Agnostiko Origins

Genre: Action-Platformer

Players: 1

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Review:

Agnostiko Origins, released in 2024 on Nintendo Switch, is an Action-Platformer that… okay actually I need to stop there. This game’s eShop page describes itself as a Metroidvania, but I can’t confirm this, because I can’t see any way to get out of the opening section of the game, a long stretch of forested area bordered by a building with a locked door on the left side, and a wall too high to jump over on the right side. I see in videos online that some people manage to get this game’s main character to do some sort of super-jump to get past this, but as far as I can find, I see no controls beyond a standard jump, a melee attack, a special move that doesn’t appear to do anything, and a back dash move.

I’m getting off track here.

Agnostico Origins puts you in the role of a mysterious masked hero wearing a long red scarf fighting monsters who have been kidnapping people, purportedly in a steampunk version of a 1890s Phillipenes.

The presentation here is okay, but seems amateurish, with somewhat blotchy 2D pixel art visuals that seem lacking animation in a way that appears awkward and clunky, with stilted movement and a camera that is similarly jerky in a really off-putting way. I would credit this game’s art design for at least having a sense of style, but that style is really derivative, with the main character having a “shadow” effect that seems to come directly from Alucard in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. These visuals are backed by a repetitive chiptune soundtrack that you’ll quickly want to mute, and joined by an opening narration that I assume is in Filipino, which also seems somewhat amateurishly-recorded.

I’ve already commented on how this game apparently traps you in its opening area, but even if that weren’t the case, I doubt this would have amounted to much. The jumping feels jerky, combat is unsatisfying with impacts that don’t even seem to register, enemy AI is brain-dead, with some enemies just standing in place and letting you kill them, and not in a way that seems like a deliberate choice.

I guess what I’m getting at is that Agnostiko Origins is a messy, unpolished, poorly-made shambles of a game that should have never been released in this state, and certainly not for the absurd price of $25. Even at $2, I would argue this isn’t worth your money. Spend it on a stick of gum instead, you’ll enjoy that more.

tl;dr – Agnostiko Origins claims to be a Metroidvania, but it appears to trap you in its boring opening area, with brain-dead enemies, terrible combat, muddy visuals, and an overall lack of polish that’s absurd for a game priced at $25 that I would argue isn’t even worth $2. Do not waste your money on this game.

Grade: F

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