Laika: Aged Through Blood is an action-adventure Metroidvania video game developed by Brainwash Gang and published by Headup Games. The game was released on October 19, 2023, on Microsoft Windows,[2] with ports for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, being released on December 5.[3][4][5] A Nintendo Switch port was originally set for a release on January 11, 2024, but was delayed indefinitely.[6]
| Laika: Aged Through Blood | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Brainwash Gang |
| Publisher(s) | Headup Games |
| Artist(s) | Ivan Papiol |
| Composer(s) | Beícoli |
| Engine | Unity[1] |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | Windows
|
| Genre(s) | Metroidvania, action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Development edit
Laika: Aged Through Blood is developed by Brainwash Gang, an independent game development studio from Spain that has also created Friends vs Friends. The game was first announced in November 2021 for Windows and home consoles albeit no release date or specific consoles was given.[7] During the Future Games Show Summer Showcase in June 2023, Laika was re-revealed and was released in 2023 for Steam and all major platforms,[8] except for the Switch port which is set to release later.[5]
Synopsis edit
Setting edit
The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by anthropomorphic animals of various species. Hundreds of years ago, the Birds declared themselves biologically superior, and swept across the land in conquest and harvesting of all resources. Eventually the rampant consumption of resources and the escalation of war turned the world into a wasteland where the few remaining people hide from the patrolling Bird soldiers.
The main character Laika is a coyote mother with a cursed bloodline. The females in her family are immortal until they pass it down to their daughters when they first Bleed, along with the ability to talk to ghosts of the recently deceased. Because of her immortality, Laika is the guardian of her town Where We Live and the only person allowed to leave to gather supplies and fight off Birds.
Story edit
Laika hears that a child from her town, Poochie, has been crucified by the Birds. Poochie's father, Jakob, in a fit of blind rage took Laika's revolver to confront them. Laika follows Jakob to the military base Where Birds Lurk to retrieve her gun. As Laika takes back her revolver from dying Jakob, she finds out the Birds are experimenting with the genes of prehistoric animals and weaponizing them. After successfully defeating one of the Birds' mutations, Laika takes Jakob's body back to Where We Live.
After Jakob's funeral, Laika's mother Maya worries that Laika is coddling her daughter Puppy, wanting Puppy to be trained in combat and biking before she becomes of age to inherit Laika's immortality. However, Laika believes that Puppy is too young and should enjoy the innocence of youth a little longer. All the while, Puppy worries for Poochie since his body was never recovered and his soul cannot rest without a proper burial. Finding out the Birds are moving closer and closer to Where They Live, the village Elder orders Laika to seek an alliance with Where Rocks Bleed, a large mining town of mole people. After clearing the town of invading Birds and their mutated weapons, she finds that all but three mole-people have been killed or fled into hiding.
Next, the village Elder ordered Laika to disrupt the Birds' communication by destroying their relay station inside the Lighthouse. Pretending to be a maintenance worker, she hitches a ride on Roy's ship to the Birds' naval base Where Water Glistens. Realizing that Laika is lying, the Birds and Laika fight, and Roy is shot in the process. Laika succeeds in destroying the Lighthouse as Roy dies from his wounds.
The Elder's next order was for Laika to go to Where Birds Came From and destroy The Big Tree, a pyramid cathedral that holds historic and religious value to the Birds in hopes of crippling their leadership and morale. With the help of Orella, a historian who has been working for the Birds, Laika successfully navigates and topples The Big Tree and kills the Birds' religious leader, Pope Melva VIII. Distraught from taking part in the destruction of art and history, Orella hangs herself. In her death, Orella warns Laika that her actions have only escalated the war since not only have the Birds taken notice to Laika, but the Pope she killed was the weakest in history and would surely be replaced by someone much stronger.
Laika returns to Where They Live with the grave news, angry at the orders of the Elder since they have achieved nothing but increased presence of Birds in the Wasteland. All the while, Puppy shows signs of stubborn adolescence and anger towards her mother for not finding Poochie's body. The next morning, Laika finds out Puppy ran away from home in search of Poochie's body. After searching for clues, she finds out that one of the townsfolk sold Puppy to Beícoli, a singer exiled from Where We Live. After confronting and killing Beícoli, Laika finds out Puppy was about to be transported to "Heaven" because the Birds know about Laika's immortality and want to experiment on it. Laika takes Puppy back, apologizing for not recognizing her child's worries. Puppy then suffers from high fevers, a sign that she is soon to Bleed. Maya worries that Puppy may either die from her fevers, leaving Laika with no next-of-kin, or inherit the immortality too early, leaving Puppy in an escalating war with no training, so Laika goes off to end to war as soon as possible.
With the help of the local technician Shaza, Laika finds out that the "Heaven" the Birds refer to is a Floating City where the elite class live along with the new Pope resides. Laika receives help from Pluck, the leader of a group of pacifist Birds who have heard of the exploits of the "Grim Rider" and help her enter the Floating City. Pluck warns her that the City is currently holding a celebration where they would soon drop the Egg, which will eradicate all life in the Wastelands leaving only the Birds in The Floating City alive. While entering the city, Pluck is killed and Laika is captured.
Laika is placed in an arena in front of onlooking Birds and the new Pope, The Two-Beaked God. The God reveals to have been experimenting with genetic-mutations in hopes of creating super soldiers and more evolved Birds, and hoping to kill Laika to obtain her immortality for himself. After successfully killing The Two-Beaked God, the Egg was dropped. Laika hears from back home that Puppy's fever has subsided and she is now Bleeding, meaning that Puppy has taken Laika's immortality. Laika jumps towards the Egg to destroy it, leaving her last words to Puppy to learn from her mother's mistakes. The Egg successfully destroyed with Laika being caught in the detonation and the game ends with a funeral held for Laika.
Reception edit
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The game received generally favorable reviews on Metacritic.[9]
References edit
- ^ Saver, Michael; Pung, Julia; Stanton, Devon (January 4, 2024). "Made with Unity: 2023 in review". Unity Technologies. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
- ^ Romano, Sal (October 6, 2023). "Laika: Aged Through Blood for PC launches October 19". Gematsu. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
- ^ Romano, Sal (June 10, 2023). "Laika: Aged Through Blood 'Reveal' trailer". Gematsu. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
- ^ Orpheus, Joshua (June 10, 2023). "Motorcycle Metroidvania 'Laika: Aged Through Blood' Announced for Consoles & PC; Features a "Badass Mother Coyote Rider" Seeking Vengeance". Noisy Pixel. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
- ^ a b Romano, Sal (November 30, 2023). "Laika: Aged Through Blood launches December 5 for PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, and Xbox One; January 11, 2024 for Switch". Gematsu. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
- ^ Reynolds, Ollie (January 10, 2024). "Critically Acclaimed 'Motorvania' Laika: Aged Through Blood Gets Last-Minute Switch Delay". Nintendo Life. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
- ^ Romano, Sal (November 10, 2021). "Western-inspired 'motorvania' Laika: Aged Through Blood announced for console, PC". Gematsu. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
- ^ West, Josh (June 10, 2023). "Laika: Aged Through Blood is what you'd get if Trials were a beautiful hand-painted metroidvania". GamesRadar+. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
- ^ "Laika: Aged Through Blood". Metacritic. Retrieved December 20, 2023.