Pseudoregalia Review

March 23, 2024

Platform: PC

Total gameplay time: 8 hours, 10 minutes
Review Score: 7/10

Pseudoregalia is an independently developed 3D platformer that I found to be mostly good. You play as a humanoid goat-like creature named Sybil and explore the mysterious Castle Sansa within a dream world. The game does a good job of translating Metroidvania styled exploration into a 3D space. There is a heavy focus on platforming challenges and exploration, but there is combat in the game as well. Within the castle, you can find hidden powerups that provide important movement abilities. The goal of the game is to find five Major Keys inside of Castle Sansa in order to open a door to save a princess. The overall plot is vague, but there are NPCs and signs that reveal more information. The gameplay itself is very good, with tight controls and creative platforming challenges and puzzles.

In my opinion, the best part of the game is easily its graphics, soundtrack, and presentation. Pseudoregalia takes heavy inspiration from the fifth generation of video games, and the presentation reminds me of many N64 and PS1 games. The soundtrack is very good as well, whether it be The Underbelly theme providing unsettling ambiance or tracks like Twilight Theatre and Listless Library just being nice to listen to.

There are a couple of weaknesses with the game, mainly in its lack of explanations (which some people might be fine with) and short length. I was able to beat the game with mostly no help, and the short length is perfectly fine for a $6 indie game. There was also no map in the game until it was added in an update. I played it after the fact, but it would have been a lot worse with no map feature. To conclude, I would recommend Pseudoregalia to fans of retro games, Metroidvanias, and challenging platformers.