Wéko The Mask Gatherer Review

An indie reminiscent of the 90s

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Title: Weko The Mask Gatherer

Release: July 26^th, 2024

Platform: PC

Developer: SIRO GAMES Sarl

Publisher: SIRO GAMES Sarl, Hawthron Games

Genre: Action Adventure RPG

ESRB: N/A

Reviewed on: PC

Time Played: 7 Hours

Intro:

Weko The Mask Gatherer evokes old memories of the kind of games I would play on my PlayStation so long ago. With minor similarities to other puzzle games, I enjoyed at that time. I was able to finish the main story after 7 hours of gameplay, with plenty of hours left if I wanted to find everything the game had to offer. I would love to share with you what you can expect from before giving you my final thoughts and ratings for the game.

Where it starts

You wake up in a large mysterious chamber with no prior knowledge of how you ended up there, accompanied by a strange little robot donning the most glorious mustache. After some minor exploration you find your way out, equipped with some healing potions and a weapon, ready to start your adventure and figure out the purpose of being there.

Can the kids watch

The game was full of cute character’s and minor combat sequences, no poor language or extreme graphics to worry about if the kiddos wanted to watch or even play for themselves. I was unable to find a Pegi or ESRB rating for the game but if I were to guess it would end up for everyone.

Weko & Oz

Weko was the character you played as, solving puzzles, collecting items, and fighting off the baddies. Always at his side was Oz, a small robot that would help move the game forward through dialogue. Even with Oz’s help there were places where more guidance was necessary, thankfully there were set characters you could revisit to give some words of wisdom about your current objective.

Defending Yourself

While on your adventure you will come across plenty of beings who will not take kindly to your presence. Depending on their abilities they may come right at you swinging a weapon, or stay away and attempt to shoot projectiles. Weko will be equipped with a weapon and shield, able to block and attack, or even dodge out of the way if neither was an option. As you move forward in the game you will unlock new fighting techniques with various masks.

Masks

You could find a lot of different masks from merchants or hidden chests throughout the world. The various masks give different bonuses like increasing stats and giving abilities. You could only equip three stat masks, one shield mask, and one ability mask. The ability masks were required for some puzzles or blockages, making them a requirement to beat the game.

Souls

After defeating enemies and opening chests you would receive souls, the currency of the land. There was only one merchant, found in multiple areas, with a few items available at each location. They only sold one of everything, so they were sold out very quickly. There wasn’t a skill tree or anything like that to spend souls on, instead after progressing the game you would come across two characters that would increase your max health or endurance, for more souls each time you asked.

Helping the helpless

As you move through the game you will have one main quest to accomplish, with plenty of people on the side who would love your assistance. Some would ask for minor tasks like rounding up the little animals around a village, while others would have you go on a lengthy fetch quest encompassing a large area. For instance, someone would want a mic to sing out of, another person would give you a mic for a bottle of glue, and the search would go on, waiting for you to find the right item and meet the right person.

Puzzles

You would find quite a few small puzzles stopping you from moving forward. Not terribly complicated affairs, but still fun to figure out. You may run into the same kind of puzzle in certain areas, but overall, there were a lot of differing situations involving multiple ability masks to get through. It was fun solving puzzles without having to think too hard and be stuck for a while.

Outro:

I would love to hear your thoughts on the game, if you’ve played it or just seen some gameplay, so please, tell me all about it in the comments as we move forward to the ratings.

Weko the mask gatherer was very reminiscent of games like spyro or legend of Zelda, not quite as in depth as those games, but there were some similarities. It felt like the type of game I would definitely go through and do everything, if I was young and had all the time in the world. I found the characters and interactions lighthearted and entertaining, a great experience all around.

The visuals were good enough to tell what I was looking at and where I was going. The differing locations didn’t look alike, they were unique to themselves within the world, it’s getting a 3.

The story was very interesting. Seeing how the world was affected by the actions of a nefarious being years in the past and fixing the problems that arose because I was special for unknown reasons was great. The story ended with questions but nothing so big that I was annoyed thinking about it, I enjoyed how it all came together, it’s getting a 4.

Gameplay worked smoothly; I didn’t have many issues getting through the game. There were some combat sequences I found tedious and “unfair” if you will. One shot kills from a boss are the worst, especially during a lengthy fight. And I feel like it would be an amazing addition to the game if I could hot swap ability masks with one button changing them out, instead of having to go into my inventory every time. I’m giving it a 3.

As much as I enjoyed the game, replayability isn’t there. It may be short and sweet, but it doesn’t offer an experience I would want to do over and over again. I felt satisfied with the game as the credits rolled out, that’s a 1.

There was plenty of fun to be had in the game, especially if you do a lot of the side stuff available. Playing with cute little animals or flying through side zones, it was all an enjoyable experience. I’m feeling a 3.

Earning Weko the mask gatherer an average score of 2.8 out of 5. Placing it on the high end of the mid shelf. A very impressive indie game, great for all ages. If you played a lot of playstation games back in the late 90s you may want to check this out for that nostalgic itch. I feel the entire experience with worth the asking price.