that has already claimed so many lives.
Fresh out of the academy, Mateo is sent to France, unaware of the horrors that await him there. As upon arrival, Mateo’s group is attacked by a wolf, leaving only Mateo alive. And so we are propelled into our story, which draws from the real-life mystery of the Beast of Gévaudan, a creature said to be responsible for numerous deaths in 1767.
Developed by Migami Games and published by PQube and PixelHeart, Chronicles of the Wolf gives a nod to classic 2D games like Castlevania, offering retro aesthetics and Metroidvania style exploration.
Playing as Mateo as we hunt the beast in 18th-century France, we are presented with a series of challenges through an interconnected world of castles, forests, and suitably macabre graveyards. And as we start to uncover the mystery of the beast we encounter a variety of creatures from Zombies to swamp monsters, and level bosses such as giant bugs and tree creatures.
Taking the time to explore the world will reward you by uncovering secrets, and discovering puzzles and new abilities, while an interesting ghost ally system will let you equip spirits that you meet along the way, allowing you to gain abilities such as healing and invincibility. Abilities are quite taxing on resources and should be saved for when you’re in a real pinch.
The Combat system requires a good sense of timing and if you struggle with that aspect of gameplay, and I’m talking about me here, it can be a little challenging, and made more difficult by the scarcity of save points. You can level up your stats through experience points increasing health and attack, and the acquisition of new gear will help to increase resistance against certain attacks.
The world is beautifully realised and the pixel art looks amazing, with a story that starts off simple, but soon takes on a darker tone. The darker regions of the world are suitably atmospheric, while the villages are nicely populated with traders and villagers offering quests, although the characters seem a little thin on personality, made worse by some flat voice acting, and for the most part are there just to move things along rather than offer any real depth to the story. Mateo himself is very much the strong silent type, and could have done with a bit of character development to make him a little more interesting.
The soundtrack, composed by Jeffrey Montoya, is a high point, striking just the right amount of energy and delivering an eery atmospheric accompaniment to the story.
While Chronicles of the Wolf offers several good hours of gameplay, regular players of this type of game will not find much originality to it, and it leans heavily on it’s predecessors.
Even though I never encountered any problems, there have been a few reports of minor bugs such as lag in the menus, some control bugs and low volume on character voices.
All in all Chronicles of the Wolf is a solid dose of nostalgia, ideal for anyone who enjoys Castlevania or any other Metroidvania games. It can be picked up on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox.
