We've come to a point where yesterday's game players have become today's developers and as a result, it's normal to see homages and nods to the classic games that inspired us. Take UnEpic for example, the indie platformer, developed almost solely by one man in Barcelona, Spain shouts Castlevania at the top of its lungs, but looking deeper will reveal a much more exciting and deep game, one that explores elements from RPGs and even manages to lampoon the material it holds so deeply. It may not be the most innovative or fresh game on the market, but platforming fans need to check out UnEpic.

Forget vampires and family bloodlines, UnEpic's plots is a lot less. Well, a lot less Epic than that of the famed Casltevania series. You play as Daniel, you're average modern day geek who's good with video games, but not necessarily the ladies. During a game of Dungeons and Dragons, Daniel is suddenly transported into a huge and sprawling castle filled with demons and other various baddies. Thinking its some weird hallucination, Daniel presses on and begins to explore the castle. It's a unique take on one of gaming's most tried and true story structures that makes for some interesting and funny plot twists.

"...an interesting Molotov of gameplay elements."

We've already established that UnEpic pulls a lot of its inspiration from the famed Castlevania series, it's a 2D sidescrolling platformer set in a castle where you fight the undead -- but there's also much more at work here that makes for an interesting Molotov of gameplay elements. UnEpic also borrows a lot from the world of RPGs, which fits almost perfectly with the game's formula. Players are given a ton of freedom as to just how they play through UnEpic, and how Daniel deals with enemies, via physical or magic attacks. At each level, the player is awarded five skill points that players can use to fine tune their character in fields like weapons, armor, and magic. It's a cool addition, but at the same time, feels like it's a bit wasted at times.

Let me put this most simple -- you're going to want to invest the majority of your skillpoints into the armor category. yes, you'll want to have strong weapons during the game's later half, but UnEpic features more than 100 weapons for you to pick up and use throughout the game, and you're bound to find one that even if you haven't invested time in the skill tree, you can use to take out even the toughest bosses -- it just might take longer. I also found enough potions spread throughout the game that it seemed like a waste to devote a solid amount of points to the skill.

The castle environment of UnEpic features more than 200 rooms, each filled with treasure and different enemies to hunt and you'll have complete freedom to explore them at your will -- just expect to get lost along the way. It's fairly common to go into one room, which opens up several more and then forget how you got in there in the first place, which is both a great addition to the gameplay as you'll find a ton of stuff to do, but also a hindrance since well, getting lost sucks. To the game's credit, you'll have the ability warp back to your latest save at any time, so you're never too far from your safety net.

"... the game is incredibly uneven throughout the experience."

One of the most frustrating aspects of UnEpic is that the game is incredibly uneven throughout the experience. Say you're fighting one of the game's bosses, that you'll dispatch rather easily, but then in the next section an average run-of-the-mill baddie will be so unexpectedly difficult that you'll question the game's motivation. Sure, it causes you to take a real look at how you're developing your character, but at the same time, it's still incredibly frustrating.

The developers of UnEpic have taken a lot of time to ensure that the character of Daniel is one that you find yourself caring about. He makes a lot of wisecracks and quotes a lot of geek friendly books and pop culture. It's a bit endearing at first, and I found myself chuckling at some of the remarks, but towards the end of the game, it seemed like it became a crutch, so there wouldn't need to be any real writing or dialogue.

UnEpic borrows a lot from some of our favorite games, but it never feels like it's just copying them. The mix of elements from games like World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy and of course Castlevania blend well together to create a fairly unique experience. The developer has created a love letter to the games of yesterday, while still managing to forge an identity of its own. UnEpic deserves to be checked out, especially if you love the source material.