Sad Moon Mission

I played this thing while listening to Bromst.

Sad Moon Mission is the latest rapid product of the Poppenkast, everyone's favorite launch pad for Scandinavian retro games done in a minimalist style in less than a day. I could have made this in Game Maker in about two hours, it took JW 75 minutes, and yet it's totally dank.

The repetitive music, the low resolution that strains the eyes along a corridor of vertical platforming, the brutal death sentences that start you all over, there's a lot to hate here. Paradoxically this game has such an amazing sense of compulsion to it, from the cheap clinks of the gold coins to the bouncy sounds, you feel enthralled to play further along. The application of difficulty is measured precisely to deliver a psychological effect. You go along easily collecting coins, then you try to continue, going off the edge of the screen, and the game kills you. You're like "whut?" because you like echoing the voice actor for the Human Peasant from Warcraft 2. You try a few more times and then realize that you need to return to the start, which the game shows you every time you cross off-screen and plummet helplessly to your death. You get an upgrade that enables further spatial navigation - a form of crack for platformer heroes, but cheaper than Metroidvania. You continue, you get all the coins, you get the double jump! A fan favorite, what platformer is complete without the double fucking jump? And then, bam, you die. Sorry, try again.

And then when the end comes it's like a total slap in the face, or maybe mocking you a bit for wanting a non-interactive reward for your interactive efforts. That's cool. I think the whole thing is an enlightenment exercise to make us realize how futile chasing the sky can be. I don't care what Icelanders say, the Swedes are alright! I hope the Poppenkast keeps on popping.