Posted by Xander
Sun, 13 Jan 2008 10:48:00 GMT
I Wanna Be the Guy is hard. It’s really really hard, and what’s shown in this screenshot is one of the easiest sections of the game. If anyone is curious there are 87 spikes on that one screen, and each will kill you if you even scratch it. Not even a simple death either; You will blow up in a shower of messtacular gibbination. And I love it.
IWBTG is a 2D-Platformer from hell, via Kayin Nasaki, where you play ‘The Kid’ on his Metroidvania-lite quest to become ‘The Guy’, eponymous hero of platformerdom. I say Metroidvania-lite, because unlike many exploratory platformers this lacks any kind of character upgrades, meaning you’re stuck the way you are for the entire game.
It’s actually pretty lengthy even without considering how often you’ll have to repeat screens over and over again. Save points are placed pretty generously throughout if you’re playing on ‘Medium’, but that doesn’t do much to alleviate the frustration. Everything will kill you; Spikes, Moons, Bullets, Fire (Naturally), Blanka, Celings, floors, walls, walls-with-wheels-AND-spikes, Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku (But no shoryuken? Yet..) and heat-seeking apples (Well, they’re more like giant cherries – Kayin).
It’s a game of madness, memorisation and hatred. And I love it. The deathtraps are often-times hilarious, and boss fights are the height of precision and persitence. It’s not perfect, but then it was never meant to be, and any glitches are encouraged to be exploited just for the game breaking the laws of common sense to blow your carcass across the screen in wonderous fury. I can’t guarantee you’ll enjoy it, but I can guarantee it’s something you wont be forgetting anytime soon.
There’s a few download mirrors on the site, and for the sake of saving their bandwidth it’s encouraged for you to download the demo version which is smaller (and most players won’t pass the demo area before they lose their minds probably), and saves are compatabile with both versions anyway.
PROTIP: Use ‘S’ to skip cutscenes. Provided you make it to a boss, it’ll save yourself a lot of manly tears.
Posted in Platformers, Highly Recommended, Adventure, Metroidvanias, Action / Arcade | 27 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:34:00 GMT
Pixel called…
Read more...
Posted in Platformers, Metroidvanias, Videos, Previews | Tags ThePodunkian | 107 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Tue, 20 Nov 2007 22:10:00 GMT
I’m a bit torn about Hasslevania, Del Duio’s Castlevania parody game. On the one hand, it’s a pretty sloppily-made platformer that suffers from bad controls, poor collision detection, and some really frustrating design decisions (e.g. not being able to heal at save points). It’s also a 140 meg download, 120 of those megs being cheesy voiceovers (I’m not kidding).
On the other hand, it’s pretty obvious that the creator had a lot of fun making the game, and it comes through when you’re playing. For all the flaws, the little touches he added do sparkle on this rough gem. And as dumb as the jokes are, I actually enjoy the sense of humor this game has. “Rovert Bellmunt” complaining to Dracula’s lawyer at the entrance to the castle? C’mon, that’s chuckle-worthy.
On the other other hand (yes, I have three hands (one of which is a penis)), I have the high jump boots but I’m totally stuck and why oh why does it cost 2 hearts just to do a high jump I can’t get past these spikes FUCK I have to wait another minute before the game over screen passes.
Screw this game.
(But thanks, Koholint!)
Posted in Platformers, Metroidvanias, Windows, Freeware | 52 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Mon, 27 Aug 2007 07:09:00 GMT
An Untitled Story is the long-awaited platform game by Game Maker developer YMM. It’s almost impossible not to compare this game to Knytt and Seiklus, since it shares a lot of visual, thematic, and gameplay ideas with those classic games. If you’re fans of either of those classics, you’ll probably appreciate this one.
One thing to consider, however, is that An Untitled Story puts a lot more emphasis on upgrading and hardcore platforming skills than those other games. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a lot of exploring and finding fun little areas… but if precision jumping isn’t your bag, well, you ain’t gonna get too far in this game.
Overall, I like the graphics and the atmosphere and the challenging platforming bits. It can be really frustrating at times, but there’s a lot of content here, and it’s well worth the $1 (or more) donation to get in.
(Thanks, ChevyRay, for mentioning this game in the forums!)
Posted in Platformers, Highly Recommended, Metroidvanias, Windows | Tags YMM | 44 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Sat, 27 Jan 2007 16:11:00 GMT
La Mulana, the sprawling platformer that bears a resemblence to the old MSX game Maze of Galious, finally has an English translation thanks to Aeon Genesis:
“The game is huge, with many different areas to explore and dozens of items and weapons to find. Each area has a large variety of puzzles and traps (many of them quite fiendish) and you need to solve the puzzles in each area to discover the Ankhs and Ankh Jewels, which allow you to fight the eight Guardians of the ruins. To solve the puzzles you’ll need to be able to read the tablets scattered throughout the ruins, which will require a Hand Scanner and translation software for the portable MSX that Lemeza has brought along on the adventure. Your Hand Scanner will also allow you to find items and search the bones of less fortunate adventurers.”
The game and the patch can be downloaded together from the AGTP site.
EDIT: FYI, the patch also translates the manual, included with the game!
Posted in Platformers, Highly Recommended, Metroidvanias, Windows, Freeware, Doujin | Tags NIGORO | 42 comments
Posted by dessgeega
Mon, 04 Dec 2006 05:47:00 GMT
nifflas, developer of within a deep forest, has just released a new game: knytt.
the titular knytt is a little pixel ratmonkey who shimmies along walls trying to find the pieces of the spaceship that can take it back home. the pieces are just an excuse to explore a beautiful videogame landscape. the jumping and climbing puzzles that are here are simple and straightforward; the real goal is simply to find and see lovely things.
i’m posting this because i think some of you will love it and some of you will hate it. download already, nifflas is your pixel from the west.
Posted in Platformers, Highly Recommended, Metroidvanias, Windows, Freeware | Tags Nifflas | 27 comments
Posted by dessgeega
Tue, 23 May 2006 02:20:00 GMT
within a deep forest is a freeware game that harkens back to the days of 16-bit design. it is lush and beautiful, drenched in twilight and ambience, with a mellow downtempo soundtrack. like many games of the 16-bit era, progress is tied to the unlocking of new abilities—new forms for your ball.
you’re a bouncy ball – holding A makes you bounce further, holding S makes you bounce less. different forms have different properties and abilities that need to be mastered. this game never lets lock-and-key design supersede skill – the game has no qualms about working you hard for your next upgrade, and then requiring you to get comfortable with it right away. be prepared to play many sections repeatedly until you get them right – instantaneous respawn keeps this from becoming too frustrating.
there’s a speedrun mode (and online low-time table) for players who finish the game, and a couple of unlockable bonus games for players who are thorough. completing the game the first time should be plenty satisfying, though.
Posted in Platformers, Highly Recommended, Metroidvanias, Windows, Freeware | Tags Nifflas | 48 comments
