When I got an email a few weeks ago about a brand new platformer in the style of old games (like Super Mario 64 ) called Ginger: Beyond The Crystal , I squealed for joy. Finally a game that can teleport me back to when I was eight, when the only thing I had to worry about was hitting double jump at exactly the right time to clear a chasm or a river. Ginger might be that game, but it’s bogged down with to many problems.
I absolutely love 3D platformers. Games like Spyro The Dragon and Crash Bandicoot defined my childhood. I remember sitting around my original PlayStation for hours on end, enjoying the hell out of gliding a purple dragon and jumping around with an orange marsupial. I have yet to find a game that truly captures the spirit of those old platformers, with their easy to pick up controls and colorful gameplay.
Ginger: Beyond The Crystal was developed by Drakhar Studios, an indie game studio from Spain. The game stars Ginger, an adorable, little blue generic hero who needs to save his land from an evil curse. Ginger is the only one who can save the world by clearing objectives and saving the denizens of his world. It’s a tale we’ve heard dozens of times before. Instead of saving a princess or rescuing dragons, you have to “purify” the corrupted crystals all around Ginger’s world.
There are three hub worlds, each with different stages that need to be cleared. Ginger takes a unique approach; these hub worlds are actually towns with villagers that have been transported far away. You need to rescue them by sacrificing little blue crystals you collect on the stages to a giant crystal in the middle of every map. These people you save aren’t very happy, so you have to build them houses and buy them cosmetic items to make them happy. It’s a cute idea intended to break up the monotony of endlessly jumping around and make the hub worlds actually feel valuable.
When you save special villagers, they give you costumes that have special powers. The bard suit opens up a Legend Of Zelda ocarina-style mini-game, the dragon suit breathes fire to clear cobwebs and boil pots and the magician suit moves objects. Every time you need a certain suit, a white circle appears on the ground telling you what to do. There’s no actual challenge to it, since the game tells you everything you need to do. Super Mario 64 never told you how to get the secret stars, that was half the fun.
Let’s get to the meat and potatoes, the platforming. Drakhar Studios really put a ton of effort into making Ginger handle well, her jumps are precise and she’s easy to maneuver. The combat also works well, there’s a button to punch and a button to do a dash attack. Unfortunately, everything else in the world is a glitchy nightmare.
The Lag And The Glitches
Ginger: Beyond The Crystal is a promising game, but falls short in its coding. I had to repeat levels over and over because I would fall through the actual ground when trying to make a jump. On the regular stage levels, the camera switches to a side scroller perspective that Ginger can move through. These stages are the worst, because you can try to make a jump, only to misjudge where the actual platform is and fall to your death.
When playing on Xbox One, Ginger: Beyond The Crystal tends to lag and stutter, especially when you are in the hub worlds. It almost makes the game unplayable, making Ginger feel less like a game developed by a whole game studio and more like a gaming exercise developed in a guy’s garage.
The loading screens are what really pushed me over the edge. Each time you move out of the hub world, the game enters a loading screen that can last anywhere from 30 seconds to five minutes. That’s unacceptable for a modern title, especially a platformer that requires a good sense of momentum to keep you engaged.
Should You Buy Ginger?
Short answer; not right now. I absolutely love this game’s concept. Jumping around, fighting zombie frogs and beating bosses is really fun. There were times when I forgot how glitchy Ginger was and I had a ton of fun. Unfortunately, the game was always quick to remind me, usually by lagging out or Ginger clipping through all the terrain.
If Drakhar Studios can fix the glitches, Ginger: Beyond The Crystal can be an amazing game. Right now, you shouldn’t waste your money on it, unless you enjoy long loading screens, glitchy levels and the occasional rage-fueled controller throw.
