Asterix & Obelix XXXL: The Ram From Hibernia PC Review

Asterix & Obelix XXXL: The Ram From Hibernia is an action beat-em-up from OSome Studios and published by Microids. It serves as a loose sequel to the PlayStation 2 era XXL games and their more recent remasters.  In Hibernia (present day Ireland), the great Chief Irishcoffix has stood tall against Roman invaders all thanks to his inspiring golden horned ram. However, one day the ram is kidnapped and the Chief becomes crestfallen and unwilling to fight any longer. His daughter, Keratine, heads off to Gaul to recruit her distant relatives: Asterix and Obelix to help defeat the Romans and save both the ram and all of Hibernia.

Asterix & Obelix XXXL: The Ram From Hibernia can be played by one to four players. In a single-player game, one of Asterix or Obelix will be AI controlled though players can freely switch between them. With three or more players Asterix and Obelix will be cloned - there are no additional playable characters. Asterix is slightly faster and can move over some traps and planks without triggering them. Obelix is a bit tougher, but cannot fully traverse all obstacles due to his weight. This means that Asterix will often need to separate and open up a path for Obelix by solving puzzles.
 

 

Despite being up to four players, there is only native local play with the use of extra controllers. Those wanting to play online will need to take extra steps with the use of Steam Family Share, Remote Play Together, and Parsec. Even then, the game can become unresponsive with additional players. There are some rare times when player three or four might suddenly come to a dead halt, and none of their inputs will register.

Controls in Asterix & Obelix XXXL: The Ram From Hibernia are rather simple; there is a light attack, a strong attack, ability to pick up or throw items, and a dash for extra movement or to charge over gaps in the floor. At first, combat may seem way too simplistic. However, players can use nearly every object as a weapon. This includes benches, shields, hammers, and even dizzy Roman soldiers. Every single item has a different attack speed, animation, power, reach, and super move. It becomes very clear that Asterix and Obelix are always meant to have something in hand rather than fight with bare fists.

The AI partner is very often useless in battle. It is normal for them to throw out a few punches and then just sit there acting as a damaged sponge. Many encounters are designed around just one active hero, so it becomes no loss if the computer-controlled ally falls or gets left behind. Still, players should expect to switch regularly if they happen to be playing solo.

Individual Roman soldiers are easy on their own. However, they tend always to come in at least squads of four or more. Their combined combo attacks can chip away a lot of damage and even stun. In some cases, entire legions are also camped out and will continually respawn until their tent is dislodged by destroying the spikes that hold it up.

 

While melee combat can be energetic and smooth, ranged combat can be rather finicky with a mouse and keyboard. Asterix or Obelix will lock into the direction they are currently facing, and a targeting circle will appear. Rotating this with the keyboard will cause instant snapping into cardinal directions, often lacking the subtle precision to pinpoint targets. Aiming is a bit more fluid with a controller, though this is an unwelcome workaround.

The Ram From Hibernia and Osome is clearly French, with the default layout using AZERTY instead of the more widely QWERTY keyboard. This means English players may be confused with the use of Q to move left and Z to move up. Thankfully this can be changed in the options menu. However, even with new binds, some of the tutorials may still advise players to use A and W for their original functions.

Outside of fighting, there are many environmental puzzles that need to be solved. Typically this requires Asterix to leap across pits and hit buttons. Meanwhile, Obelix will often be standing on pressure plates or springboards, ready to be launched by Asterix’s actions. Either will then clear a new path by destroying boxes or pushing stones out of the way. These puzzles tend to be simple to understand and serve as mostly a break from the action.

 

Asterix & Obelix XXXL: The Ram From Hibernia starts within Asterix and Obelix’s home of Gaul and players will spend around three to four hours there beating back the initial Roman legions. But the vast majority of the game will take place within Hibernia. These zones are much more lush and colorful, though the actual encounters and tasks are the same.

Despite Keratine’s importance to the plot, it becomes very strange that she isn’t one of the playable characters. It would have been much more dynamic if both she and Obelix’s pet Dogmatix were the third and fourth player options. Both characters follow the main heroes often, but are typically given an excuse to stay back when the fighting gets rough. Having clones of the two leads is also both strange and gets stale during gameplay.

The game is fully voice acted and all actors do a fair performance. As the Adventures of Asterix is a comedy series, everyone mostly gives little quips and puns. And no point should anything be taken seriously or treated as actually dangerous. The music of Hibernia is also filled with both classic and modern Irish music. While this can be catchy, it also sounds very anachronistic, with the game taking place around 50 BC and iconic Irish war pipes arriving during the 15th century.

 

Art assets and graphics in Asterix & Obelix XXXL: The Ram From Hibernia are good. The art direction simply mimics the Adventures of Asterix comics, which have been a European staple for over 70 years. The actual graphical fidelity won’t win anyone over, looking a bit dated and washed out even at ultra-settings. This may come from The Ram From Hibernia reusing many models and textures from the XXL Remasters from a few years ago.

There are, unfortunately, numerous graphical bugs. Players (or characters if only in single-player) are meant to be color coded with red, blue, orange, and purple. However, these often end up swapping for seemingly no reason. There are also sometimes when Asterix’s art may show up for one of Obelix’s lines or vice-versa.

Asterix & Obelix XXXL: The Ram From Hibernia never fully meshes into outright fun. The combat, puzzles, and story always hover around mediocre with slight dips into boring. Only the truest Adventures of Asterix fans may find the game amazing. Conversely, others may be displeased with the cutbacks on gameplay and exploration compared to the XXL Remasters.

 

Asterix & Obelix XXXL: The Ram From Hibernia doesn’t do much to stand out. It can provide similar action to those that have already gone through all of the other Asterix and Obelix action games. Even then, those interested should consider a price drop from the current $30 price. For new players, one should, at minimum play Asterix and Obelix XXL Romastered and Asterix and Obleix XXL 2: Mission Las Vegum first before considering this spiritual sequel.
 

Kurtis Seid, NoobFeed
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