From the brilliant Norwegian indie developer Rain Games, here we have the remastered version of 2013's excellent Metroidvania Teslagrad.
With the launch of Teslagrad 2 in April 2023, there also came this overhaul of the dev's first indie game. Naturally, we got the thing off Steam and returned to play one of our favourite 2D platformers all over again.
The Steampunk Joys of Teslagrad Remastered
You can pick the remastered (or original) edition up on Steam and pretty much any console. But when Teslagrad launched on the Wii U a decade ago, it was at a time when the indie game scene was starting to properly take off.
Rain Games' inventive title cemented our preference for indie games over AAA blockbuster games there and then. As it followed hot on the footsteps of the likes of the truly awesome Runner2 (2013).
The ironic thing was we were playing the original when Teslagrad 2 (and this remaster) had a surprise launch the other week. But we wasted no time trying out the overhauled version, which features new graphical flourishes a more dramatic orchestral sweep.
Although not a dramatic update to the original, there are enough additions here to bring some limelight back to a Metroidvania classic.
In the game, you star as a young boy in a steampunk style version of 20th century Europe. Finding himself involved in a conspiracy theory and being hunted down by the government, he must head out, scale a vast tower, and bring order to the land.
Along the way, you get a pair of electromagnetic gloves that open up all manner of opposite poles attracting, repelling.
It's a charming, clever game mechanic and it works a treat here, as you can see from the first 10 minutes of the game.
There are plenty of increasingly devious puzzles to solve, where you must manipulate the environment or catapult yourself around from red and blue electromagnetic zones.
There's a great wheeltrack section we recorded below. We managed to screw up the ending a bit, but then you can't access the section again. Boo!
But this clip shows the type of physics-based action going on.
It's all great fun, but rather challenging. One hit deaths! Even in boss battles.
That can be frustrating at times, but it's a stance Rain Games hasn't changed for its just launched sequel—the excellent Teslagrad 2.
Perseverance and intuition are in order to come out of the other side in this gaming world, but for those willing to think a little you'll get massive rewards from it.
We were going to do a Teslagrad Revisited review at some point, but this remaster has provided with a better reason to cover it again. Our review from 2015 was before our content skills went up a notch.
Now we hope we've paid proper justice to this epic little gem.
Teslagrad's Melancholic Music
Composed by Jørn Lavoll and Linn Kathrin Taklo, Teslagrad's soundtrack reminds us a fair bit of Vangelis' work on Blade Runner (1982).
The duo make up Bear and Cat music production studio in Bergen.
It's a magnificent piece of work from the two, brooding constantly with a lavish sense of tragedy—the harsh times everyone is in.
There are more upbeat, hectic pieces. These reflect the bustling, robotic world you're in—that sense of Soviet-era need to work, work, and work some more.
And the young boy in the game reflects this. He ambles on, without complaint, overcoming all before him.
The three tracks we've chosen above only hint at the full scale of this fantastic soundtrack. It's all available on YouTube, should you want to hear the rest.
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