The Messenger Reviews
An instant classic, The Messenger is one you will not want to miss.
The Messenger is a nostalgic bomb and a very solid action platformer. If you love Ninja Gaiden and Mega Man, and you want a new, yet friendlier experience in the genre, this is the game you’re looking for.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
A game made by people who love the medium in which they work, they have not hesitated to reflect it on the screen and that love shows. A magnificent level design, an outstanding graphic finish and a combination of retro and current gameplay make the game of Thierry Boulanger one of the best indies you will find on your PS4.
In a year full of fantastic indie titles, it manages to live up to their precedent while arguably surpassing them. You can compare it to what’s come before, and you can look forward to what might come next from Sabotage Studio, but more than anything you should take some time to play The Messenger as soon as possible, here and now.
Sabotage first game not only is a love letter to the genre, but also one of the greatest games of the year. The Messenger is a tough but fair game that charms the players with the story and it's characters. Also tries to break new ground in the genre with some of the mechanics we found in the game.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
It seems as if it is impossible to break away from this game. Don't even think about ignoring the magic of messenger!
Review in Persian | Read full review
The Messenger exudes charisma and is wrapped with fantastic control and a development full of surprises, with a difficulty curve that few titles match. In the second half of the game there are somewhat uglier details that do not make the set worse but they do leave a feeling that it could have been a little better.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
If you have not experienced The Messenger yet, there is no better time than now. Its unique and witty take on a tried and true genre is challenging and fun with nice replayability. Never frustrating and always asking you to improve your platforming abilities, the 2D platformer is one of the best of recent years.
2018 has been a great year for retro-style exploratory platformers, as seen with Celeste and Dead Cells. The Messenger continues that trend with aplomb with smooth controls, great presentation, and plenty of challenging and exciting levels to explore. It’s much more fair than its inspirations, but you will still die a lot (my final count clocked in at well over 300 and I payed over 1000 gems). If you love classic gaming with new twists, be sure to spread the message that The Messenger is another indie keeper.
The Messenger executes the perfect experience of play, narrative, and style.
Ninja games have been around since 8-bit classics like Ninja Gaiden, Strider, and Shadow of the Ninja. The Messenger fits right in with its tight gameplay, challenging degree of difficulty, and satisfying campaign.
On top of that, it layers on an onslaught of laudatory elements, whether it's a winning, humorous tone, the excellent linear level design, or the marvels of the late-game exploration. When I first sat down with The Messenger, I thought it'd be hard for it to live up to my brilliant, childhood memories of Ninja Gaiden on NES. It didn't just meet those expectations, it annihilated them. The Messenger is a straight-up brilliant addition to the Switch and if you have any affinity for platformers of nearly any shape or size, go play it right this second.
Less a Gaiden successor and more a general love-letter to its look and style, The Messenger allows fans to hop gleefully between cheery gaming memories without being bound by the rigid controls and punishing precision of a prior era, while somehow managing to remain entirely accessible to newcomers as a fun, unmistakeably wholehearted 2D platformer.
The Messenger is an excellent indie release that has found a good home on the Nintendo Switch. I spent half of my time with the game playing on the TV and the other half while in Portable mode, and the game looked just as great and was just as fun in both scenarios. A short game this is not, since you're looking at 20+ hours to 100% this release between the first part of The Messenger, the jump to 16-bits and the Metroidvania twist. You'll meet former foes who have turned a new leaf and old enemies with a new look as you try to defeat the greater evil behind all of this before it is too late, and you're going to have a blast doing so.
Had The Messenger been two separate games, I'd have waxed lyrical about the first while eliciting a "meh" for the second. Put together, it's a package that some will adore, while others will simply grow tired of.
Sabotage Studio proves its worth by delivering an title that pays homage to Ninja Gaiden but is actually better than its source material; one that nails both the 8-bit, and 16-bit aesthetic. The problem is that, although definitely a fun title, the way it is torn between being a "pure" action-platformer and a metroidvania really hurts what could otherwise be one of the year's best indies.
The Messenger leans on classic platformers from the 80s and 90s, but comes with plenty of its own tricks to make it feel like a wonderful twist with plenty of tongue-in-cheek humor.
The Messenger is a real accomplishment for the fledgling Sabotage Studio.
The Messenger is more than a mere homage to games from 80s and 90s and especially, Ninja Gaiden; because through its stunning looks, clever writing, fantastic soundtrack and amazing gameplay, it has created its own identity and turned out vastly superior to all of those titles. It's a quality game that makes you want to get back to it as fast as you can and play more. The Messenger is a must-play and no one should miss it
Review in Persian | Read full review
Just as surprising as the plot twists is the entertainment provided by The Messenger's dialogues. The gameplay is great and represents an evolution of the games that it takes inspiration from, but it's the unforeseen events, in the good sense, that makes this journey fantastic.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review