Enslaved: Odyssey to the West hits PC, with a stick

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West hails from 2010, an era of over-enthusiastic bloom effects, when Uncharted 2 ruled as the go-to model for third person platforming.

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West hails from 2010, an era of over-enthusiastic bloom effects, when Uncharted 2 ruled as the go-to model for third person platforming. It's prescriptive clambering sections may lack the fluidity of the Prince of Persia and Uncharted games that inspired them, and the stick-heavy combat is reminiscent of Beyond Good and Evil, but it is set in a glowing, colourful post-apocalypse that warrants exploration, especially at a budget price.

Also, you play a guy called Monkey. Yes, a warrior called Monkey wielding a stick. That may remind some of a certain television series. Both are based on Wu Cheng'en's Chinese novel, Journey to the West, the story of a Buddhist monk's pilgrimage to retrieve important Buddhist scriptures. In Enslaved the monk, Tripitaka, is a young woman trying to reach her home town, and the whole thing is set 150 years in the future, in post-apocalyptic New York overrun by mechs.

It's a game with neat ideas, then, helped by Ninja Theory's satisfying thwunk-heavy combat and lead performances from Andy Serkis, of Gollum fame, and Lindsey Shaw. Enslaved is on Steamnow for £15 / $20, and comes with the "Pigsy's Perfect 10" DLC mission. It looks a bit like this: