Goblin and Coins, developed and published by Nikola Bulj, is a compact and spirited indie platformer that harkens back to the era of classic 2D side-scrollers, but with a playful twist on familiar fantasy tropes. Instead of playing as a noble hero or a chosen warrior, you step into the shoes of a humble goblin cook, an unlikely protagonist on a mission to recover his dragon master’s stolen treasure. It’s a premise that immediately sets the tone for what Goblin and Coins aims to be: a lighthearted, self-aware adventure that celebrates the charm of old-school platforming while infusing it with a quirky sense of humor and personality. Though small in scope and modest in presentation, the game’s straightforward design and endearing character make it an enjoyable experience for fans of retro-style action games.
At its core, Goblin and Coins follows a traditional platforming structure. The game consists of more than thirty levels spread across multiple themed worlds, ranging from dark dungeons and forests to castles and fiery caverns. Each environment introduces new hazards and small mechanical twists, ensuring that progression feels fresh even when the gameplay remains simple. The primary objective in every stage is to collect coins, avoid traps, and find the exit while uncovering secret areas and hidden treasures along the way. The pacing is steady and deliberate—each level offers a self-contained challenge that rewards patience and careful movement rather than brute speed. This slower rhythm fits the tone of the game well; the goblin cook isn’t a superhuman hero but a scrappy survivor doing his best to navigate perilous terrain armed with nothing but timing and determination.
The game’s difficulty curve is one of its defining features. It starts gently, allowing you to familiarize yourself with the controls and physics before ramping up to far more punishing levels. Precision platforming, moving hazards, and enemy patterns become more demanding as you progress, making later stages a true test of reflexes. To accommodate different types of players, Goblin and Coins offers two distinct modes: Casual, which includes checkpoints and the ability to save progress between levels, and Old School, which is far less forgiving and designed for those who crave a challenge reminiscent of early 90s platformers. This dual structure helps make the game accessible without diluting its old-school sensibility. Even in its easier mode, however, the game expects focus and persistence. The rhythm of play—short bursts of progress followed by retry loops—recalls the satisfaction of mastering difficult sequences in classics like Super Mario Bros. or Ghosts ’n Goblins.
Visually, the game embraces a minimalist pixel-art aesthetic that fits comfortably within its indie identity. The environments are cleanly designed, and while they don’t aim for elaborate detail, they remain colorful, readable, and charming. Each world has its own atmosphere, with subtle variations in palette and layout that create a sense of place. The goblin himself is animated with a certain clumsy energy, adding personality to even the simplest movement. There’s a quaint, handmade feel to the presentation that works in its favor, evoking the kind of simplicity that characterized early platforming games while maintaining modern smoothness. The music, composed by Kevin MacLeod, reinforces this retro mood with upbeat, looping melodies that blend whimsy and tension. It’s a soundtrack that doesn’t distract but keeps the player engaged, complementing the game’s rhythm of exploration and trial.
The level design strikes a balance between precision and discovery. On the surface, Goblin and Coins is linear—you move from left to right, clearing enemies and collecting coins—but hidden paths and optional secrets reward exploration. Finding concealed stashes of coins or unlocking hidden exits adds replay value, encouraging players to revisit earlier levels for full completion. This sense of exploration gives the game a bit of depth beyond its basic mechanics. The simplicity of its design means that every coin collected or secret uncovered feels meaningful. While some stages can lean heavily on repetition, the inclusion of alternate paths and small environmental puzzles helps break up the pace. It’s a structure that feels carefully considered, especially for a game developed largely by one person.
Control responsiveness is crucial in a platformer, and Goblin and Coins delivers solid, if not perfect, handling. Movement and jumping feel natural once you get used to the goblin’s slightly deliberate momentum. There’s an old-fashioned weight to the way he moves—he doesn’t glide effortlessly across platforms, but his motion feels grounded and consistent. The sense of control is generally strong, though some players may find that a few jumps or enemy collisions demand a level of precision that borders on frustrating. The balance between challenge and fairness occasionally wavers, particularly in the later worlds, but the game’s forgiving checkpoint system in Casual mode mitigates this. Old School mode, by contrast, demands mastery, punishing mistakes with long setbacks but rewarding perfect runs with satisfaction that few modern games attempt to provide.
What gives Goblin and Coins its distinctive charm, however, is its personality. The choice of a goblin cook as the main character, the humorous premise of a servant trying to reclaim his dragon’s stolen riches, and the light narrative framing all work together to set a whimsical tone. The game doesn’t take itself seriously, and that makes it surprisingly refreshing. The story unfolds through small bits of text and context rather than long dialogues, keeping the focus on gameplay while giving enough flavor to make the world feel alive. There’s an undercurrent of warmth and humor in its simplicity—an unspoken affection for the old games that inspired it. That sincerity makes it easy to forgive its limitations, like the basic animation or the occasional uneven difficulty spike.
Technically, Goblin and Coins is stable and lightweight, running smoothly on virtually any machine. It supports both keyboard and gamepad controls, features Steam achievements, and includes a few accessibility options like multiple languages and remappable keys. Its small file size and low system requirements make it easy to pick up and play casually without worrying about performance. The entire experience can be completed in a few hours, depending on how thoroughly you chase secrets or replay levels for 100% completion. This brevity suits the game’s structure—it’s designed to be a self-contained adventure that can be enjoyed in manageable sessions rather than a sprawling platforming epic.
In the end, Goblin and Coins succeeds by focusing on the fundamentals: tight platforming, clear visual communication, and a sense of charm that comes from passion rather than polish. It doesn’t reinvent the genre, nor does it try to. Instead, it offers an authentic and lovingly crafted throwback to a simpler era of gaming, one where the challenge was straightforward but satisfying, and personality was enough to carry a small game a long way. It’s a modest project made with heart, and that sincerity shows through every pixel and jump. For fans of classic platformers, or for players looking for a relaxed yet rewarding indie experience with a touch of humor, Goblin and Coins is a delightful reminder that sometimes a small, well-made game can be just as fulfilling as the grandest adventures.
Rating: 8/10
