So I don’t have any problem proudly admitting that I was born in the 80s. January 1982 to be exact … so I’m pretty old and often find myself reminiscing over cool cartoons, movies, and TV shows from my childhood.
Enter He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Dragon Pearl of Destruction, an upcoming retro-inspired 2D brawler based on the popular 80s TV series. Developer Bitmap Bureau has partnered with Mattel and Limited Run Games to work on this project. Since this was revealed at Gamescom Opening Night Live, I’ve been eager to spend some hands-on time with it. I did exactly that at PAX West. Here are some brief thoughts on this title and my overall experience.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Dragon Pearl of Destruction is Mattel’s latest project, celebrating an iconic franchise and designed to cater to dedicated fans and newcomers alike. Players take on the role of He-Man, Teela, Man-At-Arms, and several other characters as they prevent Skeletor and Evil-Lyn from taking over Eternia. The game will have over 12 levels, and each character has unique moves, abilities, and power-ups at their disposal.
The PAX West demo showcased one level from the game with enemy encounters and a boss battle. The character selection choices included He-Man or Teela. Unfortunately, multiplayer wasn’t available during this session due to the limited space at each gaming kiosk.
The first thing that stood out to me was the beautiful pixel art animation and retro-stylized visuals. This felt very much like a game you could play in an arcade setting, and I think it will translate nicely to those who plan to play on PC or console when the game drops next year. Bitmap Bureau has another anticipated game in Terminator 2D: No Fate, an action sidescroller coming to consoles and PC next month. This will give players an idea of their signature art style ahead of He-Man, so they know what to expect.
The controls were very straightforward and accessible for anyone interested in checking out the game. For this particular demo build, the enemies were easy to defeat. I’m not sure if this will be tweaked further in the final build, but my guess is it will, along with some expected difficulty setting options. While I didn’t encounter any performance issues, there was one instance where I attacked and defeated an enemy off-screen. Once again, these are the types of things I expect from an early build of the game, and I’m sure it won’t be an issue moving forward.
While this demo was short, I walked away very satisfied, and I believe this will be another 2D brawler worth keeping on your radar. There are several other characters that I didn’t get to see or play as yet, and I look forward to seeing how they are implemented in the game.
He-Man is definitely in the midst of a resurgence, with a movie also coming next year, so this game will no doubt be released at the right time. Stay tuned for more details on He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Dragon Pearl of Destruction in the months ahead, and let us know if you’re looking forward to the game in the comments below.
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