You’d be forgiven for not having heard of Lenna’s Inception. It’s the passion project of a couple of game developers who have very obviously been inspired by their love of classic Zelda games, but also their hours of time spent playing games as they grew up. As I said, this is a very obviously Zelda-inspired game, but it has it’s own totally unique identity, enough that it is well worth your attention. Check out the trailer for the game below and read on for more.
A Glitching Kingdom
As with all Zelda games, there’s some sort of huge threat to the kingdom that the hero inhabits. In this case, the kingdom has begun glitching in and out of time and space, with weird anomalies appearing everywhere, and randomising the world. Now the Evil Chairman of the Banker’s Guid has kidnapped the prince, which has made it so much easier for the Archangels to come in and start destroying significant chunks of the kingdom.
The only true hero of the world has been take out of the equation, leaving the world to unravel before the very eyes of everyone living in it. Now however, Lenna, a tutor, must step up to fight this evil and restore order. Using the voice of her deceased elder, who has a little too much information on the current goings on, Lenna must find out how to prevent evil from destroying everything she knows.
Exploration
Just like all the great Zelda games, Lenna’s Inception is a game about exploring a vast open world until you find a dungeon to enter, and a boss to kill. Of course the story adds context to all of this, and it’s a whole lot less random than just walking into every dungeon, but the open world format that made games like the original Zelda and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild so great is here.
There are eight Archangels to find and kill, so that naturally equates to eight bosses. However, like the Zelda franchise, I’m sure there will be bosses that you don’t expect, and even optional ones that can be killed for powerful new gear.
2 Visual Modes
Just like the Halo Master Chief Collection, there are two visual modes to Lenna’s Inception. First you have the 32-bit visual mode, that one you’re used to seeing in games with pixel art. This is definitely the more detailed mode, and is how you’ll want to play the game if you really enjoy looking at the art of the world. If you get bored of that, then you can switch to 8-bit mode, which scales everything down and makes it all look very similar to that first Zelda game. These are the two modes that the world seems to be glitching between, so I’m sure it’ll all become part of the story at some point as well.
Replayability
Lenna’s Inception is going to suck you back in for more than one reason. Firstly, the game has local co-op and online multiplayer. That means you can team up with a mate anywhere and work your way through the story whenever you want to make it feel fresh. Having a helping hand should definitely make those bosses easier.
There are multiple endings, boss forms, and procedural geenration to boot. That means that there’s a whole lot more to see in Lenna’s Inception than there is in most other games. For me this makes it even more enticing, because there’s a lot of content on offer inside what appears to be a tiny indie game package.
Last, but not least, is the challenge of Lenna’s Inception. Yes, you can play through the story over and over again, but there’s also a daily challenge dungeon that offers a new challenge every day. One run might see you trying to get through with just one heart, another with a one-hit kill over your heat, and one without a sword! A GIF of your run is posted to the leaderboard when you finish, dead or alive, so there’s an incentive to do well.
Wishlist Lenna’s Inception here, and let us know if you like it in the comments.
