Everyone has one of those games in their library they enjoy, but don’t know how to ‘rate’ it. Is it good? Or is it bad? Maybe it’s mediocre? I have this with Ankh Guardian – Treasure of the Demon’s Temple. It’s one of those games that I enjoy over time, but it’s not one of those games I recommend to a lot of people…?
Ankh?
I’ll try and explain it a bit more, maybe you can catch my drift by reading this review. The story of Ankh begins a long age when the Gods still ruled all. The beloved god Farasis was murdered by the feared god Zemet. The world was thrown in an age of darkness, and with the last of his strength, Farasis forged a magical sword (which our protagonists seem to lose each level). Then, one day, a young man/woman receives a divine message, to set out to the temple of Farasis to answer the god’s call…
Comic games
Well, there you go. Enter Ankh Guardian – Treasure of the Demon’s Temple, a side-scrolling action game that gave me flashbacks to Willy and Wanda and the secret of the pharao (Suske & Wiske en het geheim van de farao). A game that was released in the late ’90s, based on famous Belgian comic-book characters. See where I’m going with this?
Mechanics
The main selling point of this game is the fact you can destroy or repair damaged walls to progress through the levels… Uhm… yeah. Almost every Metroidvania, sidescroller, etc. nowadays has this function. This should not be the main factor for marketing this game! The first thing that piqued my interest was the Egyptian setting, but they butchered that as well.
Throughout the game, you collect treasures, your sword (yes, every level you’ll have to find it), and beat the crap out of the enemies. After beating eight levels, Ankh throws a boss fight at you, which follows a routine sidescrolling theme. Learn the pattern, beat the boss, repeat for the entirety of the game (except for some upgrades of course). The upgrades you will get through Ankh are a nice change of pace however and keep the arcade feeling alive. So if you are into that kind of stuff, Ankh might be up your alley (certainly since it’s cheap).
Conclusion
So, to conclude – Ankh Guardian – Treasure of the Demon’s Temple is an odd one. It’s not one of those games you fall in love with instantly (like Spyro)… but it’s not one of those games you hate from the bottom of your heart (shovelware). It’s fun, it’s cheap, it’s a little bit wonky here and there, but it works.
