Master Key

Genre: Top-Down Action-RPG

Players: 1

.

Review:

Master Key is a Top-Down Action-RPG released on PC and Nintendo Switch in 2024. In this game, players take the role of an anthropomorphic fox who discovers a mysterious key he can swing like a sword. And it won’t take you long to see that this game is very clearly a love letter to the old-school 2D entries in the Legend of Zelda franchise.

More specifically, Master Key seems to want to recapture the simplicity of the Zelda franchise’s roots. There’s very little story here, and tutorial hint and dialogue with other characters generally takes the form of “[picture A] + [picture B] = [picture C]”. Veterans of the franchise may appreciate this simplicity and lack of hand-holding, but more novice players may find the lack of direction this game gives the player to be frustrating.

This may be just as well too, as Master Key’s challenge level is pretty high for this sort of game. To give you an idea, After completing Nintendo’s latest 2D entry in the Zelda franchise, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, I would estimate that I died a total of 3-4 times throughout the entire game. In Master Key, on the other hand, I died over a half-dozen times before completing the game’s first dungeon. This challenge is due to your limited reach with your default weapon, at times spotty hit detection, and multiple elements of unforgiving game design.

That’s not to say it’s all bad, though. The puzzle design in Master Key is quite good, both inside and outside of dungeons. After breezing through Echoes of Wisdom’s dungeons, it was quite nice to encounter dungeons that actually made me stop and think what I need to do next, and there are some clever puzzles in the overworld too.

One part of Master Key that I think is going to garner a mixed response is the game’s presentation, which uses Gamy Boy-style chiptune music and sound, and simple 2D pixel art in a 2-color palette (black and white by default, though you can select others), and I think it’s important to note that this isn’t just monochrome – there’s no grey, there’s literally only black and white, meaning this game has half the color palette of the original Game Boy. While some may find this retro look appealing, it also has the effect of making it far too easy not to notice important details, like an enemy ready to pounce on you.

Ultimately, I think that Master Key’s strengths do outweigh its flaws, but those flaws do hold it back some. The high difficulty level, the at times malicious game design, and the limited visual style of the game all contribute to a game that will put off more casual fans of Zelda games. However, players who appreciate a challenge will find that Master Key’s puzzle design and lack of hand-holding make for an enticing adventure well worth checking out.

tl;dr – Master Key is a Top-Down Action-RPG that is clearly inspired by the Legend of Zelda franchise, but with the hand-holding removed and the difficulty level turned up to “at times unfair”. This, along with the game’s 2-color visuals, will be a turn-off for some players, but Zelda fans looking for a challenge will definitely want to give this a look.

Grade: B

.

This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2024 Game Awards:

Runner-Up: Best Action-RPG

.

^{You can support eShopperReviews on Patreon! Please click HERE to become a Sponsor!}

^{This month’s sponsors are Ben, Ilya Zverev, Andy Miller, Homer Simpin, Johannes, Francis Obst, Gabriel Coronado-Medina, Jared Wark, Kristoffer Wulff, and Seth Christenfeld. Thank you for helping to keep the reviews coming!}