PixlBit

I bounced between Xbox Series S and Switch this week, sometimes within just a few minutes. I would've done so with PS4 as well, but I've misplaced my HDMI splitter to expande two slots to four. Here's the games I really liked followed by the ones I kind of didn't stick with for very long. 

Liked

Disney Epic Mickey Rebrushed (Switch rental) - I got the the battle with the Mad Doctor and got stuck on a puzzle. Yeah, I could've looked it up, but I'm not into that with this game right now. I returned it. It just went to $30 on the Spring Sale for Xbox, like it is on the other systems, but I'm kind of waiting for that magic $20 or under. I wish I could get a physical copy for that price. 

Epic Mickey 2: Power of Two (Xbox Series S digitally owned) - I returned to this to get some more epic Mickey. I got quite a bit farther than I did last time I tried it but stopped over some darn platforming mechanic I kept running into. Sometimes you can't grab an edge for no reason and sometimes that platform is a bit more slippery than you thought. Consistency please! But I'm sure I'll return to this again and get a little farther. I just love this setting. 

Gunbrella (Switch only - and PC)

I played the demo for this a fell in love. It was on sale for $6 so, bought, gone. I played until I got stuck on the first major boss, which I came very close to beating, I just wore myself out repeating it. It's a 2D, highly detailed pixel-art action platformer (maybe Metroidvania?) with a novel weapon/traversal tool, the gunbrella. Shoot your gun and then out pops an umbrella and you can glide around to get to high ledges and basically air-dash to avoid foes. I loved the dialog, the old west setting, the slightly gloomy look and the flying gibs -- it's a bit bloody. It's great!

Kirby's Dream Land 1-2, Donkey Kong Land 1-3, Wario Land 3 (Swtich subscription, GB) - Kirby is the best. I love being able to fly around and be free of those annoying platforms. I also love absorbing abilities in the second game and using them, at least until you get hit. DKL is the GB's DKC games transfered and very good ports they are. I might have even liked 2 and 3 better on GB than on SNES. The first one doesn't have DK's ground pound which is annoying. I know where all those burried bannana's are in the SNES version. I love the character designs and humor of Wario Land 3, but I cannot get anywhere in it. I've become a Wario fanboy now that I experienced Shake It on Wii. 

Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series (Xbox Series S, digitally owned) - I returned to it on Normal difficulty instead of Easy trying to collect every darn thing from the levels. I got pretty deep into the first game before I got what I'm calling "platformer fatigue". 

Teslagrad 1 Remastered and 2 (Xbox Series S, digitally owned)

$2 for both games on sale and it looks great. I couldn't resist. Man, I wanted to love these games but some of the puzzles just wore me down. It's mostly a puzzle platformer with a lot of interesting electricity related mechanics. They look great too. The second game was a little darker in tone reminding me of Inside or Limbo, but really the series is more like the Trine games. 

Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom Demo (Xbox Series S, digital)

I was downloading demos whenever I found them too this week. This one really stood out to me. It has TV anime style music and chunky, colorful graphics like a highly produced cartoon. The gameplay is very accessible at first and presents you with hidden areas and exploration galore even when it's a 2D game. I love the illusion of 3D presented in 2D games like this and Klonoa. I can't wait for a sale to pick this up. 

Bounced

TMNT: Mutants Unleashed (Switch rental) - This infuriated me so much. You play a minute or so of awesome brawling to watch cutscenes and then multiple and lengthy load screens. I felt like I was barely playing the game at all. It has a graffitti art style that is a little bit ugly to me. It's not terrible if you can get rid of those load screens. What is this 2007?

Commander Keen in Keen Dreams (Switch digitally owned) - I got this cheap one day and was curious. It's the ID guys test project as they were putting out Wolfenstein 3D and Doom. It's an okay platformer but one hit and you repeat the entire level. That mechanic alone is a deal breaker for me -- neat piece of history though. 

Ghosts 'n Goblins (Subscription, NES) - The original. Fun but difficult. One hit takes your armor, the second hit kills you, and everything is trying to kill you. 

Super Mario Land 2, Donkey Kong, Castlevania Legends (Swtch subscription GB) - I love the overworld which connects the levels in the SML games but I cannot progress much. DK is a very good port of the arcade game, a bit different, but fun. Castlevania Legends stars Sonia Belmont, which is very cool, but, again, I can't get very far in this pain-game. 

Doritos Crash Course (Xbox Series S, digitally owned) - Came across this again scouring free games. I played a few levels before the dreaded platform fatigue set in. It's like those obstacle course TV shows. It's actually not bad. You go for time and compare your record with your friends. Oh, and you play as your Xbox avatar. Remember those? 

Wordless, Penny's Big Breakaway, Promenade Demos - Three demos that were interesting on Xbox but didn't strongly grab me. 

And that's a week. One more week for platforming. My gaming buddy is yelling at me to stop already because I my near constant fits of annoyance. Well, there's a price to pay. I must go on.