Almost 40 years have passed since Beyond the Ice Palace first released on the Commodore 64 in 1988, but new life has been breathed back into the classic platformer thanks to a recent sequel.
The surprise sequel only launched yesterday, currently sitting on Steam with a 10% discount as an introductory offer and "positive" reviews overall so far. Beyond the Ice Palace 2 ticks all of the nostalgia-inducing boxes boasted by genre classics like the old-school Castlevania games, featuring engaging level design, brutal bosses, challenging combat, platform puzzles, pixel-perfect visuals, and, of course, a whip.
While it hasn't been out very long, Metroidvania fans are already praising it for such features. "If you're a fan of Castlevania and Blasphemous, you'll enjoy this," reads one Steam review. Another praises the sequel's "superb graphics and soundtrack," noting that "this one is more in the style of Castlevania" than the first Beyond the Ice Palace title was and "the whip has many fun uses and combat combinations."
It sounds like a solid follow-up to a Commodore 64 gem, and while the original might not be remembered as one of the best retro games of all time, Beyond the Ice Palace 2 sounds as though it's not only bringing the OG back into the limelight but also giving the title a fresh reputation with gameplay enjoyable by both longtime fans and newcomers alike. As one Steam player writes, it's "a great throwback to the SNES action-adventure genre."
If you're interested in platforming your way to victory while whipping some behemoth bosses back into shape yourself, you can snag Beyond the Ice Palace 2 now on PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, or on the Nintendo Switch.
Looking for something else to play? Here are some of the best Metroidvania games around.
