Lovish – PS5 Review

I don’t think I’ll be good enough to truly smash my way through a tricky 2D platformer. I always give them a shot but I just don’t have the dexterity or patience to get over the line. Lovish arrives from LABS Works with plenty of bitesize levels and responsive controls. Whilst it has delivered me some frustration, the challenge is manageable enough for me to see credits.

Lovish‘s premise is suitably daft. Solomon is a sword-wielding hero desperate to rescue Princess Tsuna. She is currently being held by the Devil Lord and, whilst Solomon has friends as backup, he’s dismissed them, for fear of the Princess falling in love with them. Solomon has a gaslighting helmet which he intends to use to force the Princess into loving him. It’s a sinister plot that’s largely played for laughs. I can’t quite remember the last time I played a paranoid hero but it’s a different angle to take.

Lovish is a precise, 2D platformer. Each level takes place over a single screen with objectives being as simple as reaching the exit door. Sometimes the door requires a key or for all the enemies in a stage to be defeated. Stages increase in difficulty with more dangerous monsters and hazards. Solomon’s blue and cyan character design shows a clear Capcom influence and, whilst I don’t see this as challenging as Megaman, it certainly evokes that level of control.

Movement is tight and, whilst it can be complimented with dashes and new attacks, it delivers a measured pace. Levels are short and quick to restart. As you purchase more abilities at the shop, your options do widen a little. Some blocks can be broken for shortcuts and one upgrade can give a crucial extra hit before death. Death itself is inconsequential. Whilst a health pool is present on the stage select, reaching zero is not a game over. Instead, this counter merely goes into the negative. That takes the pressure off as I initially wondered what would happen when those chances were expunged.

After completing a level, a random event will take place. These can offer the occasional heart or coin. These are also where most of the game’s humour is. The element of chance does offer some variety to your playthrough but I did find they started to repeat. There’s also a horrible one called Deja Vu that does exactly what you think it does. It annoys me every time it comes up, although it doesn’t actually require you to clear a stage again.

The stages are very tricky. You can tell they’ve been cleverly designed as some of the required movement is distinctly deliberate. It’s all constructed in blocks that do indicate a clear range of jumps and manoeuvres. I don’t think it’s complicated to grasp and Solomon’s traversal suite is uncluttered. There’s no immediate time pressures so you can find a safe space and plot whatever you think the path forward will be.

If you’re skilled enough, the quick nature of the levels give it a breakneck pace. There are additional levels to unlock but the core campaign keeps things on a rigid track. Obviously, the post-level events throw a nice coin toss into things and the design of each stage mixes up enemy placements well. This game rarely felt stuck for ideas and it felt fresh.  There are reasons to revisit old stages with crowns given for quick completion times, pacifist runs and some extra ones hidden within levels.  They make the most of what they have.

They do explore the space a lot. Whether that’s through fiendish enemy placements or having one unbeatable foe hassle you for a whole level, it’s got ideas. The early flame enemies do bother me. They move slowly but can feel out of reach. Their patrols don’t appear to set so I was waiting around for moments to strike.

The bosses become a strange moment of relaxation. Some do require a lot of hits but they felt trivial to me. I think unlocking ranged attacks gave me a safe distance to hit them from but their patterns were very predictable. I don’t know if I should feel underwhelmed by them but there are some safe zones that can reliably keep you from ham. They are varied in design, although a lot are airborne. To begin with, they look like tanks with dozens of hits required to fell them. Once I discovered their patterns, they lose their menace.

The presentation is pretty solid. Its wears its inspirations clearly but the humour is very cheeky and the gags are quick. Solomon is not a likeable character but he’s also not demonised for what is effectively hypnotism. The 8-bit style is spot on, although that seems like something that’s hard to miscue, these days. The cutesy character designs have plenty of charm. The music certainly evokes those classic Capcom tunes without being as catchy. They’re good but I’m not humming them after I’ve stopped playing. I will say, the pixel softening effect is too much.  You can disable it for a more pixelated look.

Lovish does play a wonderful homage to 8-bit classics whilst producing ideas of its own. The challenge is married to a brisk pacing that does help keep frustration at a minimum. The random events give each level the chance to reward the player and the level design keeps things fresh. I could see failure getting to some people but the levels are short enough to encourage persistence.