Ohhhhhhh Milanoir from Good Shepherd Entertainment and Italo Games. The game that almost made me break my Nintendo Switch Pro Controller numerous times. I really wanted to enjoy my journey through the title but the more I played the more frustrating the game got. The only time I honestly found myself enjoying my play-through in the slightest bit was when no vehicles were involved to progress. Each chapter normally ended with a boss fight that required some pain in the ass process that needed to be done so you can come out on top. Yet, to get to the boss you had to drive some sort of vehicle as part of a chapter or even during boss fights. Which brings me to my next point… CONTROLS.
Maybe it is because I have big hands but playing on hand held mode with the Switch gave me too many problems. With reload and shooting being in both “R” buttons, I found my fingers hurting after just a few minutes of intense gun fights. Aiming wasn’t the easiest either. You navigate with your normal left analog stick but you control a circle aim icon with the right analog stick. That Aimer could be pointed anywhere on the screen to shoot any enemies that were open. That part wasn’t too bad on normal walking missions but controlling the car with the left stick and aiming the gun with the right on driving mission was tough. I found myself having a hard time juggling driving, aiming, shooting, and reloading all at the same damn time on those parts. The pro controller for the switch did make life a bit easier but was still a hassle during driving missions.
Graphically the game has its own art style that honestly was quite impressive. Nothing like I have ever seen from an Indy title. Environments are pretty detailed considering the pixelated art style. Each chapter had their own distinct feel which was great.
Story was nothing too fancy. An angry Italian gangster trying to kill everyone who got in his way and get his revenge on whoever betrayed him. The first 10-15 minutes were a blast, and even a bit comical with who your first target was and what she was into. I honestly enjoyed myself until the first driving mission came through. With how tricky everything was on this one mission alone is when my fustrstion first kicked in. After that each chapter had a part where it always tested my patience. By the end I was completely over how damned hard the journey was.
Playing games should never be a walk in a park. I enjoy a challenge. That’s half of the fun of playing video games, but the challenges that faced me throughout Milanoir always felt like a chore and never felt fun to me.
I honestly tried my hardest to enjoy Milanoir. I kept grinding though and every time I found myself getting angry at a boss so much so that I kept asking myself “What is the damn point, I’m not even having fun?!”. Milanoir could be a great title IF you have amazing patience and enjoy frustrating challenges; but that is something I couldn’t seem to find with this game. What the game had in style lacked in playability.
Sanchino’s Score:
The Valkyrie queen in God of War was less frustrating than this whole game.
