In a genre space as crowded as Metroidvanias, it is always nice to see a game to come with trying to drive the envelope and offer something new. Brain Wash Gang's Laika: Age through blood is only the type of game, a self -described “Motovania” that mixes the traditional elements of a metroidvania with physics -based, motorcycle -dependent traversal Akin to Vikbik or Trials series. It is a convincing left-wing genre experiment that for the players it clicked with, delivered one of the more memorable and exciting takes the Metroidvania formula for several years at publication. After going to PC and other consoles in 2023, Laika Has now officially landed at Nintendo Switch, which raises the question of whether Switch owners will add the game to their library given how many other Metroidvania players have access to the platform.
Unfortunately, while Laika: Age through bloodGeneral design and mechanics are almost flawless and are enhanced by incredible art direction, a gripping, heartbreaking story and a beautiful melancholy soundtrack, which recommends the title comes with some significant warnings. For those who can wrap themselves around the game's unique attitude towards Traversal, Laika: Age through blood Offers some Zen-like “flow state” steps that completely deliver on the game's fully Throttled power fantasy. For others, try the same section over and over again to be an exercise in frustration that dilutes the high points of the experience. And unfortunately, the game's performance on Switch leaves much to be desired, especially in a title where one-hit kills gives way to jump back to the action.
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Laika: Age through blood – Nintendo Switch Release Trailer
Laika: Age through Blood meets Nintendo Switch consoles with release on January 30, 2025, giving its unique western Motoria -Action.
Laika: Age through blood stands out in an area where many metroidvania -titles fall flat
Unlike many Metroidvania titles, which either emphasize games over story or use more indirect methods of story, Laika: Age through bloodTale about survival in a gloomy and unforgiving world is one of the game's strongest features. Players are quickly introduced to Laika and her world, a place inhabited by anthropomorphic animals on the edge of extinction thanks to an imperialist army of birds. The birds are a harmful and diabolical presence that has committed genocide against the other species in LaikaThe world and the game do not hold back when it comes to revealing the terror of the war and the cost of seeking revenge. Laika Not only includes its plot as a reason to make the game violent (which it definitely is) but instead confronts the broader philosophical quandaries about war and the fruitless pursuit of revenge and investigates what happens when people are pressed to the edge and become the monsters they have done Wrong of.
The game does a good job of delivering this story through narrative units both directly and indirectly. When Laika travels through the world and meets other survivors, she can take on assignments that annoy details about both the characters and the world they live, and each one is almost always worth doing for the story, no matter what rewards they provide. Dialogue is smartly written and draws no blows when it comes to revealing hopelessness and fatalistic views from the inhabitants of the world, but there are also a few moments of levity and heart showing up LaikaThe world as a host to fight for. The closest analog would be something that Mad Max meet DjurgårdAnd Brainwash Gang has done an affordable job that creates and delivered what might otherwise have been a trite revenge story. It is not an exaggeration to say that there are moments in Laika It is really influential and will meet as an emotional bowel punch, especially after spending so much time getting to know these characters and their struggle, both collective and individual.
Laika's motorcycle transforms completely traditional Metroidvania game
The twin pillars in all Metroidvania are combat and traversal, and the use of a motorcycle that the primary means of transport results in Laika: Age through blood To be completely unlike any other game in the genre. Laika's dependence on her motorcycle every time she dares, developer gives a license to become very creative with world design and platform, especially when common abilities such as jumping or falling through platforms are impossible. Instead, players must use ramps carefully, loop-de loops and a Midair shotgun to reach previously inaccessible areas. Not only are environments fun to cross, where each one acts as their own miniature Trials course, but LaikaUnique traversal and platform elements transform the traditional ability and progression systems that can be expected to find in a Metroidvania.
While there are some customized upgrades, Laika can either find or buy (for example a hook, a turbo jump and other extensions to her combat and platform tools), most of the development in Laika Comes through upgrades and collection of resources. There are resource deposits for about two dozen different kinds of materials, which Laika can shoot and gather every time she goes through an area. Exchanging these parts with the blacksmith (together with the game's currency, the birds of the birds) rewards new weapons or upgrades to existing ones, and opens up new roads for player expressions in how they handle the game's exciting battle.
