Three and Out – ‘The Messenger’

I went into The Messenger not completely blind and with vague expectations – I knew that time travel was going to happen eventually. Even so, in a fourth-wall break, the game made itself aware that I had that prior knowledge. Thus, the game was able to build up the excitement towards that inevitable transition to the future. With witty banter about “seeing the trailer,” I knew I had something special on my hands, here. The Shopkeeper always has something interesting to say, sarcastically commenting about your abilities and telling long-winded stories about other adventurers who came through. My personal favorite tale was about “the messenger who kept asking for stories.”

For the first few hours, the game is a linear platformer and feels like a natural progression of Ninja Gaiden. I was hooked by its tight and precise gameplay that slowly adds more abilities to your arsenal. The main gameplay mechanic introduced at the start is the Cloudstep, the ability to jump an additional time after landing any attack. This ability works on practically anything: enemies, background objects, and even enemy projectiles once upgraded. The Cloudstep is used in clever level design which both lets you progress further and recover from mistakes. This ability compounds with later upgrades, including a Wingsuit and Rope Dart (lovingly expressed as a grappling hook) that form very satisfying movements to pull off. In addition, the boss fights were a spectacle to behold, both visually and mechanically. They are tough as nails and yet never feel overwhelming – a perfect combination that felt extremely satisfying to take down.

Once I reached the end of the game’s intro, the game suddenly shifted from linear design to more of an open world. The protagonist travels to the future and gains the ability to swap between past and present by passing through portals – yet another mechanic that is effortlessly implemented alongside already established options. The music and graphics smoothly transition from an 8-bit style to a more detailed 16-bit variation, effectively doubling the amount of content in the game. At this point, my goal was not simply to reach the end, but to explore all of the levels I had already been to in order to find new paths I couldn’t reach before. A hub area is introduced after traveling to the future, to help me navigate the world a bit more easily, though I felt that this wasn’t implemented in the best fashion. Some areas in the game, notably an area near the middle of the game called Bamboo Creek, were a tad frustrating to return to. A few more fast travel locations may have helped alleviate this.

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