Chronicles of the Wolf from PQube, Migami Games, and PixelHeart is an old-school-style Metroidvania inspired by 2D action classics of ages past. Learn more in our Chronicles of the Wolf review!

 

Chronicles of the Wolf from PQube and Migami Games is an old-school-style Metroidvania inspired by 2D action classics of ages past. The game places you in the role of Mateo Lombardo. You’re the last apprentice of the Rose Cross Order and have been tasked with hunting down the infamous Beast of Gévaudan. The Rose Cross Order is in charge of protecting humanity from the horrors that go bump in the darkness. Unfortunately, the Beast of Gévaudan completely destroyed your group, leaving you behind as the only survivor. You’ll need to explore each area as you talk to the locals, collecting new weapons and items to aid you on your adventure, all while trying to stay alive. There are monsters of all shapes and sizes that will try to stop you, and that’s without even considering the bosses that will certainly test your skills.

Yes, as you can tell from the trailer and screens in this Chronicles of the Wolf review, the big inspiration is the beloved Castlevania series, especially the one title that popularized the Metroid blueprint into what we now know as the Metroidvania genre by adding RPG elements to the formula. I’m a big fan of the genre, getting my start with the original Metroid on the NES and having a lot of fun with the most recent entry, Metroid Dread, on Nintendo Switch.

Between 1986, when Metroid was released for Nintendo’s original home console, to 2021, when Metroid Dread launched and beyond, I’ve had a chance to play and review many Metroidvania games, such as SteamWorld Dig, Rusted Moss, ULTROS, Axiom Verge 2, combo release La Mulana 1+2, Shantae and the Seven Sirens, Guacamelee! 2, Alwa’s Awakening, Blade Chimera, Guns of Fury, ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist, Nine Sols, Yars Rising, Cookie Cutter, Blasphemous 2, Teslagrad 2, and Gunbrella, just to name some examples, so I was definitely up for taking Chronicles of the Wolf for a spin.

 

Once you jump into action, you’ll be taking control of Mateo Lombardo by using the left analog stick or the D-Pad, as you jump by pressing the B button, attacking by pressing the Y button. If you press and hold down the Y button, you can perform a charge attack, which will use up some of the Blue Orbs you’ve collected. You can use sub-weapons by pressing the D-Pad and the Y button at the same time. This will also use up some of the Blue Orbs you’ve collected. Use special attacks by pressing up on the D-Pad and the X button, which will use up some of your Mana.

You can call your Ghost Helper by pressing the A button. You will find a ghost to aid you early in the game after locating a set of missing tools. His name is Damien Couture. When you call upon its help, you’ll exchange some of your Mana for a boost to your overall strength over a short period of time. Once you have more than one Ghost Helper to call upon, you can switch between them by pressing up on the D-Pad and the A button. Since this is a Metroidvania, you’ll need to check your map by pressing the + button so that you can have a better idea of where it is that you should be going next.

As you defeat enemies and bosses, you’ll be rewarded for your efforts with experience points. Once you’ve collected enough, you’ll get a chance to level up. When this happens, you’ll gain a boost to some of your stat parameters so that you can have a better chance of surviving the attacks from the deadly monsters that you’ll run into. You can gain a boost to your max HP and max Mana, as well as to your attack, defense, luck, and critical hit stats. The jump in stat values between each level certainly makes a difference, so grinding for some extra experience points every now and then for a new level up is definitely worth it!

You can make good use of the gold that you collect by visiting a merchant and buying some items to help you with your quest. You could get an Antidote to counter the effects of poison or purchase a High Potion to recover a good chunk of your lost health. Buy a Red Potion to remove disable. You could also purchase a map of the region to give you a better idea of where you should be exploring next. There’s also the option of buying new weapons and equipment in order to boost your stat values so that you can deal more damage to the monsters you’ll be fighting against.

You won’t be able to explore every section in the game right away. That is, after all, the nature of a Mettoidvania release! You’ll have to first collect some relics that will grant you additional abilities that will slowly but surely open up new areas for you to explore. One such example is the Earth Bell, a relic that will allow you to slide by pressing down on the D-Pad and the B button. This ability will make it possible to get through some tight spots.

There’s an Enemy Char section you should visit every now and then. Every enemy and boss that you defeat will be added to it as you progress through the game. By checking their corresponding entries, you’ll be able to view their name, overall HP, attack, and defense stat values, how much experience you get when defeating them, how many you’ve defeated so far, the regular items they can drop when defeated, as well as the rare item they might drop if you’re really lucky.

Chronicles of the Wolf is an old-school-style Metroidvania inspired by 2D action classics of ages past. The game places you in the role of Mateo Lombardo. You’re the last apprentice of the Rose Cross Order and have been tasked with hunting down the infamous Beast of Gévaudan. The Rose Cross Order is in charge of protecting humanity from the horrors that go bump in the darkness. Unfortunately, the Beast of Gévaudan completely destroyed your group, leaving you behind as the only survivor. You’ll need to explore each area as you talk to the locals, collecting new weapons and items to aid you on your adventure, all while trying to stay alive. There are monsters of all shapes and sizes that will try to stop you, and that’s without even considering the bosses that will certainly test your skills.

This one has been inspired by the original Metroid and classic entries in the Castlevania series that expanded on that formula by adding RPG elements. The game is even narrated by Robert Belgrade, who, among other roles, you might remember as the voice actor for Alucard in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. There’s also a special appearance by Bloodless from the Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night series, another great Metroidvana that was created by Koji Igarashi – a.k.a. IGA – who worked on Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Chronicles of the Wolf is available on Nintendo Switch with a $19.99 price tag.

Disclaimer
This Chronicles of the Wolf review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by PQube.