Infernax

Infernax is a 2D action-adventure game developed by Berzerk Studio and published by The Arcade Crew. The game follows the knight Alcedor, who finds his village overrun by monsters upon returning from the Crusades. Infernax received generally favorable reviews. Infernax is a 2D action-adventure game where the player controls the knight Alcedor, who finds his village overrun by monsters upon returning from the Crusades. The player wields a shield and mace, which can be upgraded as the player progresses through the game. The goal of Infernax is to defeat the enemies within five different castles and destroy the gems inside of them. Once the player destroys all five gems, the last castle is unlocked, containing the final boss of the game.Infernax features multiple endings, with the player's actions determining the ending they receive. Infernax was developed by Canadian game studio Berzerk Studio. The game was also added to the Xbox Game Pass library on the same day. Infernax was primarily influenced by Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, but also took inspiration from the accounts of knights such as Jean de Joinville and historical accounts from the Battle of Agincourt. Cunningham stated that the difficulty of the game was appealing, writing that Infernax "knows when to go hard and when to back off". Shaun Musgrave of TouchArcade praised the solid gameplay mechanics, and said that the fundamentals were "done properly". Jordan Rudek from Nintendo World Report gave the game a 9/10, calling the game's pacing "excellent" and the gameplay "simple, but fun". However, Rudek criticized the initial difficulty curve of the game, and said that boss fights "seem much easier than some of the platforming".Game Informer's Wesley LeBlanc scored the game an 8/10, commending the uniqueness of the bosses, the challenging gameplay, describing it as a "fun Castlevania-inspired design".