I’m Conall McCloud Of The Clan McCloud
HIGH Greatly-paced platforming action.
LOW A few too many repetitive scenarios.
WTF Surprisingly well-researched Celtic mythology.
These days, few remember that Blizzard — now famous for RPGs and MMORPGs — actually developed several platformers in the ’90s. In one, The Lost Vikings, the player had to constantly switch between three different characters in order to solve puzzles, kill enemies and progress. Clan o’Conall uses a similar idea, but with a Celtic background.
Developed by HitGrab studio, this title offers a rather interesting mixture of 2D running and jumping, along with fighting enemies and solving puzzles. The player will also have to switch between Kilcannon the swordmaster, the huntress Clakshot, and the brute, Haggish.
While all three can easily dispose of basic foes, the swordmaster is naturally useful for disposing of tougher enemies, the huntress can be used for targeting distant foes and also activating buttons. The brute, on the other hand, can destroy walls and hurl bombs to dispose of obstacles.
The flow between solving puzzles and fighting enemies is generally well done, with a good balance of difficulty that I think will be approachable to a wide range of players. It might even be seen as a bit too ‘friendly’ at times — this is not a title that seems to be seeking a hardcore audience, and that is absolutely fine with me. However, there were a few irritating instances when the three will be forced to fight a constant wave of enemies while stuck on a single screen.
Graphically, Clan o’Conall looks pretty amazing — with hand-drawn backgrounds and cartoonish sprites, it’s reminiscent of something that might be seen on Cartoon Network. Musically, players can expect a goodly amount of Celtic tunes, which don’t overstay their welcome and accompany the action well.
There’s not much to complain about in Clan o’ Conall — the developers have successfully managed to put together a pleasing side-scrolling action-platformer that looks amazing, plays well and manages to implement a neat multi-character system. This one might not break new ground, but there’s no question that it’s a win.
Disclosures: This game is developed and published by HitGrab studio. It is currently available on PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on PC. Approximately 5 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode and the game was not completed. There are no multiplayer modes.
Parents: The game is not rated by the ESRB, but it contains moderate violence and mild horror. However, the overall tone doesn’t get more violent than an average cartoon show, so I would recommend it to players of ages twelve and up.
Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available
Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: All cutscenes are subtitled, but text cannot be resized or altered. There are no audio cues needed for play. In my view, the game is fully accessible.
Remappable Controls: The game is controlled via keyboard or joypad, with several keys being used for switching between the various characters, dodging and attacking. Controls are remappable.
Years later, he got the idea that he was the most Sega-knowledgeable person in the world, so he opened a website in 1997, The Genesis Temple.
He's a sucker for great stories in gaming, he loves adventure and indie titles, but he never shies away from action and triple-A RPGs.
Damiano's been writing about videogames for 20 years, with no plans to stop. Say hi to him on Twitter at @damgentemp, or on his blog https://genesistemple.com (now dedicated to the history of video game design).
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