Ginger: Beyond the Crystal Review

Developer: Drakhar Studios

Publisher: BadLand Games

Release Date: October 25, 2016

Platforms: PS4 (reviewed), Xbox One, Windows PC, Mac

From the onset, Ginger: Beyond the Crystal is not afraid to flaunt its platforming inspirations. With the 3D platforming renaissance coming in the form of Yooka-Laylee, it would be fantastic if a game like Ginger could come along and surprise us with a standout performance. It would be great if this game could teleport us back to a time when the only thing we had to worry about was hitting double jump at exactly the right time to clear an obstacle or chasm. Ginger: Beyond the Crystal could have been that game, but it’s bogged down by too many problems.

For The Crystals

As the title implies, you play as Ginger. When the world is threatened by unknown forces, you as the protagonist must restore order to the world by purifying the crystals which have been corrupted to re-establish a connection with the goddess who protects their world. After a brief tutorial, you set off on your way. Unfortunately, there’s no driving force in the story, rather an obligation.  The lore of the world slowly fades into the background of the game until it is all but forgotten. Also, those uninterested in the story will be unhappy to find the game doesn’t let you skip text. Sometimes the game lets you skip text, but honestly, it’s hard to figure out what determined skippable versus unskippable text: You never really know whether you can skip the text, and most of the time you end up skipping the entire scene by accident.

While exploring, there are three hub worlds, each with different stages which need to be cleared. Ginger takes a unique approach to this by populating these towns with villagers who have been transported far away. You need to rescue them by sacrificing little blue crystals you collect on the individual stages to a giant crystal in the middle of every map. You are then demanded by the villagers to build them houses and buy them cosmetic items to make them happy. It’s a neat, little idea intended to break up the monotony of endlessly jumping/attacking enemies and makes the hub worlds feel significant.

Gameplay Issues

Where Ginger really falters, though, is its gameplay, mainly combat. Ginger himself has standing regular and special attacks, a jumping attack, and a special dash. The only reliable method of dispatching foes is through the jumping attack, and this is only because it creates a visible shockwave. There is no aural or tactile feedback, nor is there any controller vibration, so being certain you have landed a hit is always an issue, and Ginger’s range when using standing attacks are minimal with poor animation. It’s almost impossible to use either of these attacks and not get hit by the enemy you want to kill in the process. The dash attack is hopelessly hard to aim, making it equally useless unless you are trying to get somewhere faster; when you add all these things together, combat is simply not fun in Ginger. In fact, it detracts from the experience substantially.

Platforming does not fare much better but is at least functional. A few times, however, I did fall through an object or part of the environment, and while the platforming felt solid enough with a double jump, the jumps can feel hard to gauge due to the camera. While it could be a little more challenging, the platforming ultimately feels right.

Gingerly Glitching

Ginger: Beyond The Crystal has some instances of promise, but inexplicably falls short in its coding. I had to repeat levels multiple times because of falling through the ground when trying to make a well-placed jump. On the actual stage levels separate from the hub worlds, the camera switches to a side-scroller perspective which Ginger can move through. These stages are not fun because you can try to make a jump, only to misjudge where the actual platform is and fall to your death. The final nail in the coffin, though, were the loading screens. Each time you move out of the hub world or die, the game enters a loading screen which can last anywhere from 30 seconds to three to five minutes—yes 3-5 minutes! This is unacceptable, especially for a platformer which requires a good sense of momentum to keep you engaged.

Luckily, the visual style is charming and will bring you back to the classic platformers of old. The art style is cute and cuddly, and there’s no true problem, other than the framerate which drops pretty significantly at times. Navigating the hub worlds is frustrating and choppy at times, whereas some levels play smooth and clean. Large drops in performance can cause frustrating deaths and an unpleasant game experience, although dying is pretty much negligible because there is no life counter or game overs.

Overall, it’s disappointing to think of what Ginger: Beyond the Crystal could have been. It could’ve truly been something special and worth investing time into.  However, it stumbles in far too many places and the lack of polish significantly hampers the fun to be had. The glaring design flaws will make you wonder if the game was ready for release. In the end, if you are starving for a 3D platformer in preparation for Yooka-Laylee, Ginger will most likely suffice.