Chronicles of Teddy

Chronicles of Teddy: Harmony of Exidus is a platform-adventure game that will go down well with anyone feeling nostalgic for their Super Nintendo. The game is packed with nods to classic titles like Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Super Metroid.

You'll be playing as Tarant, our cute heroine who is on a quest to free the Kingdom of Exidus… with a bit of help from her teddy bear. To succeed on her quest, she'll need to collect the books filled with magic runes that will let her communicate with the kingdom's inhabitants. The focus is on platforming here, but the game also contains plenty of puzzles for fans of that genre.

The hub for your quest is a giant library, from where you can jump into one of the four books that transport you to different worlds, which is where you'll find the palaces that serve as the game's dungeons.

Be warned: this game is quite difficult to get to grips with at the start, especially the combat. Tarant's movements and the reach of her sword are pretty limited until you get your hands on a few worthwhile upgrades (which you can buy using marbles, the currency in Chronicles of Teddy).

While the layouts of the different levels will be immediately familiar to fans of the genre – be that the abundant enemies to defeat or the increasingly difficult bosses you'll face as you advance through the game – it will be more of a challenge for gamers used to the simplicity of more modern AAA titles.

For fans of Metroidvania games, Chronicles of Teddy features areas that you will need to revisit once you've learned some new skills.

Our advice? Never give up. Just like in most games from the era, it will take a bit of perseverance, but it's so satisfying when you beat the game! Just remember to save every half-hour... and keep an eye out for the clues you'll find dotted throughout the game. Some lines of NPC dialogue and etchings on the walls hold the keys to your success...

We loved the beautiful pixel art environments and retro synth soudtrack. The world-building is impressive, with an omnipresent sinister atmosphere that is accentuated by the beautiful soundtrack that constantly oscillates between melancholy and disturbing.

**Our favourite thing ** was the "Musicom" system, the runes that you collect that represent both spoken and written aspects of the game's fictional language, and that will enable you to communicate with the NPCs. It's original and works really well.

Chronicles of Teddy is an unforgettable adventure, a little gem that will delight anyone who gives it their time, but it presents a pretty stiff challenge for gamers who weren't able to cut their teeth back in the '90s!