After 100%ing the achievements, i can say that i have a decent handle on the game. Here's a fun little breakdown.
Chapter 1: First game
On its own, a delightful game that brings nostalgic VHS and platforming to the table. The music and background suites the game well and really ties the whole thing together. As an overview, this game is lovely and the mechanics are simple in theory. You could stop reading this review here and take that at face value. I do recommend to take breaks when playing this game, the bright colors really do stress the eyes after a bit.
As for my qualms; sometimes you can die to a stray bullet immediately after spawning. There are times, where the platforming is inconsistent. times like when you spawn in midair and can immediately flip, or times when you flip and can flip again before touching the ceiling, like by a sizable distance, times where after you flip, land on the ceiling and CAN'T flip again, leading to an early grave. While this is problematic, its not incredibly inconvenient.... until
Chapter 2: New Game +
So, there area couple things that go awry here. The new challenge in New Game + is a timer. Same levels, just a race against the clock. While i enjoy speedrunning as much as the next guy, the aforementioned inconsistency in the platforming really shines through here. Most levels are still trial and error, some timers are tighter than others, but it all comes down to how well you can shave off seconds, which is where more problems come up. Firstly, the timer... it is displayed in the top left corner, however, sometimes the timer and the time to beat, is replaced by those phrases respectively, meaning you don't know how long you have to complete the level, and how much time you have left, this doesn't mix well with the previous issue, because KNOWING there is a timer, but not how much time, means you have to go as fast as possible and that doesn't help when you're trying to do pixel perfect flips and you can't execute them. Secondly, the timer doesn't start on your first input after your respawn. It starts about half a second BEFORE you respawn, which in some levels makes all the difference. Finally, the times themselves some are tight yes, but i feel there are others that are extremely lenient, for context, when you die you respawn as the level keeps moving, moving platforms and hazards don't reset. Now an example, there is a tighter timer for a level with moving platforms, so once you get to the platforms area, you kinda just have to wait for them to come to you, as you waste precious time. Honorable mention, one level had over 9,900 seconds for time to beat, it was one of the shorter ones. I digress, aside from these inconveniences, i personally always enjoy a challenge.
Chapter 3: New Game ++
Dear god, send help... The new mechanic is actually quite refreshing and fun! You run through the same levels minus the timer but with the twist of a new astronaut sprite and a jetpack. Instead of flipping gravity, you press jump to gain lift. IT IS NOT AS SIMPLE AS PRESS SPACE GO UP. The velocity in this section of the game is so INTENSE its like having ice physics in the sky. The problem with this is that while the jetpack trivializes some levels, it also makes other levels ABSOLUTE HELL with precise timing, knowledge of your true hitbox (the orange ball of a helmet), pixel perfect scrapes with hazards, and a decent understanding of the merciless physics. The physics and velocity of this section is so intense that when you die and you AREN'T holding jump, the velocity tries to send you to the earth's core by sending you downwards at MACH 12, forcing you to be grounded for around a solid 2 seconds. Which doesn't sound like a long time, until you've found yourself in a similar situation. ANOTHER THING, I'm not sure if its a hardware issue, skill issue, or what have you, but New Game ++ not only crashes the game, BUT MY STEAM AS WELL. After every crash i had to reboot my steam. The program just will die, it happened to me only twice. Not on death, just moving around trying to navigate. Its not super inconveniencing, but it really makes me wonder if the calculations this game is trying to do is too much for the program to handle.
