The Messenger

You can tell just by looking at the screenshots that this seeks to pay homage to oldschool games. and it comes with some oldschool challenge, as well. Now, I'm not one who insists on having every game I play punish me for anything less than pixel-perfect movements, and I say that the challenge here is almost perfect. It's tough, sure, but it's Mega Man X tough, where you have lots of great movement-based techniques, and just getting around feels so good! The very first technique you learn is the cloudstep, which allows you to jump again in midair if you strike something while airborne, which you can repeat infinitely, as long as you're still hitting something. It's such a simple mechanic, but SO satisfying, and mastering it makes the level design flow so beautifully. As you continue on, you'll get more abilities to expand your moveset even further, and everything just gets even better. The bells and whistles are lovely, too; you can see the great NES-style 8-bit artwork, and from beginning to end, it's beautiful and very detailed. You probably couldn't do a lot of what you see here on actual NES hardware because of memory limits and such, but who cares? It looks great, and still evokes that classic style! The music does a great job of that, too; the soundtrack is pretty faithful to the NES soundchip, and will keep your blood pumping! You probably wouldn't expect much out of the story and characters, but there is a fairly detailed plot, and the writting is genuinely funny, especially your smartass sidekick, Quarble. There's also a free expansion called Picnic Panic, which is absolutely worth your time.

Great game with very clever level design and good action. There is a mix of fighting and death defying parkour runs over chasms and through various hazards that in some ways reminds me of They Always Run, but with simpler and crisper fighting and parkour runs that are more clever (really, some of the design is really impressive and will leave you really satisfied when you figure out how to get from point A to point B). The writing is equally clever and the story is simultaneously epic and irreverent, not taking itself too seriously. The time travelling puzzles are also very cool and the more retro graphics of the past period versus the more modern graphics of the later period are a nice touch. The difficulty is not brutal, though perhaps a little hard at times (but very manageable if you are experienced with this type of game). There is a generous number of save points and the difficulty feels challenging, but never frustrating. The parkour elements of the game are, in my opinion, the most challenging parts and the fighting (including the boss fights) are comparatively a lot easier. Do note that the game change style midway and go from a straightforward 2D action game to a metroidvania with a fair amount of backtracking with some puzzles requiring a lot of travelling to resolve so if you are into simple action games, you should skip this title. Otherwise, this may very well turn out to be the most clever satisfying 2D action game you've played in a while and well worth both the money and the time investment.

Clearly inspired by classics like Ninja Gaider / Megaman / even some Castlevania in there. Its self aware about its style and origins. Terrific gameplay and music with a lot of polish on the details. The game switches between portals of the past and the future with graphical and musical changes accompanying those different regions. Very well done. If I have to be critical, I was constantly lost which made me replay areas way too many times, leading to them becoming tiring. Interestingly, the game feels difficult but I honestly wasnt really ever stuck on any bit for longer than a few tries but I could see how it could be annoying to some. Overall, I think this game is a GEM and I have been hard-recommending it to friends.

Wow! If you love platformers, this one you must buy. First I thought this was just one regular NES-style platformer with traditional gameplay. And it is mostly. Very addictive and amusing gameplay. Music is so good! But it gets better...

The game is simple, yet excellent, plays a lot like a real NES platformer, but can I just point out how good the writing is? I laugh out loud way too much, the Shopkeeper is hilarious. And the whole thing breaks the forth wall constantly, but I don't think I ever saw it done so well. I can't even put my finger on why it's so good. Like, it IS on the nose, but somehow subtle at the same time. I have no idea how it gives me this impression, but it just does and I love it.