Tag platformer

Puzzle games and platformers are both rife with frustration but this feeling is usually accompanied by enjoyment. What happens when you blend the two and throw in cute slime? You get Gelly Break Deluxe.

ByteRockers brings us an adorable platformer and puzzle hybrid called Gelly Break Deluxe. You control one or both of two gellies, an orange and a green one, and when stacked together the one on top becomes a turret. When playing solo the turret gelly is controlled by one of the sticks where movement is controlled by the other. When playing together each gelly is controlled by one play and whichever is on top is the turret and can only point and shoot. Most levels will have three hidden gellies to find and most will give an audio cue when you approach them, even if you can’t see them.

The puzzles can be quite challenging as the stages progress but with a little patience can be overcome with minimal effort. The only truly difficult part of this game is finding the secret passage needed for the related achievement. I have completed every level I’ve seen and found every hidden gelly and yet I still can’t find this passage. I will keep replaying until I do because it is very well hidden but despite having to replay levels the are enjoyable enough that it’s worth it. For the complexity of some of the puzzles they remind me of playing Splosion Man, and that’s a good thing. This is a family friendly title that will easily end relationships if playing together- I suggest playing solo if you want to save your friendships.

You can pick up your copy on Steam, Xbox One, PS4 and Switch. Our copy was given to us by Byterockers for the purpose of this review.

Ever wondered what the world would look like if you woke up from a coma? With Neversong you can!

Neversong is a side scrolling platformer from Serenity Forge that requires ingenuity to solve it’s many puzzles and defeat the many adults. I mean monsters. The world has become much darker upon Peet’s waking up from his coma. His best friend (and possible love interest?) has been kidnapped and it is up to Peet to find her. She has been taken to Blackfork Asylum and her fate looks grim.

The puzzles require some thought and many can’t be completed until returning later with new abilities. Graphically the game is rather simple but quite endearing in its simplicity. You are greeted with a dark story-line where this same darkness permeates everything and yet still manages to feel like a game to be enjoyed by the family. Neversong looks and plays similar to games like Limbo and it’s sequel Inside.

When I first started the game I felt a weird kinship with Peet having been in a coma myself at the beginning of the year. The coma was handled tastefully and was an interesting starting point for a story. For someone that barely recovered from a coma he is quite athletic.

Overall I found the game enjoyable and look forward to being able to spend more time helping Peet save his lady love.