A precision platformer that mostly does one thing, but it does it well, If all you want from the game is good timing and some challenge, it's the only thing this game has to offer. Like many similar games it's mostly about the dash resets, timing, and low margin for error.
I feel like these 'torture' platformers went out of style many years ago, generally I think games with exploration or world-building are more popular, but I still have a soft spot for them when they are made well, sometimes I want a game that is both punishing and addicting at the same time. That said, I think a game should have more than just difficulty and tight level design, maybe a memorable character, maybe some simple unlocks, just so your motivation for beating the game isn't just more difficulty.
The game is about 4 hours depending on your skill, mostly because of the difficulty in the later stages. The challenge is pretty fair in the first 2 areas, but it will get a bit crazy, I would not say it's unfair, but there are some sections where it feels like you have to yolo them and hope for the best. Overall the game does a good job evolving the stage mechanics and it does not get too repetitive, although the platforming is mostly vanilla. The only little gimmick it has is a mid-air delay, I guess it's meant to give the game a bit of a gravity based theme.
There is a story but I don't think it does much for the experience, it's just kinda there and I didn't pay attention to it, the sprites and levels look fine, but I didn't care for the art style in the cutscenes. Not to say that a game like this needs a story, not always, but if you going to do it, I think it's better to insert it through random characters in the area without stopping the gameplay, and not mandatory cutscenes.
[h1] Pros: [/h1]
(+) Hard but fair challenge, good stage progression in terms of mechanics. Controls are just 3 moves, jumping, dashing, and jet boots later, mostly works perfectly.
(+) I thought many stages had a creative tactic to them, I often found myself doing something wrong, only to realize there was a better solution.
[h1] Feedback: [/h1]
- aside from good gameplay, the game pretty much has nothing else going for it, essentially no bonus features or any kind of mod unlocks. I find that when devs make a simple game like this, sometimes they will add something like unlockable mutators, and then playing the game again with new moves, or at least some unlocks for encouraging doing challenges.
- as of this review there is one jump in the game that is almost impossible to make, should be an easy fix
- the story didn't do anything for me, maybe instead of just doing cutscenes, I would recommend telling more narrative by finding things in the game, maybe running into a character that gives you some lore, try to do it without stopping the gameplay for next project
[b] Overall Thoughts: 7/10 [/b]
It's a good game for what it's going for, the only negative thing I would say, unlike some similar games it has no other features or unlocks, if you like a little challenge, you will probably enjoy it, and shortly move on to something else. I would consider that gameplay alone isn't the most compelling feature by itself, there should be something else to reward that gameplay, maybe some unlocks, maybe some extra modes, maybe a better way of telling a story more organically.
[code]Niche, obscure and underrated games: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/31294838-Hidden-Gem-Discovery/ [/code]
