We are in a familiar territory here! Because I have two games to review here that are both published by Ratalaika Games, so I've decided to once again make a double review all in one!
I have done this previously once before with the titles: SquareBoy vs Bullies Arena Edition and League Of Evil,now it will be done once again. This time the double review will cover the following games: Twin Robots Ultimate Edition and Midnight Deluxe!
So lets get started!
I,Robot
Twin Robots is a 2.5D Action puzzle platformer developed by Thinice Games and Published by Ratalaika Games
Twin Robots Ultimate Edition is a port of the Ouya and Wii U version of the game from 2013. The two little defective guys were first released on the Ouya,a console which went nowhere, and then released once more again on the Nintendo Wii U,a console which also went nowhere. But now with a release on the Switch has a chance to finally shine.
Story:
In Twin Robots you play as the two buddies,Watt and Volt,two friends who are deemed defective by their makers(whoever that might be) and their goal is to find a way to escape from their current situation they find themselves in and live to see another day. Explaining the tiny story in this manner makes the game seem more like a survival horror game than an actual puzzle platformer,which makes me root for them even more since they're so small and cute!
Game play:
In Twin Robots you must take control of both Watt and Volt and put them through a series of challenges. The challenges in the game start off rather simple,but then get a little more tricky,but never to the point where you could consider the game ''hard''. The hardest thing you will have to do is manage an electricity meter,which ill explain.
Both Watt and Volt run off their own electricity meter. The meter works as basically the characters health meter and it determines how long both Watt and Volt have to live. The more you run and jump and platform around,the faster your electricity meter runs out. Should your meter run out before achieving your goal, its game over,you lose and you just killed the poor robot, shame on you!
You start off each stage as either Watt or Volt and make your way from left to right of the screen hopping over holes,avoiding spikes or going down holes and finding elevators to lift you up to the next area,pretty standard stuff. Every step you take and every jump you make(I'll be watching you) drains your electricity meter as stated earlier,this is why you must work as quickly as possible to get to the end of the level,where you have to press a red button switch.
When you activate the end level red button, it unlocks the door that was previously blocking the other robot character(watt or volt) to get their turn at the level. Playing as the second character is a little different this go around as the color of the level changes to a darker tone aesthetic wise. In this mode you will be able to follow in the footsteps of your other robot friend and pick up his ''electricity steps''.
Each time you step on an electrical footprint left behind by the previous player,it refills your electricity meter. This is extremely helpful if you ended the previous level as the second character because your health/electricity meter carries over from the previous level you played. This simple thing can determine if you will fail a level the majority of time and it's good to always pay attention and strategize which character to use at the end of each level. Example of this if you ended the previous level with 50% health with Volt, the it's best to start the next level as Watt instead in order to save energy.
Everything named above is basically the rinse and repeat of the entire game. Each level becoming more difficult with moving objects,spikes,platforming and jumping becoming tighter and having less room for error. As long as you manage your electricity meter with both characters, then I can not see many player's having a huge difficulty with the game.
As far as the game's overall length goes, it should take you no more than 2-3hrs to beat if you choose to sit and play in one whole sitting. Each level should run you close to 1-3 minutes,even if you end up failing multiple times. There are a total of 40 levels to play through,which was extended from 28 from the previous release on Ouya and Wii U. Giving this version much more variety and bang for your dollar.
Final thoughts:
Twin Robots Ultimate Edition is indeed what it say it is. It takes what was good in the previous release on Ouya and Wii U and expands on it with its music soundtrack and level variety. While the game isn't exactly on the challenging side and can be considered rather easy by today's standards for the average gamer,if you're looking for a good time with some pick up and play platforming puzzle solving action,then I say give this a look. It's definitely worth it.
(...give me Watt and Volt amiib plz)
*Review code provided by Ratalaika Games
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A night to remember?
Midnight Deluxe is a 2D golf like platformer that is developed by Petite Games and published by Ratalaika games. It is a sequel to their previous release ''36 Fragments Of Midnight''.
