mabster

This is a low-budget indie title so my expectations weren't too high when picking it up. It's a simple platformer where you move from level to level. Each level is completed pretty quickly (generally under a minute) and they all have a very similar flavour. As you go further and further the levels get harder and harder but they never really got too difficult. The difficulty isn't like something like Super Meat Boy where you have to skill up to get through the level. It felt more like you muddle through until you finally finish a section. There are a few checkpoints per level and they are quite generously spaced. As is usual in these kind of low-budget titles there's some definite synchronisation problems with the platforms. They'll have sections with three spiked obstacles in a row. As one rises the next one falls. They're clearly meant to be at phases 50% 50% 50%, but they're not quite. It's like the platforms don't run off a master timer. When things go out of phase you can't really pass the section. I had to reset the level a few times to get a higher probability of getting the phase I wanted. All in all this game took less than an hour to complete. The game was quite cheap but unfortunately I've had much better game-play per dollar from other titles.

Mutant Mudds is a tough retro style platformer where the main gimmick is that the character can jump to several "plains", one very close to the screen and each other being progressively further away. It's controls are also slightly unusual in that the "double jump" is a hover. The collection is made up of a deluxe version of the original game (Mutant Mudds Deluxe), a more challenging set of levels (Mutant Mudds Super Challenge) and a puzzle game (Mudd Blocks). I 100% completed both of the platform games and booted Mudd Blocks to see, but it's not my kind of thing. Mutant Mudds Deluxe is really good. It's made up of bite size levels and the difficulty ramps up as you go. There are also two "hidden" tougher levels within each level as well as a haunted version of each level (also more difficult as you can't shoot enemies). I really like when developers do things like the haunted levels because you get a lot of mileage for a smaller number of levels The Mutant Mudds super challenge is still good, but not as good as the original. The levels are more expansive and a lot tougher. There isn't a ghost level set like the original. Instead, some of the levels are ghost levels. This took me ages to complete compared to the original. But the levels feel a bit unfairly tough, especially with the enemies that drop bombs. There are some sections where these bomb enemies are hard to predict when they're above you, so it takes many attempts to just muddle through. As usual, the Switch is missing content compared to other platforms: the achievements / trophies. Overall this is a good package.

This is an enjoyable simple 3D platformer with a move-set that doesn't change over the course of the game. In particular you have a "dig" mechanic where you travel quickly through dirt patches, avoiding damage from enemies above the ground. This mechanic is very well utilised during the game, with sections where you can only use this mechanic or puzzles utilising the mechanic. It's a simple hark back to when 3D platformers were simple yet fun. The game is very polished and has a wide variety of level play styles, with runner sections, 2D platforming sections, puzzles and rolling ball levels as well. The puzzles are a bit filler and I had got pretty tired of them by the time i finished the last one. Each world ends with a boss battle -- my favorite was Lady Meowmalade. Once you have finished the main boss there are further challenges available, including more difficult variants of previous bosses, and I found these pretty tough. The rolling ball levels here were really superb. As usual with Switch games, the game doesn't implement achievements/trophies on Switch even though they are available on other platforms, which means the Switch is missing content. The framerate was quite consistent during gameplay, but did occasionally dip in some of the later difficult levels. The physics becomes less stable at low framerates making these levels a bit more challenging. It took me just over a couple of days to complete. Overall I quite enjoyed playing it.

This is a lite Metroidvania game. It's short enough that it's pretty clear where each ability is meant to be used, though there are few other uses of abilities other than the next expected path. It's very "linear" in that respect, except that you backtrack a few times to get to the next point. When jumping up to a screen above, the game starts you on either ledge on the screen above. This is helpful when you first start because you wouldn't be able to get up there otherwise. I'm used to using the momentum to jump to either side in these kinds of game. This would throw me off so I would keep falling back in the hole until I took a step back and thought about where I am in the next screen. Your gun sits out a little bit from the player collision, which means if you try to fire up when next to a wall the shots will collide with the wall. This was a little awkward, but you get used to it. I didn't find any secrets (other than optional paths marked on map), but there may be ones I'm not aware of. The items are typically what you'd expect in this kind of lite Metroidvania. Nothing really unique. The main story doesn't really kick in until the very end, but I found it amusing. It took me only a couple of hours to complete, but I did enjoy it. I nice little diversion.

I thoroughly enjoyed this game. I've passed it by a number of times, and glad I finally picked it up during a sale. The game is definitely worth it's full price. The gameplay is a platformer where the "gimmick" is that the robot can walk along the walls and ceiling. When oriented on a wall, for example, gravity will act toward the wall. At first this is quite disorienting but you get used to it. It makes for some interesting level design, with the designers using the orientation to great effect. It's similar to Super Mario galaxy in terms of gravity shifting, but plays quite differently because gravity tends to act at 90 degree increments. I found the story very heartwarming. The robot protagonist is almost child-like. The robot will not quite understand the adult things happening around him. The story is very British and I chuckled a number of times at the humour. The "voice acting" is all narrated by the robot with a varying pitch English robot voice. The supporting characters were all quite different and memorable. I really enjoyed the ending, it was a great wrap up to the story. The game was quite expansive. It is a Metroidvania game (with addition abilities and backtracking), linear in story (divided into chapters).

I purposefully picked this game to play because I wanted to play something simple and not to deep. It definitely scratched that itch and overall I did enjoy it. It's an almost-but-not-quite Metroidvania, with cover based combat. There are few enemies, and the combat gets fairly repetitive. The player only has two pips of health, but any death simply respawns in the same room with two pips making this not that big a deal. It essentially allows two pips per room. The boss battles are pattern based, and play fairly well. Once you've figured out how to beat them it's a matter of carefully avoiding their projectiles and firing their way. In order to finish the game there is one last task to do at the end and I found this completely unclear. I ended up having to look up a guide to finish this one. I think there is meant to be a twist of some sorts at the end but I really didn't get it! The atmosphere was pretty good. When you start, you are pretty weak and I found myself carefully almost "prodding" the dead bodies to see what's going to jump out at me. As usual I'm a bit disappointed that they didn't port the achievements found on other platforms to Switch.