Grelox

Grelox is an indie action-adventure platformer with a sci-fi theme where the goal is to investigate criminal activities in the underworld of an alien planet. It was developed by Sunteam and initially released on July 25, 2019.

Inspired by Zillion, although more by the Master System’s metroidvania than the anime itself, Grelox is packed with retro-style graphics, animations, and gameplay, everything reminiscent of 16-bit titles. Overall, the game features plenty of action and beautiful visuals.

Published by Sunteam itself and made available for free for Windows, Grelox started a series, followed by Grelox: Contagion and Grelox: Colony 7.

Video

Plot

Famed galactic troubleshooter Grelox is out on a contract to the distant planet of Aeon. There have been rumours that the crime boss, Lady Mandrill, has been tunnelling into the planet in search of something ancient and dangerous. Spurred on by a desire for justice and a very large payout, Grelox guns her engines and lands on the planet to explore…

Gameplay

On the map screen, the player can choose either one of two stages. Once both stages are complete, you can progress to the next area. In each stage you will encounter locked doors. These are opened by accessing the security terminals. Push UP in front of a terminal to hack it. Each of three terminals must be hacked to progress. There is a master door leading to the main terminal, which can be opened by collecting a RED PASSCARD and a BLUE PASSCARD that are somewhere in each stage. Once you reach the main terminal, jump on to the platform to disable it and finish the stage.

Controls

• Arrow Keys – Move and crouch
• Left CTRL – Jump
• Left ALT – Attack
• ESC – Quits game/level/match
• For a better experience, Grelox was designed to be played with a Xbox 360 control for Windows.
• It was also tested with a PS2 pad connected to USB.

Cheats

If you’re finding the game a bit too challenging and don’t mind a little cheating, then you, first, push ‘D’ on the title screen (you will hear a noise).

Then, during level gameplay, push:

• End – Add life bars
• Home – Clear current room terminals/open door
• Page Up – Reload current room
• Page Down – Open exit door

Attention: pushing these on the map screen may crash the game.

There is also a hidden room in the fungal level (you have to walk through a slightly obvious wall to find it).

Screenshots

More info and metroidvania

• Sunteam – Official developer’s website, with more information about this and other works.
• Grelox @ Gaming Room – With more info and media. In Portuguese.
• Phantom 2040 [SNES]
• Sector 01
• Lord of the Sword
• SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron
• Zillion
• Cyborg Hunter
• Sector 781
• Phantom 2040 [Genesis]