A couple of months in the past, the Change lastly acquired Pizza Tower, an indie motion platformer that’s gotten a number of reward for a way properly it channels Nintendo’s long-dormant Wario Land collection. But developer Tour de Pizza wasn’t the one staff impressed by Wario. Summitsphere’s Antonblast is a wild and great motion platformer that feels prefer it might truly be the subsequent Wario Land sport if it got here with a distinct coat of paint; its mixture of velocity, precision, and good degree design makes for a really thrilling expertise that’s solely let down by its points with steady efficiency.
Antonblast stars the titular Dynamite Anton, whose indignant, red-skinned look leaves Devil feeling envious and insecure about his standing as “the reddest being of all of them.” So, in a petty act of retaliation, he sends his minions to Anton’s residence to steal what he cherishes most: the Spirits that he saved round his dwelling house. Enraged, Anton grabs his hammer and units out on a quest to reclaim what was stolen and to provide Devil a bit of his thoughts.
Play by way of any given degree right here and the inspiration it takes from Wario Land 4 is straight away clear. Anton (or his roommate, Annie, in the event you want) tears by way of ranges like a just about unstoppable drive of nature, smashing containers and blowing up enemies as he bounces round along with his hammer and powers by way of obstacles along with his ‘Clutch’ cost means. There are many facet paths to discover and collectibles to snap up alongside the best way, however the final aim is to get to the bomb on the finish of the extent so you can begin “Blissful Hour.” As soon as triggered, a countdown clock begins, and also you solely have a couple of minutes to run all the best way again by way of the extent with the Spirit you collected. These mad dashes to security are an actual thrill, as you typically are compelled to take an alternate path again to the start and normally depart an unlimited path of destruction in your wake on the journey again.
Merely beating a degree isn’t sufficient to get the total expertise, nevertheless, not even in the event you took your time to clean it for all its collectibles. After beating every one, you unlock a time assault and combo chain mode for the extent, and that is the place the distinctive degree design actually comes into focus.
For Time Assault, every degree offers you a good par time to attain that calls for you grasp degree layouts and perceive the nuances of Anton’s moveset to optimise your makes an attempt. Combo Chain works a lot the identical, however right here you’re tasked with sustaining an unbroken combo by strategically smashing containers and blowing up enemies, all with none well being pickups that can assist you out. We loved what these two modes dropped at the desk, as they drive you to have interaction with every degree otherwise every time and add better problem and replayability to an already nice platformer.
Even in the event you simply persist with the minimal content material to clear the bottom story, Antonblast shows a exceptional quantity of selection throughout its comparatively transient run. It ought to solely take you about 10 hours to clear (perhaps double that in the event you do every part), however it makes probably the most of that point by consistently introducing new concepts and degree ideas alongside the best way.
One degree has a power-up that primarily turns you into Taz the Tasmanian Satan, totally obliterating every part in your path as you flip right into a chaotic whirlwind. One other stage introduces a blazing-fast animal buddy shark that Anton can trip on land or sea, giving new traversal choices as he hangs on for expensive life. That is the sort of sport that retains issues shifting, and its dedication to introducing new concepts and constructing ranges round them retains it feeling consistently contemporary.
As for its visible presentation, Antonblast is clearly impressed by the likes of previous Newgrounds-style Flash animations and ‘90s Nickelodeon reveals. There’s a twisted and considerably dreamlike high quality to the colorful worlds you terrorise in your journey, and all of the characters and animations have a really Looney Tunes-esque vibe with their exaggerated actions. At nearly any second on-screen, there’s one thing sure to be exploding, screaming, or collapsing, and with this underscored by the vibration characteristic of the Pleasure-Con it results in a really full of life visible expertise. However it’s the eye to little particulars that actually sells the artwork type, such because the lengthy path of ‘A’s that follows a terrified enemy you simply despatched careening right into a brick wall.
The audio retains up with the insanity of the motion with a pop and jazz-infused soundtrack that maintains a excessive vitality degree all through. And we particularly recognize the frequent cartoonish sound results to punctuate Anton’s damaging actions—issues just like the crashing airplane sound used when Anton does a physique slam from a excessive leap assist to maintain the goofy environment entrance and centre.
One draw back is that the efficiency practically can’t sustain with the fixed motion. There are many moments the place the display screen is positively soaked in explosions, poker chips, and screaming enemies, which results in a noticeable drop within the body charge. These drops don’t have a large direct impact in your means to regulate Anton, however they nonetheless actually cheapen the expertise sufficient to be disappointing. We’ve seen studies of crashing points and a few softlock bugs encountered by different gamers over the launch interval, too. We’ve been assured by the builders {that a} efficiency enchancment patch focusing on these points has already been submitted to Nintendo, however simply be warned that the present model obtainable at launch is relatively tough across the edges—chances are you’ll wish to watch for the fixes.
Conclusion
Antonblast is a superb tribute to Nintendo’s Wario Land collection with its madcap motion and concentrate on gameplay selection. The cartoonish visuals, excessive replayability, and total spectacle of the expertise make this one properly value a advice, although we’d mood this by saying that it actually wants some work on its Change efficiency. Whether or not on Change or elsewhere, we’d recommend you decide this one up in the event you’re in any respect a fan of Nintendo’s different Italian mascot and are in search of a well-made and fast-paced new 2D platformer—Antonblast has received it the place it counts and is well-deserving of a spot in your library.