FAS3 Studios is made up of three friends reunited from the University. Based in Spain, officially in operation since February 2021 and with one game released per year, they seem to have a fairly steady pace of development.
Albacete Warrior is their very first project and focuses its plot around the eponymous Spanish city… where the studio is based. This is not the most recent project from the developers arriving on Xbox One and Series X|S, but their very first game. The opportunity for us to discover a surprising studio with a unique sense of humor.
A borderline title
Good… It may be quite complicated to explain the scenario of Albacete Warrior without risking an outcry in all directions. We will therefore try to remain as politically correct as possible.
The title puts us in the shoes of Benito, notorious alcoholic and inveterate brawler never hesitating to slap a few slaps after a slightly drunken evening.
After being kicked out of a bar for the umpteenth time for beating up a guy for no reason, our blonde-haired hero decides to take a nap in the cozy comfort of the trash cans.
It is there that he is collected by Paco-Sensei, a Chinese master (or almost) of martial arts who wants to make him the Chosen One in exchange for a roof and some good meals.
Listening only to his stomach, Benito agrees and begins a three-year training with the goal of developing his body, heart and mind. For the first, no worries. For the rest, however…
Unable to concentrate and more eager to party than to learn the ancestral techniques of the ninjas, Benito will helplessly watch the destruction of the dojo by… Mexicans armed with knives and mercenaries disguised as peppers.
Armed with his trusty chicken, he then embarks on a quest that will take him around the world to… break mouths and ultimately be worthy of his title of Chosen.
It is therefore through five levels passing through Spain, Latin America, Japan, Egypt and finally Tibet that Benito will let his unquenchable thirst for violence speak by beating crude and sometimes borderline caricatures ordinary racism.
What about the plot…? If the scenario is completely capillotracté and seems to hold only by the desire of the developers to always go further in a very, very limited humor, it is nonetheless written with an ounce of talent. Each fight is justified, each area visited is intended to be logical in the course of the plot.
As for the humor, it often oscillates dangerously between pastiche and outright insult. Some caricatures are funny, like that of a Mexican Trump mimicking Doctor Robotnik. Others are… difficult to justify.
Regarding the dialogues, the entire title is bathed in a very difficult to understand slang. Available only in English and Spanish, Albacete Warrior abuses vulgar language and very abstract jargon.
This is a bit short, young man
Count two big hours to complete the title in its entirety. Keeping in mind that this is the first game from an independent studio initially more of a university project, we can only be lenient on this point.
However, it is clear that the proposed gameplay loop struggles to convince. A true old-fashioned beat’em all, the title takes us through extremely linear levels offering little exploration or freedom.
Oscillating between combat and platforms, Albacete Warrior does not convince on any of the tables. The problems are too numerous and difficult to excuse.
Let’s start with handling. Joystick in hand, we quickly complain about the fact that the controls respond poorly. Very bad. It is often very difficult to pull out a combo or dodge without taking damage.
In an attempt to give substance to the gameplay, Albacete Warrior has many moves and sequences. X allows us to strike with our fists, B to use our weapon and Y is used to finish a combo with a powerful blow. The triggers are used respectively to protect themselves with a human shield and to dodge.
As you level up, we unlock a transformation as well as the use of shurikens. Finally, the left directional cross allows us to heal ourselves.
So what’s the problem ? Well, the majority of shots…are useless. The weapon has a greater range, does more damage and has no restrictions on use. In fact, the melee attack is useless.
On the other hand, aiming with shurikens is hell, very slow, and lacks impact. We therefore avoid using them as much as possible.
The shots come out with difficulty unless you bludgeon the buttons, the enemies are sponges with too many hit points and do not suffer any recoil damage. It is therefore perfectly possible for them to hit us even when we start our combos before them.
Besides the impressive boss fights, the majority of the enemies do not represent the slightest challenge, however, and it is perfectly possible to complete the entire game during our first run without ever perishing.
As for the platform parts… it’s even worse. Whether it’s because of the jump controls which suffer from the same difficulties to be used, the repeated traps or the frustrating profusion of wall-jumps; each of them is to be considered with apprehension.
But the worst in Albacete Warrior is not that…
What a crazy idea…
Let’s be clear: mixing 2D and 3D is very rarely a good idea, unless you perfectly master your engine and your subject. And this is not at all the case of the developers of FAS3 Studios.
Made using Unity, Albacete Warrior offers us fully 3D environments… and pixelated 2D characters. Surprising at first, this choice quickly (and logically) becomes the worst idea in the title.
From the first clashes, it becomes impossible to gauge the depth of the scenery or the placement of enemies. Most of our shots therefore go off in a vacuum, the falls from the platforms multiply, the damage at a distance is impressively difficult to avoid…
Without even judging the graphic part, Albacete Warrior clearly suffers from a totally ubiquitous and incomprehensible artistic direction. It is even unthinkable that the developers have tested their title under these conditions and validated this choice without some reluctance. In any case, the finished product is a nameless ordeal for the player.
Tested on Xbox One X
