Infernax is the adventures of a great knight who returns to his homeland only to find it plagued with unholy magic. Uncover the mysteries of the curse and face the consequences of your actions.
Players progress through the interconnected world by uncovering new areas, finding upgrades, and overcoming challenging platforming and combat encounters. The sprawling castle-like overworld features various dungeons and secret areas to discover. As players explore, they can unlock new abilities and spells that grant access to previously inaccessible regions. This sense of rewarding progression through careful navigation and backtracking is a core part of the gameplay experience.
The game presents players with a variety of moral dilemmas, ranging from whether to help or harm non-player characters to deciding the fate of entire villages. These choices have a tangible impact on the game world, unlocking new paths, quests, and endings based on the player's actions. The ability to make impactful choices and see how they reshape the narrative incentivizes multiple playthroughs.
The combat is challenging but fair, requiring players to carefully time their attacks and defensive maneuvers to overcome the game's ruthless enemies. Enemies have diverse attack patterns that players must learn to counter effectively. Boss battles, in particular, are praised for their intense, demanding nature, testing players' mastery of the game's platforming and combat mechanics. While the difficulty can be punishing at times, players appreciate the sense of accomplishment that comes from overcoming these obstacles.
The game's pixel art visuals, chiptune soundtrack, and challenging, deliberate gameplay evoke a nostalgic, retro feel that resonates with many players. The adherence to old-school design principles, such as the lack of checkpoints in dungeons, contributes to the game's difficulty but also aligns with the expectations of fans of classic Metroidvania and action-RPG experiences.
Players can tailor their character's progression through a leveling system that allows them to invest in different attributes, such as health, mana, and damage. This, combined with the game's multiple endings and optional playable characters, enhances the overall replayability. Players can experiment with different build choices and moral approaches to uncover the various narrative paths and secrets the game has to offer, extending the gameplay experience.