Time to join Samus- Jenosa, on an adventure of a lifetime.
“Scurge Hive” is an isometric Metroidvania released in 2006 for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance (GBA) and Nintendo DS. The game was made by Orbital Media Inc., who was defunct in 2014. They made three games in total, their most popular being Racing Gears Advance for the GBA.
For those unfamiliar, Metroidvanias are based on Nintendo’s Metroid and Castlevania series where you explore a map and fill it out, getting upgrades, like new abilities, as you progress. I’ve played “Metroid: Fusion” and a couple of Metroidvanias, but I’m not the most familiar with the genre.
Story (C+)
Scourge Hive is about bounty hunter Jenosa Arma who is sent to Planet Inos to scavenge any research data she can from the facility, if she succeeds, she gets paid. Along the way, you find out what happened to the facility.
It’s nothing spectacular but it doesn’t need to be a fantastic story, it gets the job done giving the setting. Jenosa herself is simple but has some neat moments.
The only real cool thing is that the final boss’s concept is really disturbing when it’s analyzed. Other than that, the game’s plot is basic, but works.
Presentation (A-)
“Scurge Hive” looks great and sounds well.
The environments look colourful. Huge props to the final boss arena, which is simple, but creepy with the setting, context, and ambient music.
The animations are pretty, Jenosa is beautifully animated whenever she jumps with her long ponytail.
The designs of the enemies and Jenosa are great. Although, the game does recolor certain enemies and makes them stronger.
The music is great, fitting the industrial feel of the game really well, with some songs like Jenosa’s Ship and Ransol’s Industries being especially catchy.
The only downside with the presentation is how annoying the sounds the enemies make get after a while. Think of it like a buzzing fly in your room, it makes an annoying noise and it won’t stop making it until it’s dead. That’s what most enemies are like but instead of one fly, it’s usually over three or more flies buzzing at the same time.
Then again, the game is called “Scurge Hive” for a reason.
Gameplay (A)
“Scurge Hive” is quite different from other Metroidvanias due to its isometric view. Movement is available in eight directions and works well. There is also a level up system, each level up increasing how much damage dealt and total health, giving a great sense of progression.
The main objective in almost every level is to attach all six power cores to their power sources to power up a transporter to face the boss. Key cards are collected in rooms to get by key card doors that require multiple key cards (minus the first one), usually from three to six.
Jenosa’s primary weapon is her projectile attack. Different elements are unlocked for the projectile as the game progresses, like electricity. Different elemental projectiles can be used as a weakness towards an enemy type to deal more damage and to stagger them.
However, every elemental projectile buffs another enemy type with damage and speed, so it’s important to gauge which element is the best to use given the situation.
This is great as it always gives the player the decision of who is a higher priority and if they can get away with buffing one enemy to deal with another enemy.
Special weapons are acquired as well, used for helping in combat. Every weapon is used for puzzle-solving to unlock passageways or traverse them. Abilities like a grappling hook are also unlocked as the game progresses, making for great puzzles and obstacles.
While playing, there is a timer that goes from zero to 100 per cent due to the air on Inos. Save points are present to help refill the timer. Even if the timer runs out, health slowly decreases which gives enough wiggle room to get to a save point to refill it.
While the timer mechanic sounds stressful, it’s not. “Scurge Hive” is generous with save points. Areas between save points are also designed to be short, even if an area is lengthy and the meter reaches 100 per cent, health can still be picked up by enemies to keep afloat.
The timer mechanic is built around the game well, complimenting the level design, never feeling like an annoyance.
The game also includes normal, hard, and insane difficulties (unlocked each time you clear a new difficulty), cosmetics, a boss rush and ultra-mode. The game is very replayable and it’s satisfying to beat it quicker each time. I beat the game in nine hours my first playthrough, then seven on hard, then six on insane.
The enemies are chaotic, really getting your blood pumping, leading to some intense but good fights. This goes for bosses too, which do a good job utilizing the abilities you’ve learned in the levels. Overall, the combat is fantastic.
However, except for one enemy and enemy type, most enemies deploy the same strategy of chasing you down every time.
While this can add fun chaos, it can be overwhelming at times with swarms of enemies. Furthermore, it's repetitive, especially in long play sessions.
Some nitpicks would include some enemies being annoying, especially the energy enemies that duplicate. Cutscenes also aren’t skippable, even in boss rush mode, despite the replay value of the game.
The experience points enemies drop go in the opposite direction and some enemies take too long before they drop them due to their death animations. This wouldn’t be annoying if it wasn’t for the timer making time precious.
Overall (A-)
“Scurge Hive,” and I can easily call it a hidden gem in at least the GBA library. The story was simple but neat, the visuals and soundtrack are fantastic, and the gameplay top-notch. While it does suffer from annoyances, the positives of the game made them bearable. It is not an easy game to find, but if there is a copy available, I highly recommend getting it.
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