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We first reported on Clarity: The Seven Demons of Vangaudia, a new 2D Metroidvania from developer Team Quantum Games and retro publisher EastAsiaSoft, last month and have now had the chance to try the first few hours for ourselves. Clarity: The Seven Demons Of Vanguardia is out now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, priced at $9.99. The game follows the traditional Metroidvania formula, where you gradually upgrade powers, acquire new skills, and extras. The biggest difference is that it’s broken down into seven separate worlds and not one large map.
The game begins with a great cutscene that shows the hero’s father slain by a demon. This then sets him off on an epic adventure to uncover the truth about why the demons have appeared and avenge his father’s death. Clarity: The Seven Demons Of Vanguardia gives you most of the main characters’ moves from the start. A sword to swing, a magic staff to fire projectiles, a roll move to avoid spikes and get into small spaces, a double jump, and finally, a dash move that can help traverse large pits.
The other feature is a heart system that allows you to refill your health meter on the fly. The heart slowly fills with pieces found after slaying enemies, and you then stand still and replenish your health bar from the heart stock. It’s a decent system and helps keep the game flowing. We found that it was wise to try to refill your health bar with what is in your heart before collecting the dropped ones so as to not waste any health.
Clarity: The Seven Demons Of Vanguardia takes most of what’s good about old-school Metroidvanias and mixes it with a modern design style that could be mistaken for coming from a children’s book. Most of the enemies, bosses, and obstacles look great. Everything in the game has a purpose, and there are plenty of nooks and crannies to explore across the seven levels. One of the standout aspects is the tough boss fights that may take several attempts to beat. We also tried the novice mode, and this significantly lowered the challenge, perfect for those looking for a casual experience.
The variety in locations, ranging from frozen caverns to lush forests, helps keep Clarity: The Seven Demons Of Vanguardia fresh, and you constantly get new moves and items to try out. Between the worlds, there are also vastly different creatures and NPCs to converse with. The world feels connected, and the fact that you can tackle any of the levels right from the start makes this a good modern adventure title.
Overall, Clarity: The Seven Demons Of Vanguardia ticks a lot of boxes in the action-adventure genre with its interesting presentation and well-designed levels. There are also two difficulty settings, and this adds lots of longevity to the overall game. We did experience a couple of bugs, especially getting caught on walls. But nothing serious broke the game. Those who like Metroidvanias and Zelda will appreciate this one a lot, it’s also worth fans of different styles of video game art checking out.
