Platformer

It's been a while since we've checked in on Mr. Venbrux, a fan favorite over here at PTT. His latest outing is a portmanteau of two of his previous works; it combines the dreamlike tone of Pazzon with the planetary-hopping gameplay of Frozzd. Since both games accomplished their respective aspects quite well this mash-up title doesn't feel as innovative as it should, but that's forgivable. The aesthetic here is wonderful, with soothing background music and an oblique art style. It's fairly short as well, but may require a second playthrough to reach the proper ending. No overwrought analysis this time around, but if you dug his previous work I'd advise you to check it out.

Anna Anthropy continues her degradation into commercial work --which began with the tightly-crafted squealer When Pigs Fly -- and I couldn't be happier. With her latest release she moves away from the masochism she's infamous for and instead weaves a tale of a lone space traveler. It's, dare I say it, actually pretty charming. While the lack of bondage is suprising her knack for marvelous game design (which is apparent in her earlier games and level design lessons) is still intact. Selling out hasn't been this well-crafted or fun.

Anthropy has a fine sense for graphical composition; her pixel art has an elegantly clean style to it. The music by Amon26 (of Au Sable and All Our Friends are Dead fame) is also top notch -- I'm actually listening to it as I type. The game's minimalist story echoes Knytt by establishing that the protagonist has lost roughly two dozen gems and must regain them through exploration. Your sole verbs are walking and a low-gravity leap, which ends in a slight bounce if you fall long enough. The game's main mechanic is the dual polarity of red and green platforms; if you touch a red switch, for example, red blocks disappear and green blocks materialize. Like Terry accomplished with V^6, Anna wrung out every conceivable application of this mechanic and the game's three pitfalls of robot, laser, and electric pit. The level design is absolutely stellar. The difficulty is also fairly low-key, the platforming isn't by any means sadistic and save spots are frequent. Playing through Redder and exploring its landscape shows that you can create a mainstream-oriented experience without dumbing it down or diluting it.

Not much else needs to be said, except this: thank you ma'am, may I have another?

Semblante is a Global Game Jam entry from a team at the Catholic University of Paraná. As is typical with GGJ games, it's more of a prototype than a complete experience; just a single level.

What's notable about it is the atmospherics; darkness, an eerie soundscape, shadow enemies gliding in the depths. Periodically, there are overhead lights, and when you pass through the light, you glow for a time and can defeat enemies until the glow fades. Jumping atop them helps you not at all. Consequently, navigating the level is a combination of platforming and using the strategically placed lights to advantage.

Also, you can scream with the X key, but I don't believe this has a game effect.

Ostensibly, your character is named Jung, and you are exploring the recesses of your own mind.

You can see how a fuller treatment might be emotionally effective -- and certainly, the complexities of the human mind and its fears is a motif that lends itself to introducing additional gameplay elements over time.

Instead of posting about an imitation of an old-school platformer today, how's 'bout I give you a slice of the real deal? You most likely haven't come across this as it was only released in Japan and, erm, Scandinavia. Which is a damn shame, as this is one of my favorite titles to grace the NES. As someone who swears by Mighty Bomb Jack, Capcom's Disney-licensed titles, and all the usual suspects this isn't said lightly. The game was developed by Sunsoft, who admittedly have a less than stellar track record (Aero the Acrobat? Ugh.) This game is their unsung masterpiece, however, and deserves your attention. There was a great deal of love put into this, and is readily apparent in every aspect of aesthetics and design. If you're into platformers this cult-classic title shouldn't be missed.

VVVVVV, the beta of which was reviewed previously by TheDustin here, is now out. It's a platformer, but saying that is a bit like Edmund's character saying that. Since there's a demo on Kongregate that takes about ten seconds to load, I'll leave the explanation short, but what I can add to the demo is that the full game is more non-linear than that demo; the world (excluding the final sequence, etc.) is 400 screens large, some completely empty, some you'll be stuck on for a long time. You can also buy its soundtrack if you like the music (I do).

Umbrella Adventures is a long, pleasant if not particularly original platformer featuring nice black-and-white hand-drawn animation. The story, if you can call it such, is that you are a gopher all of whose cakes have been stolen, and you must search through the forest to recover them.

Think of this as the game equivalent of a webcomic. To follow this train of thought, the advent of the internet allowed cartoonists free reign in their work. It's like making an underground zine where everybody is a potential reader. All someone needs to make a webcomic is a scanner or MS Paint, but it wasn't till recently that Flixel was released and game developers were given the tools to rapidly create short, online little games. Developer Pixelate set out to make four of these experimental webgames for every week of December, and this is the fruit of his labor.

I just realized that I haven't reviewed a platformer in a while, which is totally inexcusable. In my defense I'm still smitten with VVVVVV. Terry is about to release the final version shortly, to tide you over till its release I'll direct you to this little gem of a game. Jumper 3 was lovingly crafted by Matt Thorson, half of the development crew of the impeccably-fun RunMan: Race Around the World. I called RunMan a gamer's game and it holds true here as well. If you dig platformers you shouldn't pass this up, it's a blast.

I tagged it "masocore" up there, but Auntie Pixelante would doubtless chide me, because while You Can't Possibly Expect Me To Do That is certainly fucking hard, it doesn't quite play with expectations as much as the best masocore games do.

But still, it's an impressively sadistic little game. Completely minimal in graphics and what can hardly be characterized as a soundscape (a few bleeps and bloops), it exists purely as an exercise in evil level design.

There is what passes for a tutorial; the basics are typical (arrows to move, up to jump, double-jump permitted), and indeed the main innovation is that "dying" sends you through a wall, and if there's a health symbol on the other side, regenerates you there. But often you have to be very careful about your velocity when you die, because your "ghost" continues in the direction sent, and you may not end up in a rescueable area.

And in general, you have to have a light and controlled touch on the keys, since a few pixels in the wrong place will often kill you.

Anyone who thinks that almost all platformers are too easy will probably enjoy YCPEMTDT. The rest of us can find a masochistic amusement in it before succumbing to despair. One nice feature, though, is that all levels are accessible from the main menu, so even if you totally suck, you can check out what the harder levels look like.

I first played Super Mario World at the tender age of three, and when I did my mind was blown. Since my introduction to the genre, only three platformers have had a comparable impact on me. All three are indie titles. The first two, namely Spelunky and Braid, redefined what could be done within the platformer framework; they innovate to the point they seem like games from the future. The third title is VVVVVV, and it plays like a AAA title from the past. If this was pressed into a ROM back in the heyday of the NES it would be considered a seminal platformer, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Mega Man 2 and Super Mario Bros. Like the best of the 8-bit era, the game takes a single mechanic, builds upon it, and polishes it to perfection. VVVVVV is superbly designed and immensely fun, and has surprising length for an indie title. This is Terry's opus, a labor of love that put him in debt developing it. I know this is going to sound like bombastic hyperbole, but this is old-school design at the height of its craft; I sincerely hope you don't pass it up.