ANTONBLAST
PC/SWITCH
12/3/24
Summitsphere
I love 2D action platformers for their charming characters and worlds, fun sound design, colorful graphics, and above all else, the butt clenching, heart stopping, death defying moments that they often supply. The best games in the genre leave you with beads of sweat on your forehead and your stomach firmly dropped deep into your butthole. These are the games that can have us cursing at the screen and fist pumping towards the sky all within a matter of seconds. Throughout my developmental years as a gamer, I experienced the highs of Super Mario Bros 3 and the lows of Beetlejuice on the NES. As the years went on, so too did the list of 2D platformers added to my repertoire. Some were good, some great, and others, well, we don’t talk about those. Amongst the greats, however, was a game called Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 on the Nintendo Gameboy. Released in 1994, Wario Land shocked players by replacing our favorite red capped plumber with the evil Wario, his arch nemesis.
At first glance Wario Land appears similar to any other 2D Mario title, but with a new lead character comes a more aggressive playstyle. Wario took a more physical approach to combat, often shoulder ramming his way through enemies. His transformations also gave the game a different feel when compared to previous Super Mario Land entries. In 1995 Wario would get another shot at being a lead character with the release of Wario Land on the ill fated Virtual Boy. While it's common knowledge that the Virtual Boy was a massive flop, this version of Wario Land is remembered for being quite good, bringing back the hat-based power-ups of its predecessor. A key new feature for this version of Wario Land is the ability to jump between the background and fore-ground during gameplay. This is an effect that wasn’t all that common in 2D platformers up to then. The game also feels speedier and more momentum based, similar to a Sonic the Hedgehog title.
The mainline Wario Land series continued on through 2008, with the release of Wario Land: Shake It on the Wii. A few spin offs were created in between that time including Wario World and Wario: Master of Disguise, both of which were met with middling critical reception. With Wario Land: Shake It underperforming on one of Nintendo’s most popular consoles, the company put the series on ice. You might be asking, Joe, why are you going on about Wario Land so much? Well, for one thing, game history is important, and secondly, ANTONBLAST, the indie release that we are reviewing today, was very clearly inspired by classic Wario land gameplay. But is ANTONBLAST dynamite to play? Or did it leave me with explosive diarrhea? Let’s find out in our full review!
If ANTONBLAST has an air of familiarity to it, that’s because developer Summitsphere was responsible for the previously released indie brick-breaker, Antonball Deluxe. Perhaps you came across it in your indie gaming travels? While the games share characters and themes between one another, they couldn’t be any more different from a gameplay perspective. ANTONBLAST is a self-proclaimed, and I quote, “fast-paced explosive action platformer.” Keyword: Explosive.
Like most games within this genre, the story featured in ANTONBLAST takes a backseat to the gameplay. That said, what’s here is still entertaining despite its brevity. You’ll take control of the extremely angry and irritable Dynamite Anton, or his co-worker Annie, powering your way through 12 outrageously intense levels. Satan’s minions have stolen your beloved booze collection out of jealousy for how red your appearance is, and now you’re even more pissed off than usual! ANTONBLAST has a ton of personality, calling back to the crude 90’s humor of yesteryear in its writing, sound, and art design. The story does feature a few cutscenes, all of which look amazing, and are brilliantly voiced. Overall, ANTONBLAST’s narrative is entertaining and funny in a silly 90’s sort of way.
The bright colors, intense rocking soundtrack, and over the top characters hooked me from the get-go, but I stuck around for the excellent gameplay. Before I elaborate on that gameplay, let’s go through some of the features found in the menus. Players have the option of changing controller bindings, with graphical settings being a bit more limited. Window scaling, Vsync, and letterboxing options are all available, with perhaps the most notable toggle being the ability to adjust the amount of screen shaking that occurs during gameplay. ANTONBLAST is a rather frantic affair with A LOT happening onscreen at once, and so your mileage may vary on how much of its intense visual presentation you can handle. Because of this, it’s nice to have the ability to tweak the intensity of this particular visual effect to your liking. Volume levels can also be adjusted to your preference, and a few other options such as photosensitivity on or off and subtitles are also available. ANTONBLAST is pretty light on options overall, which isn’t a huge surprise given that it is a smaller indie release that can run on just about any PC or laptop that can still get past the boot screen.
