Teslagrad

Overview

Teslagrad is a 2D Metroidvania-style Puzzle Platformer set in a fictional Steampunk old world Eastern European kingdom called Elektropia. The player assumes the role of a young boy who flees capture from the despotic King's imperial forces by hiding in Tesla Tower. The boy must navigate the tower's many electromagnetic & magnetic traps using the tools left by the Teslamancers who inhabited it to survive. The game is notable for featuring over a hundred hand drawn backgrounds and a minimalist story told through short plays and scroll optional collectibles.

It is the first game released by Norwegian Indie developer Rain AS. A retail release was published later on all platforms in Europe by Soedesco.

Gameplay

The primary game action in Teslagrad is platforming, initially jumping is the only ability the boy has. Throughout out the course of the game they boy will locate several items left behind by the now deceased teslamancers who constructed the tower to further aid his progress which are mapped to other buttons. In true Metroidvania style, as the boy gains these items, he will be to access areas of the tower he previously could not access. The boy will also encounter Bosses which can be defeated using the items he has acquired. The boy himself is rather frail as only one hit from any obstacle or enemy will fell him, though the game does offer frequent auto-saved checkpoints.

Power Ups

Magnet Glove

The Magnet Glove is the first powerup the Boy acquires. The powerup is mapped to two buttons representing each polarity (Positive and Negative which are portrayed as red and blue in game). Striking a a block or object with the opposite colored glove will change the polarity of the block or object.

The default bindings on a controller are the Bumpers for the glove

Blink Boots

The Blink Boots allow the Boy to teleport himself a short distance in a horizontal straight line the direction he is facing. This can be used to pass through walls, obstacles or enemies to avoid harm or just to extend a jump horizontally. The boots unlike all the other powerups in the game do sport a short cooldown before a second use.

Magnetic Cloak

The Magnetic Cloak similar to the Magnetic Glove has multiple polarities it use. The primary use of it being to either attract or repel the boy to or from a block or object with a polarity. It also allows the Boy to control his movement while airborne in giant Magnetic fields

Default bindings for the Cloak are the face buttons

Tesla Staff

The Tesla Staff also has multiple polarities. Like the Magnetic Glove it can be used to invert the polarity of a magnetized object albeit from a distance. It's beam can also be used as a weapon to attack enemies.

Bosses

Like most metroidvanias, Teslagard has a handful of Bossess the Boy must defeat to advance, usually vulnerable to whatever item he has most recently acquired.

Fernus

The first boss of the game, Fernus is a giant T-Rex Shaped Furnace that the boy fights on a conveyor belt that moves left to right leading into a another furnace. Boxes fall onto the belt from a chute on the left side, the boy must charge these boxes with the magnet glove so that Fernus eats them to defeat it. As Fernus eats boxes, the conveyor belt speed picks up.

Faradeus

Faradeus is a giant bronze metal skeleton bird the boy must defeat in the giant tree. He must use the blink boots to teleport into the bird's stomach and use the glove to charge the bird's heart. Faradeus will attack the boy will shockwaves, a wall of lightning and exploding birds

Oleg

The third boss of the game is the old man Oleg who chased the boss into the tower with the rest of the King's army. Oleg locks himself behind tow blast doors and begins firing charged projectiles at the boy. The Boy must hit switches to reopen the doors and then use the magnetic cloak to repel to projectiles back at Oleg multiple times to defeat him.

Guerickes Orb

The Guerickes Orb is a giant single eyed block that sits in a room near the top of the tower. The boy must use the Tesla Staff to damage it while evading its' laser eye. Eventually the Orb will fall into the central shaft of the tower taking the boy with it all the way to the bottom of Tesla Tower

The King

The King is the final boss of the game. Unlike the previous bosses, he is located outside the tower and is only accessible if the player has located enough scrolls. The Boy must use the Blink Boots, Magnetic cloak and Tesla Staff to defeat him. The King initially attacks by throwing his crown which flies after the boy shooting electricity at him. The King then engages the boy directly taking his crown and turning it into a sword which causes shockwaves when slammed into the ground. He will rotate between attacking the boy with shockwaves, summoning geyser spouts of electricity and charging directly at the boy sword outstretched. Once damaged the King will attempt to trap the boy in a bubble that the boy must blink out of. The boy must successfully damage the King 6 times to defeat him.

Multiple Endings

The game has two possible endings, determined by whether the boy has collected all the scrolls or not. All the Achievements and Trophies in the game are tied to locating scrolls.