Hivemind 2: Stargrove Scramble is a 2D pixel art platformer part of a 2021 Newgrounds dev jam with an “egg” theme by the dev group Team Bugulon. You play a little cloaked lizard, progressing through various spring-sunset-toned environments, collecting candies that in turn give you eggs that you can use to hurl at enemies and unblock paths. The music is a touch above fun, along with the sound effects, making the game have a polished SNES quality that is so adored in these kinds of games.
Gameplay
Stargrove Scramble is a generous product as far as free games on ItchIO go in my opinion. It holds a really nice balance of ease to play with rewarding character abilities. More descriptively, the game has really pleasing pixel art graphics and an interactive environment that feels really nice to play. Chiptune sound effects are pleasant and not too jarring. The pink and cosmic’ish color palette are easy on the eyes too. It holds the line for pixel platformers, having gameplay that’s as good as retail release games but also having indie handmade details that are simply satisfying. The controller support is a nice plus that I always look for too. I recommend checking it out if you play ItchIO games and want a pleasant free one that seems to be a cohesive one. You can also play Stargrove Scramble in your browser if you like!
Have a look at some gameplay if you want to see what is involved here.
Try It
Totally short review here, but just check it out, you don’t need me to tell you. And thank you for reading Mr. Dave Pizza. I hope you like some of the hidden gems I’ve written about here! https://team-bugulon.itch.io/stargrove-scramble