As I alluded to earlier, players have the option of choosing between two different characters. Whether you opt for Dynamite Anton or Annie, both appear to play exactly the same way with no discernable differences outside of appearance. Your goal in the game is the same as any other 2D action platformer, to travel and platform your way through different levels, collect items, defeat foes, and take down bosses. The game begins in Boiler City, where you are introduced to the basics of gameplay. Anton’s hammer is the star of the show, used to bash crates, enemies, and just about anything or anyone else that stands in his path. While you have a standard swinging attack, tapping the action button a second time as your character’s shadow appears will allow you to chain together successive attacks, thus keeping your forward momentum going.
Much like in a classic Wario Land game, it is important to hop between both the fore-ground and background throughout levels. While the effect can be a bit jarring at first, and you may lose track of your character at times, this mechanic is mostly a delight to engage with. Characters can also slide underneath tight crevices, and use a downward strike when airborne. Striking the ground at the right moment will propel you further upward which can help you to successfully complete jumps that would otherwise be impossible. The game’s equivalent to a flying buttstomp is also an option for smashing through enemies and crates, often in stylish fashion.
ANTONBLAST certainly feels unique, and its momentum based gameplay will be an adjustment for players more comfortable with traditional 2D action platformers. You could think of the game as a mix of Mario, Wario, Crash Bandicoot, and Sonic the Hedgehog. That ungodly combination of styles sounds like a nightmare on paper, yet the developers of ANTONBLAST have managed to take the best of all of these worlds and create one cohesive, insane gameplay experience.
Platforming feels great, explosive crates call back to our favorite Marsupial while the game's constant push for players to bash their way towards the right side of the screen creates the illusion of a speedy Sega platformer. For some, it might be a bit much, but for most of us, the unadulterated chaos will feel endlessly satisfying. All the while you’ll be collecting poker chips which can be spent on upgrades in-between levels, while seeking out hidden collectibles such as tapes that play music from the game. Yes, levels have a linear feel for the most part, but there are plenty of opportunities to go off the beaten path and discover secrets. Missed something? Fear not, as a hub world allows you to revisit areas over and over again, and even shows you how much progress you’ve made on a level, similar to how the portals were set up in Crash Bandicoot: Warped. I realize that’s probably a pretty dated reference, sorry for showing my age, but if you’re interested in the premise the game has set up, you’re probably just as old as I am.
Further adding to the excitement of each level, are timed escape scenes. These are referred to as happy hour, and force you to hurry your way back from whence you came while avoiding new obstacles. Normally I am not a fan of being timed in games, but in ANTONBLAST, Happy Hour, much like in real life, is a damn good time. You’ll surf rails, ride vehicles, and be blasted in barrels Donkey Kong Country style as you try to escape before the timer hits zero. Mercifully, while these sections were amongst the most challenging in the game, ANTONBLAST is a mostly forgiving experience that features plenty of checkpoints. Your only real penalty for death will be losing some of your hard-earned poker chips.
All of this is to say, ANTONBLAST features some of the best level design of the year. Each area feels unique, keeps you on your toes, and remains challenging, but rarely frustrating. Boss encounters, normally the bane of my existence, are also enjoyable. The bosses offer unique patterns that will have you bouncing off of wrestling ropes or even hopping between the fore-ground and background while slicing open vats of chemicals that can damage your foe. It’s all good silly fun with plenty of variety.
As far as the visuals are concerned, ANTONBLAST reminds me more of a Sega Genesis title than a retro Nintendo game. The silly animations and art direction call back to lesser-known classics like Boogerman, mixed with a bit of Earthworm Jim. Everything about this title screams 90’s, from the goofy enemy designs, to the slapstick sound effects and great rock infused soundtrack. The attention to detail is impressive, and with so much happening on screen at any given moment, the game still manages to hold down a locked 60fps without any performance issues of note. I loved other callbacks to retro gaming such as your character being hurled towards the screen when they die. Overall, ANTONBLAST looks and sounds outstanding.
ANTONBLAST is an excellent 2D action platformer that looks great, sounds great, and plays even better. It is a game that successfully fuses together many different gameplay elements from classic 90s releases and today. While the most obvious influence is Wario Land, callbacks to Sonic, Crash Bandicoot and other retro platformers will really resonate with fans of the genre. While it is a bit hectic, this is an outstanding indie release that no fan of the genre should miss out on. I had a literal blast playing through this one, and I suspect you will too.
ESSENTIAL
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