platformer - Mr. Dave Pizza

Pompom is A Challenging, Colorful Hamster Platformer

Post author:mrdavepizza
Post published:April 10, 2022
Post category:GAME REVIEWS

The recently released pixel platformer Pompom: The Great Space Rescue ran across my desk as a showcase opportunity through my friends at Indie Game Collective. It's a precision platformer, sort of, with a feature I've never seen before this involving time slowing AND improvised platform placement. You can play with a controller, or you can play it with a mouse (or hamster actually, since that is Pompom's main character you play as.) The game balances innovative gameplay, a moderate learning curve, and generous leniency to keep your gameplay flowing. I'm thoroughly enjoying it, at the level of some other top precision platformers like Celeste. From the pleasant pixel art to the rewarding gameplay, this game earns every slice in the Mr. Dave Pizza pie. So, let me do my duty and share with you some information about this excellent game. Also, I made a cam appearance for the first time on this game's video--with my favorite hat! Not sure why, just felt like doing it.

Mago is a Colorful SNES Style Indie Platformer About a Sorcerer

Post author:mrdavepizza
Post published:February 10, 2022
Post category:DEMO REVIEWS

Mago: The Villain's Burger is an adventure set in a world populated by fresh NES sprites and joyful playful storytelling. It is your responsibility as Mago (which is a perfect name for a sorcerer) to rescue the princess and do heroic things. It's filled with so many fun easy-to-learn but masterable abilities and unique mechanics that you just don't find in every game. The best way to understand it is most likely visually, but today I'll be talking about why Mago is a promising look at how its developers are creating something that is, possibly, capable of going big if they wish.

Dadish 2 is an Amazing Radish-Themed Epic Adventure

Post author:mrdavepizza
Post published:January 31, 2022
Post category:GAME REVIEWS

I'm spending time playing a lot of food games lately. While cooking sims are the most obvious manifestation of this, platformers like Dadish 2 are right on board too. Dadish 2 is a continuation of the original Dadish game and both are available on most platforms. You, Dadish, awake from a nap at work one day when your several radish children come to visit you for "bring your kids to work day." They convince you to leave the chainsaw and cannon-filled office building and set off into this weird world. Dadish 2 has a narrative that is humorously inconsistent but is very entertaining and quirky.

Necrow Co. is a Fun Little Platformer

Post author:mrdavepizza
Post published:January 23, 2022
Post category:GAME REVIEWS

If this headline doesn't raise an eyebrow, then stick with two, because this article is tapping into some unexplored territory with the game Necrow Co. by creator Zahran Worell. The game Necrow Co. is a 2D pixel platformer, playable with either a controller or keyboard. It's a light narrative about a crow who starts work for a company of reapers, featuring a cozy skeleton psychopomp grim dispatching you to a national park filled with spookies, squishies, and don't-touchies (terms coined on our end.) Abilities are basic: move left and right, jump, and shoot a sort-of crow song wave that disables mobs. Necrow Co. is a charming adventure, and despite the grim theme, fairly soft on the player. Let's take a look.

What Lies in the Multiverse is a New Game With One VERY Interesting Feature

Post author:mrdavepizza
Post published:January 22, 2022
Post category:DEMO REVIEWS GAME REVIEWS

We've got a big event going on right now for THE BIG ADVENTURE. Many demos, many great indies. I set my eyes on What Lies in the Multiverse first. It's a collaboration between Studio Voyager, IguanaBee, and Untold Tales. Everything you'll see in this game has a silvery thread of classic games like Fez, Owlboy, etc. But it's a little more than technicolor flashing pixel animations, it's dealing with a really awesome powerful mechanic. Changing universes. That's right, when you click RT you change universes in this game, and, honestly, it's unique, it's a seldom-used trope, but a particularly amusing one, because when you play a game like this, you can drop out real quick and drop back in as if you were putting on a new hat.

Celeste is a Top Indie Pick and Superior Platformer

Post author:mrdavepizza
Post published:January 19, 2022
Post category:GAME REVIEWS

Celeste. Yes, it's about time we did this. The renowned precision platformer from Extremely OK Games has been out for approximately three years now (Celeste was released Jan. 25, 2018, hence the three-year anniversary,) and it's not lost its charm. And why would it? The game sold over a million copies by the end of 2019. Whether you're hanging out in your game room or playing on your Switch en destination, this is the kind of pick-up and go game dreams are made of. You'll have to pardon me as I haphazardly introduce a game that's been out for three years! I'm compelled to share my heart with you on this one though. So, let's do it. Let's talk, Celeste. I'll cover "Farewell" a little bit as well.

Spotlight: Greak Feels like Hollow Knight But Is… Different (Nintendo Switch)

Post author:mrdavepizza
Post published:January 2, 2022
Post category:GAME REVIEWS

Amongst the trove of pale-skinned characters, glowing misty caverns, and punchy character abilities, this one might be new to you. Greak: Memories of Azur is similar to platformers like Hollow Knight and Undertale, perhaps even Ori or maybe Hoa, sure. Don't worry if you haven't heard of any of those! What Greak offers is a borderline cozy adventure with very unique, engaging gameplay that is an experience of its own.

The Lightbringer (Demo) is What I Played Today

Post author:mrdavepizza
Post published:November 29, 2021
Post category:DEMO REVIEWS

This is kind of random. No, really, it is. Might as well roll for initiative. Anyway, I've been spending a ton of time on the Switch lately, since I was traveling with the handheld recently and got kind of used to it. However, I recorded it while playing on my TV, so I don't know. Anyway, was looking back through some of my YouTube videos and realized a lot of you like demos for some reason. So, this one was on the eShop and I gave it a spin. Here we go again with this kinda cute boomerang whirling puzzle solver: The Lightbringer.

Pumpkin Jack is the Best Spooky Game Out There Now

Post author:mrdavepizza
Post published:September 25, 2021
Post category:GAME REVIEWS HALLOWEEN GAMES

I petitioned my friends yesterday for a list of games they consider Halloween thematic for an easily spooked dude like myself. I knew of Pumpkin Jack as a backburner game that I had seen last year and lamented myself for not having my affairs in order to get it on the review list! That was during that standalone year of 2020 that had enough triggers as it is. That's why, when my peers suggested Pumpkin Jack I was excited to see it as a standing contender. And to be honest, some of the non-straight-up horror genre games this year are not the type of visual fantasticness that Pumpkin Jack is. So, after plunking down the kinda premium toll on Steam, I'm here to tell you why Pumpkin Jack is worth the cost if you are into indie platformers and want something that's bound to get you into the Halloween spirit--all-year-long!

Kick Bot is a Fast Paced Platformer That Has a Terrific Demo

Post author:mrdavepizza
Post published:August 30, 2021
Post category:GAME REVIEWS

Spikes, saws, laser beams, the whole works. There are also springing platforms, stomp areas, and wall edges that you can grip to pretty well with some slight entropy, but that's no problem as you can also climb the walls before you leap to the other side. If you're not familiar with this type of game, timing is everything. Timing is everything in Kick Bot. Oh yeah, the reason it's called "Kick Bot?" ... A robot with a giant boot kicks you through the roof when you complete a level. Hey, why not?