Game play:
When I stated above that the game is a 2D golf like platformer, I wasn't kidding you,because it straight up plays entirely like that. You take control of a little white block and your objective is to sling him across the level to get to a glowing spot that is positioned somewhere in the stage.
You can fling the white block up or down and every direction possible using the Nintendo Switch's touch screen or using the controller itself. Momentum will determine how far and how fast you can sling the white block to its destination. For example pressing A and making the directional arrow by your character bigger and longer will show how fast and far the block will go,while vice versa doing the opposite will make the block stay in place or not go very far at all.
You're rewarded star rankings for each level you complete in a timely fashion. This is ultimately decided by how many attempts it takes you to get the block into the glowing hole,hence why it's basically a stylistic golf game. The fewer strokes it takes you to get into the end level hole,the better your ranking will be.
There are roughly 70 levels for the player to tread through in this game and it's crazy to say, this game can be pretty damn tricky. What might start off a breeze in the park,becomes a pretty intense game of golf that will leave some players extremely frustrated because they didn't calculate their slinging perfectly enough. One moment you think you're doing great and are almost done with one of the puzzles and then BAM you die! losing all progress in the level you just made,making have to start over once again from the beginning of the level.
This is where the game is going to anger a lot of wusses who like getting their hands held in video games. Midnight Deluxe relies a lot on trial and error and it's one of the main themes of the game. In order to perfect the game and actually complete it, you're going to need to learn the games mechanics to its fullest and fix all your own major flaws that you have in order to win. When you die,it's not the game's fault, its your own fault for being terrible! I would know. I was there.
The game starts off fairly simple, you just sling the block into a hole or tunnel in a wall and boom you're done,that simple. However, the further you get into the game you start noticing a lot of environmental hazards,some of which you can't really see at times because they're hidden behind grass or blend into the environment itself. This is where I can see people getting legit mad at the game,which would be warranted. There are random black voids on the roof of each stages ceiling and sometimes in the grass and floor below that when you touch it, is immediate death. It can be rather cheap at times.
Other obstacles you will have to get through requires dodging razor sharp blades that spin and just waits for the chance to slice you into pieces. These pop up either stationary on the ground below a platform or they move back and forth along the ground,which makes you have to time each and every move you make so that you can avoid being hit by them. It makes for some pretty intense moments.
The key to this game to me is creativity and proper coordination and timing. You can't just sling your character anywhere you want and hope to beat each level. It gets more complex than that at times. You're encouraged to use the games physics against itself in many different ways. Is there a platform you simply can not get up to or a section that doesn't seem reachable? This is where you have to use your noodle and get your head on straight and use the walls to your advantage.
Slinging yourself against the walls will allow the block to bounce and ricochet against it, which will send you in an opposite direction based off the angle you were speeding from. Go too slow or not high enough and you will fall back to the ground,but sling fast and hard and you'll slam off one wall and bounce off and head into an entirely new direction. This allows you to reach platforms and goals stationed on the other side of the wall itself or on the other side of the level too. Momentum is everything.
Environment/Music:
I want to touch upon these two topics real quick,as I feel they're important. The art style used in this game is very simplistic in nature, but its overall aesthetic makes it very endearing with the soft colors of black,whites and blues. The sparkly white's that each level gives off gives you the sense that this really is set somewhere at Midnight with only the light of the moon and sparkling of the stars lighting your way. Great sense of atmosphere.
The music compliments the atmosphere in the very same way. All music in the game is also very simplistic but extremely soothing,very soft sounding and relaxing. Mixing the softness and relaxing music of the game with the starry night of blues and white,makes each category blend perfectly with each other and gives you the exact amount of atmosphere you need.
Final Thoughts:
Overall Midnight Deluxe is a pretty good sequel to 36 Fragments of Midnight. While being both simplistic and atmospheric with its environment, it also manages to have a pretty good learning curve and the right amount of difficulty in its game play to make this a worth while experience to anyone looking for a challenge. For those who aren't babies and are not afraid of good ol trial and error, I highly recommend giving his one a look!
*Review code provided by Ratalaika Games
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