Enchanted Portals

''Enchanted Portals'' is a platform video game developed and published by Xixo Games Studio. It was released on September 5, 2023, for Microsoft Windows, September 8, 2023, for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, and November 1 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. The game drew comparisons to the 2017 platformer ''Cuphead'', with whom it shares its gameplay and visual style, and received largely negative reviews.

Gameplay

''Enchanted Portals'' is a 2D platformer in which players take the role of Bobby and Penny, rookie wizards stuck between dimensions after an accident involving a magic book. The game can be played either alone or cooperatively. ''Enchanted Portals'' consists of platforming stages broken up by boss fights, with players being able to utilize various magical power-ups to help them overcome challenges. These power-ups include three kinds of spell attacks, a protective bubble to block an attack, and the ability to swipe at certain obstacles with the playable character's wand. Some boss levels also add certain changes in the gameplay or setting.

Plot

While Bobby and Penny are doing housework, the former accidentally knocks a book off of a shelf. When the two look at it, they see instructions for creating a portal and follow the steps to make one. However, the portal that Bobby and Penny create ends up sucking the two inside of it, along with their pet cat and the magic book, which soon becomes alive.

Bobby and Penny explore a variety of different worlds, including a spooky forest with a haunted hotel, a spaceship piloted by a cyborg cow, an island with an ancient temple, a castle with frogs, and a town populated by roosters. While making it through all of these dimensions, they fight the worlds' hostile inhabitants and look for the sentient magic book.

After making it through every world, Bobby and Penny end up in a wormhole, where the magic book tries to kill the two with his spells. After Bobby and Penny finally defeat the magic book in battle, they return home right when an older wizard (presumably their caretaker) arrives. Later, the magic book tells another book (most likely his father) about what Bobby and Penny did to him, hinting at a potential sequel in which the latter book may seek retribution against the two wizards.

Development

In October 2019, Xixo Games Studio, a Spanish two-person development team, announced that they were planning to fund ''Enchanted Portals'' via a Kickstarter campaign. After a delay due to negotiations with a prospective publisher, the campaign was launched in 2020. The Kickstarter failed to meet its goal.

''Enchanted Portals'' was released on September 5, 2023, for Windows via Steam and the Epic Games Store, and three days later for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S. A physical release of the PlayStation 5 version referred to as the ''Tales Edition'' was released on September 29. The game was released on the Nintendo Switch on November 1, 2023.

Reception

A trailer for the game was released on YouTube and Twitter on October 8, 2019. Viewers negatively compared the game to its inspiration, ''Cuphead''.

Upon release, ''Enchanted Portals'' received a number of negative reviews, with review aggregator Metacritic summarizing the critical reception of the PlayStation 5 version as "generally unfavorable". Jaz Sagoo of ''COGconnected'' criticised the game's imprecise controls, uneven difficulty, lack of sound design, and sometimes inconsistent aesthetics, but noted that it almost captures the 1930s art style overall. Writing for ''WellPlayed'', Kieran Stockton voiced similar criticisms, calling the game an "Aldi-style mimicry of ''Cuphead''" and giving it a "poor" rating overall. Joey Rambles of ''Cultured Vultures'' reviewed the game more favourably after having played a pre-release demo and stated that ''Enchanted Portals'' was frustrating but also rewarding, but revised his impression after the game had been released and noted that it primarily failed where it diverged from ''Cuphead''. On OpenCritic, the reception from top critics is "weak", with less than 10% of the general critics recommending it.

See also

*''Cuphead''

References

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2023 video games
Cooperative video games
Indie games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Nintendo Switch games
PlayStation 4 games
PlayStation 5 games
Run and gun games
Shoot 'em ups
Side-scrolling platformers
Unreal Engine 4 games
Video game controversies
Video games about witchcraft
Video games developed in Spain
Video games featuring female protagonists
Windows games
Xbox One games
Xbox Series X and Series S games