HomeNewsV.A Proxy
V.A Proxy is a Nier Automata-like that’s on a mission to parry everything, and now it has a demoCancelled
Cancelled
Image credit:Pyrolith
Image credit:Pyrolith
A good parry mechanic is a kind of redemption. Where blocking - aka holding a button to avoid damage - is a concession to the tedious attritional undertow of manyaction games, parrying - aka pressing a button on cue to cancel damage and often, prep a counter - is the act of cutting through the bullshit. It passively reduces any and all visual and thematic overwhelm the game would have you experience to a question of timing.
Perhaps predictably, the demo’s combat isn’t quite as majestic as the gifs suggest. The controls are a touch fidgety, especially when it comes to making the transition from a jump to a glide, which is not helpful in a game with instakill water hazards (thankfully, these appear to be infrequent). The lock-on is a bit impetuous, yanking you towards off-screen enemies. The animations don’t communicate the combo timing as well as they could.
The parry, however, is immediately addictive with a generous input window, and the combat system as a whole has the makings of greatness, though it’s sorely in need of a proper tutorial. It threads together flips and slides, ground pounds and feints in a way that has me itching to go toe-to-toe with other, sword-wielding humanoids down the road. As any Platinum or FromSoftware player knows, the greatest opponents in a game like this are generally the same size as the player.
Image credit:Pyrolith
There’s a massive orange eye in the distance, peeking around a mountain. Nearer at hand, you see groups of creatures, including mechanical antelopes, insects and enormous crows, who appear to have predator-prey relationships - a touch of “living, breathing world” that calls to mind Guerrilla’s Horizon games. It’d make a fine setting for a walking simulator, and the game does give you plenty of opportunity to stop and stare.
V.A Proxy doesn’t have a release date yet, and I’m hoping it’s a long way off, because this feels like it could be quite special if given enough time to marinate. If you also enjoyed the demo, developer Pyrolith has aPatreon.
