The Legend of Tianding PS5 review. Though Metroidvania efforts have seemingly been ten a penny since the great console indie revolution of the late 2000s and beyond, it’s fair to say that only a chosen few have truly nailed the formula while also meaningfully iterating upon it in their own way. The latest entry in the genre, The Legend of Tianding puts its best foot forward as it not only echoes the mechanics of a genre great in Drinkbox Studios superb Guacamelee!, but it also brings players a completely fresh setting that just hasn’t been done before.

A Solidly Constructed Metroidvania That Draws Inspiration From Guacamelee!

The Legend of Tianding is loosely based on the life and times of Liao Tianding, a Taiwanese Robin Hood styled figure that did everything he could to foil the Japanese rule of Taiwan at the turn of the nineteenth century. The Legend of Tianding (itself actually a remake of a web browser game that released all the way back in 2004), takes this story and runs wild with it, as the story of its heroic characters and dastardly colonial villains all unfold against a delectable comic book veneer and a super clean looking game world.

Casting players as the titular Taiwanese folk hero, The Legend of Tianding is a side-scrolling platforming action adventure where the action takes place against a two dimensional perspective, allowing the player to leap, roll and fight their way through its story about a grass roots uprising to an entrenched colonial power….