Grumpy Jack

[i]---See where this game landed on my Microvania Tier List beneath this rec!---[/i] Most games I receive for free don’t end up with positive recs, but Grumpy Jack is another solid, fun release from the [b]Super Roboy[/b] dev. It’s VERY short, it took me about 2h 40m to 100% the game on Normal mode. That said, I wasn’t ever bored during my playthrough, I actually had quite a lot of fun. The game doesn’t overstay its welcome and is very straightforward to pick up and play. As for the metroidvania side of it: it’s pretty contained. You do one area, backtrack with the power you got at the end and then move on to the next area. When it comes to exploration and non-linearity, the game doesn’t go as hard as [b]Super Roboy[/b] did, probably in part due to the smaller scale of the game. Most abilities are just tools to break certain barriers, with some exceptions. The map marks anything that you need to return for so 100% should be very easily obtained. Not much else to say. This game establishes a track record for the dev in making solid, enjoyable little metroidvanias and I look forward to Vincent’s next work. ===================== [b]My most/least liked Microvanias/Microvania-likes[/b] (0-3.5 hour length metroidvanias): ===================== [i]-Not an objective list, purely how much I enjoyed the games-[/i] [b]Excellent:[/b] Raider Kid and the Ruby Chest | Tiny Dangerous Dungeons Remake | [b]Very Good:[/b] Kalinur | 100 Pumpkins 2 | [b]Grumpy Jack[/b]³ | Sealed Bite | [b]Good:[/b] Omnigon | SJ-19 learns to Love | Paradox Vector³ | The Prisoning: Fletcher’s Quest | Hargrave | Bread Adventure | [b]Okay:[/b] Ascent DX | Realm of I^ | Cosmos Bit | Zapling Bygone | Roots of the Mind | Janosik* | Trash Quest | Super Skelemania | Bobo Robot | Necrosphere64 | Super Win the Game | Gears of Dissent³ | Dead Lasso | Inexistence Rebirth | [b]Meh:[/b] Cosmos: Stella Returns | Prehistoric Gal | VonGarland Castle | Quarion | Escape Zolstar | Dispersio 2 | Hollow Floor | Aldoria | You Have to Win the Game | Psycron | Aqua Boy* | Absence of Light | Grizzland | A Song in Elyel Nalore | Awita | An Untitled Story | [b]Liked some things but ultimately did not enjoy:[/b] Sun Wukong Vs Robot* | Ex Vitro* | Count Pumpcula* | Oliver’s Adventures in FairyLand | Tomomi* | Nakawak | Maytroid* | Dark Swords Firelink* | Necrosphere | Observance of Homeland | Little Droid* | Jackroid* | Tiny Dangerous Dungeons | Whirlwind Magician | Ex-Master Zombie | [b]Didn’t like:[/b] | Robot wants it all | Legend of Thabor | Fourmiworld | A Lenda De Niteroi | Spooky Ghosts Dot Com | Rocketron | Twinland^ | Pentacore | Chakana* | Mini Ghost | Xeodrifter | Simona’s Requiem* | Marsmare: Alienation | Legends of the Universe: Cosmic Bounty* | Xenosis* | Moonlaw* | Darxanadon | Pigbook* | Dimensional Animals* | Dark Throne* | Alchemists Castle* | =================== [i]^ = Mouse & Keyboard are STRONGLY advised.[/i] [i]* = Very raw indie or contains some jank or lack of polish.[/i] [i]­³ = Not a 2D sidescroller. A 3D or top-down perspective. ---------------------------------

Super fun. I love this devs art style. The game was well balanced and had some solid bosses. Exploration was fun and I enjoyed the dialogue quite a bit. Took me 1.5 hours to 100% the game on normal. Definitely recommend.

Great top down metroidvania. A little short game, if you're looking for replayability, but unlocking every collectible and achievements are entertaining to keep playing. Jack is a good protagonist, simple, goofy. Maybe some players can't undestand the texts since doesn't have other languages than english, but as spanish player i didn't have much issues with the story or collectables. I can recommend this game not only for spooky seasons, its a good start to metroidvania genre or bullet hell mechanics.

very good top down zelda like game whit small metroidvania would recommend it the bosses are not as easy some can be tricky and have higher damage when you get hit so level up some stats in your skill tree to survival more

If this does not get at least 25 reviews, I will pee my pants.

Amazing game, very smooth, fair but challenging gameplay, overall an amazing addition to my collection of games.

VP Games = Yes

Fun little dose for a great price! And if you dig then you definitely want to check out devs metroidvania Super Roboy as well

To say I'm a fan would be an understatement. Great controls, fun story, interesting environments and boss fights. All carefully crafted with amazing hand drawn art. You'd do yourself a disservice skipping on this one.

Fui voluntário do playtest. Pouco ambicioso, mas completo no que se propõe a fazer, Grumpy Jack é um minivania com bom ritmo e conteúdo adequado à sua breve duração. Ainda que não aproveite todo o potencial de seu combate de espada e tiro, é divertido, engraçadinho e nos incentiva a explorar todos os cantos de seu mapa, sendo ideal para uma tarde ou um final de semana de jogatina sem compromisso. Prós - História cômica com personagens bem desenhados e excêntricos; - Mesmo durando apenas três horas, há conteúdo e sistemas de progressão suficientes para considerá-lo uma experiência completa de metroidvania. Contras - O visual dos cenários é pouco atraente, sendo planificado, estático e mais simples do que o que vemos nos desenhos dos personagens; - O combate de tiro carece de maior repertório de ataques inimigos. Análise completa em [url=https://www.gameblast.com.br/2026/05/analise-grumpy-jack-review.html]GameBlast[/url]