Flynn: Son of Crimson is a story of heroism, redemption and beautifully crafted, nostalgic platforming combat. Developed by Studio Thunderhorse and published by Humble Games I was unsure of what to expect upon diving into the action-adventure title but thanks to the glowing review of Duncan from the Gamers Watch Podcast in our ‘Indie Games of 2021’ video I was intrigued and super optimistic.

 

Skipping The Fluff (except for Dex of course!)

Flynn: Son of Crimson spends little to no time throwing the player right into the action. As someone who has played countless 2D action platformers in the past, it was nice for a game like Flynn to provide a fairly basic intro and tutorial without sacrificing my desire to hop straight into the combat and spectacular world. I must admit my eagerness got the better of me at the beginning as I failed initially to appreciate the brilliant story and level of world-building Flynn: Son of Crimson establishes right from the get-go. Luckily, I found myself getting more and more invested as I played through the first few levels and on a repeat playthrough found myself exploring everything I’d missed on my first outing. There’s an amazing amount of charm poured into this game from each NPC to every musical track ranging from haunting and eerie to inspiring and hopeful.

 

 

Incredibly Engaging Gameplay

As I’ve already mentioned the main thing I was looking for when booting up Flynn: Son of Crimson was engaging and enjoyable combat. Nothing too insane that required my immediate focus 24/7 but more of a relaxed gaming combat experience with moments of powerful enjoyment and concentrated challenge. I’m happy to say that if you’re looking for an experience similar to this then Flynn: Son of Crimson is the game for you! Studio Thuderhorse has done a fantastic job of creating a title that’s super engaging yet easily accessible if you choose to put the controller down for a few days/weeks and want to dive straight back in.

 

 

On top of this, the combat feels super rewarding! There’s a real art to balancing fun to fight enemies with the player’s desire to feel in control of the situation. Thankfully, the combination of short-ranged weapon combat with long-range magic allows for the player to tackle most situations in the way they see fit. I would be lying however if I said the game doesn’t encourage you to get up close and personal and mechanics like the dodge roll and stun-meter really make close encounters an absolute joy to partake in. Whilst I mentioned the game is overall a really laid back experience that doesn’t mean there isn’t a challenge if you go looking for it. Numerous challenge areas have you pitted against a large assortment of enemies you’ll encounter throughout the game and they’re the real test for any player looking for that bit more.

 

 

Looks And Sounds As Good As It Plays

Flynn: Son of Crimson was visually beautiful from the very first time I was greeted by the start-up screen. Each world, character and comic-style cutscene is filled with a flawless creative vision that never once fell short for me. In fact, it’s the game’s art, coupled with the score and gameplay that had me reminiscing on the platformers I played when growing up. Each new world presented a visually consistent yet completely unique art setting and at times I found myself stopping at various points to just admire the care and beauty put into every little detail. You can check out some of the amazing enviornmental art below!

Jacob Lincke’s soundtrack accompanies all of the above in what is overall a truly phenomenal and highly listenable experience. Every world and character’s theme harkens back to what made these types of platformer titles so memorable. It’s no surprise that tracks such as Son of Crimson and Hollow’s Reach are the most listened to pieces on the soundtrack’s Spotify. They encapsulate the hopeful vision and world of Flynn and help create an atmosphere that has you yearning to revisit these areas at one point or another. Tracks like The Scourge do a fantastic job at creating an eerie and foreboding atmosphere that constantly has you on edge and it’s what kept me picking up that controller each time I went back to play more.

Conclusion

Flynn: Son of Crimson is a beautifully crafted love letter to action platformers of old. Its pixel-perfect art coupled with engaging gameplay and awe-inspiring score makes it a truly incredible playthrough that’s definitely worth your attention. You can purchase Flynn: Son of Crimson on Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, Humble and GOG for €19.99. It is also available on Xbox Game Pass.

We were provided with a PC game code for Flynn: Son of Crimson for review purposes, but this does not affect the authenticity of the praise or criticism the game received. If you’d like to keep up to date with all of our upcoming reviews, news, and features here at Gaming Sandbox, feel free to follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. If you’d like to support us financially you can do so by following the link to our Patreon!

Reviewed on: PC
Developer: Studio Thunderhorse
Publisher: Humble Games