While riding on her motorcycle, Laika is practically a unstoppable destruction power, to take care of all the incentive birds in its own way, and to come to punishment for these bird oppressors is no doubt LaikaThe high point. The physics that controls how the motorcycle handles allows players to deduct Midair turns that are important in the middle of the battle. A backflip reload Laika's current weapon, while a front turn can parry balls back against enemies when performed perfectly. Parrying is also possible when you are on the ground thanks to a fast 180-degree pivot of the motorcycle with a push of a button, which is an important technology not only for battle but to quickly navigate some of the more dangerous platform challenges Laika have in store.
When everything clicks there is simply nothing else in the Metroidvania genre that Laika: Age through blood. That said, the learning curve to get there is incredibly steep and constantly punishing. Everything in Laika Will kill the player in a single hit, making each pass through an area a brush with death that has a razor margin for errors. Dying Laika is often, especially early, and the use of “corpses that are driven” to retrieve lost deliveries at the point of death means that players can get stuck repeated the same areas to hang on valuable currency. But in the end, the satisfaction of clearing these challenging sections is similar to the feeling of defeating a challenging manager in a soul -like game, which makes the juice most worth squeezing.
This is especially true for the game's managers, who each is mechanically well designed but only surprising through abundant trial and errors. Each of these fights utilizes the tools at Laika's disposal and requires players to put all the skills they have learned in practice, which gives a significant profit when solving the “puzzle” on how exactly each one should be fought. But again kills one-hit which is a core component in LaikaCombat Loop demands that players handle each manager in a “perfect” driving, which does what would otherwise be a minor mistake for a deadly mistake.
Some minor problems keep Laika: Aging through blood back from greatness
When Laika: Age through blood Pushes on all cylinders, it is not uncommon to achieve a happy zen -like flow on how to move from one screen to the next, eliminating enemies with ease and back flipping through the air in a graceful display of deadly acrobatics. But eventually mistakes will be made as a result in death and a restart. Games that have death as an often event can usually avoid frustrating players by letting them quickly get back to the action. While Laika: Age through blood Enables fast Respawns on other platforms, extended charging times on the switch version result in each death significantly drawing the experience. And in a game where death occurs as often as it does in LaikaLong loading times to get back in the action completely kill all the emotions that the experience would otherwise give.
Some areas also fight to maintain agile forwarders on the switch version of LaikaEspecially during tense segments where there are plenty of enemies present or a giant manager to take down. Over time then Laika Requires most of the player, the switch often struggles to keep up, resulting in some choppy performance and stuttering that can often mean the difference between life and death. These parts of the game are not often enough to ruin the experience, but they impair what is otherwise a smartly designed and unique Metroidvania.
My experience of playing through Laika: Age through blood The switch took a total of 26 hours, which is significantly longer than the 18-hour average most player report. It is worth noting that I took the time as I approach meetings and chose to deal with each section methodically with lots of start and stop rather than go in with weapons that burn.
The switch has no shortage of excellent Metroidvania titles, and Laika: Age through blood Is well worth the time for any switch owner who is a fan of the genre. But just for Laika is a simple recommendation does not mean that it will be for everyone's taste, and it really requires a lot from the player to get the most out of the experience. For those who don't mind a steep challenge and a unique attitude towards the classic elements of a metroidvania, Laika: Age through blood is a valuable experience that immediately serves its place as one of the great modern titles in the genre.

Reviewed on Nintendo Switch
- Developer
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Brainwashing
- Unique approach for Metroidvania game with exciting battle and inventive traversal
- Persuasive story and excellent dialogue that brings interesting characters to life
- Fantastic hand -drawn art and environmental design
- Steep learning curve and razor margin for errors gives way to frustrating segments
- Technical performance on the switch results in longer load times and image speed participants in demanding areas
Laika: Age through blood Is out now PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. Game Rant was provided a switch code for this review.