itch.io

A well made, if short game. I played through the game in normal mode and the main challenge was really choosing which control scheme to use. The option is there to use up as shoot and the button to jump if you're not a fan of the usual up to jump and button to shoot. The up to shoot and button to jump option is quite a smart idea, though it ultimately broke my brain as my head just wanted me to press up to jump. In the end, up to jump was what I went with and although this made double jump a little awkward at times, I managed to get used to it (sort of).  I think that just having one of the characters simply being able to jump further rather than double jump may result in a slightly more manageable control scheme though the current levels are set out in a manner that requires some double jumping. A gamepad with the option to assign up to a button is probably ideal for this game, but sadly I don't have one. I used a Retrobit Sega Saturn style gamepad on a C64 Maxi. Of course, using a PC based C64 emulator would sort this out too.

Regardless of the C64’s limitations in relation to controls, the game plays very well and enemies are not just relentlessly being thrown your way. They all follow some sort of pattern, as do other moving obstacles. The game never feels unfair or cheap. I found the mechanic of switching between the two characters to be a little underutilized early on as I found sticking with the double jumping character to be more useful, but I did find myself using the more powerful character a little more towards the end.

It’s nice graphically with clearly defined sprites and smooth animation. The only fault I could find was that at times the rock formations/walls were a little indistinct, so there were a couple of times where I didn’t notice my path/jump was blocked until I hit the wall. I don’t recall this causing any unnecessary deaths though. This is likely a limitation of the C64 colour palette though. It really does look good. Sound is solid too with sound effects and music being audible at the same time.

I seem to remember an interview where the developer stated the game was meant to be expanded on at some stage and I hope that does eventually happen.

I completed the game last night. My play time was around an hour and twenty minutes. I had to do a little back tracking as I missed some pick-ups required to complete the game. Overall, it's fantastic.

The controls are snappy with directional shooting mechanics that make sense. The graphic style is appealing with an almost coloured monochromatic look if that makes sense. Enemies don't get lost in the backgrounds. The difficulty level is well balanced. The always present map is clear and helpful without making the play area feel small. Any major backtracking I had to do was my fault due to forgetting to go back and collect things that were clearly marked on the map.

I am not a metroidvania fan and while this could be seen as one to a degree, it is not the type of game you are going to find yourself wandering around aimlessy looking for one little thing you've missed to enable progression.

The only issues I had with the game were that sometimes I'd not quite be in the right spot to get on a ladder resulting in getting hit by an enemy and occasionally enemies would spawn in places where they were impossible to avoid. Health and invincibility pick-ups were well placed though so these issues were somewhat negated.

Absolutely worth the few dollars they're asking for it and probably one of the least frustrating C64 games I've played recently. It still feels like a C64 game, but there's a modernity to how under control it all feels as well.