Technical Information

Developer: Decemberborn Interactive
Publisher: Decemberborn Interactive
Release Date: October 31, 2019

Step into the shoes of a knight who is completely lost and explore various locations in this metroidvania game that takes player skill and difficulty very seriously.

Final Thoughts – Analyzing the Game as a Whole

Graphics and UI

Very meticulous artwork, in the best traditions an 8-bit game could have.
Beautiful animations, detailed scenery (with magnificent use of shadows), and creative enemies.
And I must add that there are several visual references to classic video games!

The entire interface of this game was very well thought out.
The game menu is divided into sections, and you can equip items according to your preference.
The map has some key markings (checkpoints, items, etc.), and it’s also possible to mark areas you want to revisit.

Soundtrack and Sound Effects

The soundtrack impressed me greatly.
I loved the music so much that I found myself humming along while working on this review.
Each scenario has its own music, and they are very memorable!

Gameplay

I must confess that the game surprised me a lot, but in a good way.
I didn’t expect it to be so meticulous and so full of details.

Starting with the stages: each section of the game is identified by name and color on the map.
Each of these areas is completely different from the others, featuring specific enemies and their own set of puzzles. I must take my hat off to the puzzles in this game, as they are both creative and challenging.

Cathedral starts out linear, but after a certain point it doesn’t stay that way (at least that was my experience). There’s a seer in the city, and when you’re lost and don’t know where to go, he gives you a hint, which helped me many times.

The game is long. I needed 41 hours to reach the final boss. I rage-quit and started writing this analysis. I simply couldn’t take it anymore. I think I’ve played enough to have an opinion, and I swear I didn’t give up and will finish it!
Cathedral is absurdly difficult. SO DIFFICULT I ALMOST PASSED OUT FROM RAGE DURING THIS GAME!!
Except for the first boss, I can’t name a single boss that didn’t give me trouble.

And to make matters worse, the game has enemies that are hard to defeat, along with level design that requires a lot of skill. You’ll have to burn your neurons figuring out how to get from one section to another, and you’ll need a lot of practice with the protagonist’s abilities.

All that difficulty, along with moments where I got lost, not knowing what to do — resulted in many hours of gameplay, far beyond what I imagined (I estimated around 20 hours to complete it).
In addition to the main story, there are some side quests.

The game has four save slots, catering to all levels of sadism and allowing multiple playthroughs in parallel.

Replayability and Game Retention

The game is very difficult, and what I liked most is that it offers a challenge that doesn’t make you give up. You want to keep going, pushing yourself further each time. And every defeated boss (after a thousand attempts, if you ask me) comes with a strong feeling of accomplishment.

That said, I must confess that I don’t know how soon I’ll be able to start playing it again. I think the memories of its difficulty will always make me think twice before starting a new save.