Evoland

Evoland is based on the concept of tracing the evolution of video games. When the game begins, there are only four colors, simple pixelated graphics, and a 2D character. Through the adventure, the player gradually unlocks graphics, technologies and gameplay until reaching the HD age and a three-dimensional world. This evolution in-game of video game history is punctuated by many references to classic role-playing video games and movies.

The game alternates between action role-playing game-like phases similar to The Legend of Zelda and Active Time Battles like those seen in Final Fantasy. The character moves in a world made up of dungeons, caverns, forests and villages with non-player characters. Players collect the in-game currency Glis after each battle, which can be spent in towns to purchase additional items and upgrades, many of which must be obtained to finish the game. In addition to completing the story mode, players can also attempt to find hidden stars and cards that are scattered around the game world, the latter of which can be used in a collectible card game based on "Triple Triad" from Final Fantasy VIII.

Originally, Evoland was a video game created by Nicolas Cannasse during the 24th Ludum Dare, an "accelerated video game competition". Participants have 48 hours to create a video game respecting a given theme. The 24th Ludum Dare theme was "Evolution". Nicolas Cannasse proposed Evoland in about 30 hours and won first place out of 1400 participants.

The player feedback was very encouraging. Evoland Classic quickly reached over 300,000 players within a couple of months, and is still playable on the Evoland Website for free. Also, as common in Ludum Dare, the Haxe source code was made available, in this case on GitHub.

The game was received by critics with an average rating of 61 out of 100 on Metacritic. Specialized press and websites acclaimed the potential and originality of the concept as well as the references to cinema and video games history.

According to Destructoid "Evoland's elements form a love letter to some of the most venerated games in their respective genres, and it's surprising just how well the shifting gameplay types work together." Many critics comment on how nostalgia helps make the game excel.