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I was chatting online about games that looked best on OLED recently, and realised I'd never finished up my Iconoclasts review from way back (2018), which is certainly one of the brightest games alongside
Odin Sphere to grace the OLED model Vita. Not sure how bright it looks on the LCD screen, but picking up with the review...
Also bright is the plot, all part of the huge effort put in by solo-dev Joakim Sandberg aka Konjak over 5+ years of work. Iconoclasts sees pirates fighting a totalitarian government in a battle for resources, notably Ivory fuel which powers most of the gadgets in the game. With so many recent Vita games not even bothering with a plot, this feels like a potboiler novel in comparison and the characters are by-and-large likeable or comedy-villain making it fun to wade into their conversations.
At the heart of the game is Robin a young mechanic keen to explore the world, but limited by the dogma of the ruling types. She's soon on her own, with only a trusty spanner to protect her. It comes in use for leaping, opening doors and activating machinery to help get across the cunningly designed levels. Learning your way around the tricks and finding inaccessible areas is helped by useful signposts, but soon she's relying on your skills to guide her through.
Weapons and power-ups can be crafted or earned around the game starting out with a laser gun and then rolling grenades that can be shot into small gaps to create paths. At even the earliest stages, you can see the craft and design that has gone into Iconoclasts, with superb detail, stylish artwork and eye-popping palettes.
The mix of shooting and puzzles leans slightly toward the puzzles which is no bad thing, and you can usually figure out what to do after one or two efforts. Much of the shooting is aimed in the direction of the games's bosses and there are many of them from stomping mechs to whirling helicopters and many more.
Pauses in the action take place when you come across towns, set pieces or bases of both sides, with a little exposition and the odd mission to pick up. You can also use the goodies like Metalium, Techium and other 'ums to build add-on Tweaks for the wrench, giving Robin extra perks like speed, armour and abilities. With 10-20 hours of gameplay, this is no pushover and packs in plenty of challenge across the various difficulty levels, using the Metroid-style back-and-forth to drive your progression, opening up new levels as you gain skills and tools.
What really stands out is the love and design thought that has gone into Iconoclasts over God-knows how many iterations and the sheer quality that exudes from every pixel. Note: A recent update added a Relaxed mode that allows players who found the original game tough-going to explore at their leisure and not take any damage. I admit to admiring the scenery more than enjoying all the gameplay elements, but Iconoclasts represents an epic achievement and a fun world to nut-and-bolt through.
Developer Konjak
Price: £15.99 (PSN)
Score: 9/10
Progress: Ratcheting things up.
