Slime-san Review
Slime-san is a simple, yet very difficult platformer where each single-screen level consists of four very unique stages, which constantly change in mechanics and available tools to use. Players control a green glob of slime and have less than a handful of moves to help guide him/her/it through the levels, a standard jump, a dash move and a phase move.
Release Date: Auguest 3, 2017
Platform(s): PC, Nintendo Switch (Reviewed)
Developer: Fabraz
Price: 11.99
Slime-san is a simple, yet very difficult platformer where each single-screen level consists of four very unique stages, which constantly change in mechanics and available tools to use. Players control a green glob of slime and have less than a handful of moves to help guide him/her/it through the levels, a standard jump, a dash move and a phase move. Each level is contains items that are one of three colors, green, red and white. White is the main surfaces of the level, which are nothing special. Anything red kills you immediately. Green can be used by Slime-san in many ways. A green block can be used as a standard platform, but using phase allows Slime-san to pass through these blocks, which I will get into further detail below. There is also a level timer that ticks away as you try to get through the stages. As the timer runs out, the level will fill up with red slime from the outside in. Touch this red slime and you are done. Players must use the different elements around the levels, along with these moves, in order to pass. The dash move is exactly that; Slime-san dashes in the direction you’re pointing, whether in the air or on the ground to cover distance quickly. It takes a little bit of practice, but It’s great for getting into tight spaces, and when coupled with the wall-jump it allows Slime-san to go pretty much anywhere. Slime-san’s other ability is a phase move, which allows him to pass through anything green. You are able to use both abilities at once as well, which can be helpful for getting through a green block and is surrounded by red block on both sides of it, which can be pretty tough. Phasing also slows down the level, but not the level timer. The level timer is still ticking away at standard speed but everything is moving more slowly.
The gameplay in Slime-san is great. Controls feel very nice and fluid, which is necessary in a platformer that requires this much precision. The game is difficult from the beginning, but the further along you get, the more mechanics you run into and the higher the difficulty gets. For example, shortly into the game you learn a dash move that is used to push or break blocks. It seems like a new mechanic is introduced every couple of levels, which keeps the game interesting. I have even managed to find a secret exit or two along the way, which get you special coins to use in the Arcade.
While the main game contains a lot of content, there’s also a huge amount of extras in what is called Slumptown. The little town of Slumptown provides a couple of areas to visit which contain creatures that sell all sorts of things, such as extra characters, each with their own traits, and clothing items for Slime-san.. There’s also an arcade with a selection of games. Slumptown is fairly expansive, with five main areas plus a few offshoots to explore, and the secret exits from the main levels add more characters to it's population.
The coins I mentioned earlier are only for the arcade, everything else costs apples. Each area in a level has an apple in it somewhere. These apples are not hidden, but can be hard to reach. I’ve found myself wanting to get the apples on each stage and have died multiple times because of this. There are times I could have easily cleared the level without getting the apples, but for some reason I didn’t want to clear a stage without that dang apple.
Speaking of dying, which happens a lot, Slime-san has infinite lives. When you die, you instantly spawn back at the screen’s start, not the beginning of the level. There is literally no noticeable loading when the stage is resetting after dying, and yes you lose the apple if you die after reaching it on that stage.
Slime-san is very trick, challenging and unique platformer that demands quick fingers and perfect timing. Sometimes the difficulty can be a little frustrating, but it’s usually in a good way. Slime-san is also a great game to pick up and play in short bursts. The graphics are definitely nothing special, which may be my only drawback. A game like this does not need great graphics, but I think it would be pretty cool to play this game with better visuals.
A special thank you to Fabraz for providing The Gamer’s Lounge with a review copy. This review is for the Nintendo Switch version of Slime-san.
Pros
Controls and gameplay is very polished and smooth.
Lots and lots of contents, both in main story and extras.
Challenging enough to make you want to play more.
Cons
Graphics are not the best.
Can be a little too difficult at times, which gets frustrating.
Rise and Shine Review (Xbox One)
Rise and Shine is a side-scrolling platformer/action game, published by Adult Swim Games, with a comic book art style and (sometimes) brutal gameplay. Players play as Rise, a little guy who’s thrown into a war between humans and aliens on his home planet of Gamearth.
Rise and Shine is a side-scrolling platformer/action game, published by Adult Swim Games, with a comic book art style and (sometimes) brutal gameplay. Players play as Rise, a little guy who’s thrown into a war between humans and aliens on his home planet of Gamearth. After a brief encounter with a giant robot, you wake up in a mall filled with chaos and destruction. There you meet a guy who gives you a gun named Shine. Shine is no ordinary gun, Shine is a revolver that has special abilities such as a homing system, and a range of different types of bullets. After getting out of the mall, you embark on a constant mix of firing Shine, manipulating his bullets and contemplating your next move.
The control system is fairly basic, but can be a little wonky at times. Players move with the left stick, jump with A, hide behind cover with B, very simple controls. Shooting is done by bringing up the aiming reticle by holding the left trigger, using the right stick to aim and pressing the right trigger to shoot. The left bumper is used to change gun enhancements and the right bumper is used to change bullet types. These enhancements and bullet types have different uses throughout the game.
Gameplay-wise, Rise and Shine is really difficult at many points, but it is fun enough to keep players engaged and wanting to get through the tough parts. One of the main things that makes the game so difficult is that, for the most part, it takes only one enemy bullet or strike to kill you. Thankfully, you restart at the closest checkpoint, which are abundant enough to keep you from having to go back too far in a level.
Rise and Shine incorporates a lot of puzzle mechanics in its campaign, which really helps keep the game entertaining. For example, you’ll come up against a door that won’t open, but by selecting the homing bullet, you can use it to move through tight gaps and past unsuspecting gun turrets to blow up the generator.
The artwork in Rise and Shine is very, very good. There’s a rich palette of color, plenty of variety in each scene, and a real attention to detail. From the beginning of a stage to the end, nothing seems to repeat itself. There is a lot of over the top violence and gore, especially for the comic-book style artwork. There is lots of blood, as well as heads and other body parts rolling around. This caught me off-guard at first, but is actually pretty cool.
Overall, Rise and Shine is a really fun game. It is very fast paced and keeps you on your toes and thinking both at the same time. The puzzles really help save the game from being a boring side-scroller.
3/5