Journey through the Mechs
Journey to the West is a famous Chinese epic on a scale comparable to J.R.R Tolkein’s The Lord of the Rings. If you are unfamiliar with it, you’ve most likely experienced works inspired by it, such as the Dragon Ball franchise or at least heard of the staff-wielding Monkey King. Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is another work inspired by Journey to the West, but is not an exciting take on the source material. Outside of familiar names and characterizations, the game is a fairly generic action game with some light platforming elements.
Monkey, a muscular loner with a tough-guy (Brooklyn?) accent, wakes up to find himself on a slave ship bound for an unknown destination. A mysterious red-haired girl named Trip is in a cell across from Monkey. She escapes but inadvertently releases Monkey’s cell as well. Monkey chases after Trip and the two eventually escape. While Monkey is unconscious, Trip straps a slave crown on Monkey’s head rendering him subservient to the girl. Trip explains that she wants to return to her village and that if she dies, Monkey dies as well.
There’s nothing remarkable about Enslaved’s gameplay. Monkey has light and heavy attacks, a ranged photon cannon attack and the ability to dodge and block. Combat never feels daunting as the game provides numerous opportunities to execute “Take Over” maneuvers such as causing a mech to self-destruct or emit an EMP pulse. Other than combat, the platforming is easy and brainless. Most of the platforming only has one right direction and I found myself mashing on the X button. It is impossible to fall off platforms because the game does not allow Monkey to climb up or drop off from ledges except at designated points.
Despite the game’s age, Enslaved still looks rather nice. The game does a great job at conveying a post-apocalyptic world ruled by mechs. Buildings are dilapidated and overgrown with nature. The mechs have this gritty look to them, partially rusted, yet still incredibly menacing. The facial capture, while not exactly phenomenal by today’s standards, still portrays emotions very well, such as the look of rage on Monkey's face when he lands the killing blow on a mech.
Pigsy’s Perfect 10, the DLC for Enslaved (and packaged with the game nowadays) is a more interesting take on the base game. In this DLC, you play as Pigsy, whose name completely matches his body and mannerisms. Unlike Monkey, Pigsy is a sharpshooter and deploys various gadgets to defeat the mechs. The DLC employs numerous comic book style cutscenes which is a nice touch. I think Pigsy’s Perfect 10 does a better job at conveying its story than the entirety of the base game. Unfortunately this content is significantly more challenging than the base game since Pigsy can only take a few hits before falling so he must rely on stealth and trickery.
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is built with a limited budget; enemies are heavily recycled and there are only three notable characters. Be sure to come into this game with the right expectations. The story is serviceable, the action is fun and the characters are likable. Enslaved will not blow your mind, but delivers a competently made action game and is a great buy if you can get the game on sale.
