The Messenger (2018 video game)

Did You Know?

• A downloadable content expansion called Picnic Panic was launched on July 11, 2019.
• The prequel Sea of Stars, a turn-based role-playing game, was released in August 2023.
• The Messenger won the Best Debut Indie Game award at The Game Awards 2018.

Gameplay

The Messenger is an action platformer inspired by the Ninja Gaiden series. Players control a ninja who can run, jump, attack with a sword, and perform Cloudstepping—an extra mid-air jump after striking an enemy or object. As the game progresses, the ninja gains abilities such as wall climbing and a rope dart for propulsion. Time Shards, earned by defeating enemies or exploring, can be used to purchase upgrades like destroying projectiles. Upon death, a demon named Quarble revives the player at the last checkpoint and then follows them, automatically collecting Time Shards as payment. The game initially presents a linear level-based adventure split between an 8-bit past and a 16-bit future. Later, it becomes a Metroidvania-style game where the player revisits both eras in any order, using warps to change level layouts and access new areas. Forty-five green medallions are hidden as optional collectibles.

Plot

The game begins in a ninja village that foretells a prophecy of a Western Hero saving them from demons. When the Demon King attacks, the Western Hero repels him and gives a scroll to a ninja, appointing him as the Messenger to deliver it to the top of a mountain. A blue-robed shopkeeper aids the Messenger with upgrades. At the mountain top, blue-robed figures send the Messenger 500 years into the future to defeat the Demon King's general, Barma'thazël. After defeating him and circumnavigating the world, the Messenger saves his village from another attack and realizes he is the Western Hero. He passes the scroll to a soldier and becomes a blue-robe merchant. When the new Messenger dies due to the shopkeeper's negligence, the blue-robes task the Messenger with collecting magical notes of a music box by traveling between past and future. After collecting all notes and defeating the Demon King, the shopkeeper explains that the music box imprisons Phantom, cursed by the Demon King. The curse links to the demon realm, causing invasions every 500 years. Phantom created the scroll with time magic to create a cycle of Messengers. The Messenger enters the music box, frees Phantom, and destroys the curse's manifestation.

Development and release

The Messenger was created by Quebec City-based Sabotage Studio. Lead designer Thierry Boulanger created an early prototype in 2008 while studying programming. After his employer rejected the concept, Boulanger spent six months on a prototype made of grey blocks and a placeholder figure, which he showed to Martin Brouard. Impressed, Brouard quit his job, and both co-founded Sabotage Studio. Boulanger cited Ninja Gaiden and Chrono Trigger as inspirations, wanting a ninja protagonist for their ambiguous personality. The concepts of the ninja, scroll, and 8-bit-to-16-bit style shift remained, but the game was fundamentally altered many times. The developers emphasized movement mastery for speedrunners and added self-aware humor through dialogue, which players could skip. The score was composed by Eric W. Brown under the alias Rainbowdragoneyes. He composed each song individually for both 8-bit and 16-bit styles, using Famitracker for 8-bit and DefleMask for 16-bit music. Sabotage Studio crunched to avoid competing with AAA games for press attention. The Messenger was first released for Windows and Nintendo Switch on August 30, 2018, with PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions following in 2019 and 2020.

Reception

The Messenger received generally favorable reviews on Metacritic. Critics praised the dialogue for its self-aware tone and humor, with the shopkeeper's characterization especially highlighted. The controls were described as responsive and well-designed. The artstyle and music were widely praised; the chiptune score was compared favorably to Shovel Knight, and the sprite design was called simple but well-animated. The transition between 8-bit and 16-bit aesthetics was also praised. Bosses were received positively for challenging players in unique ways and for their detailed contrast with the art. The character Quarble received a negative response, with critics finding his dialogue annoying rather than humorous, though the death penalty was not seen as significant. Critics were divided on the pacing: some praised the transition to Metroidvania style as engaging, while others described the later half as slower and more repetitive. Polygon noted the game improved as it progressed but felt the best parts were hidden behind challenging mechanics.