Tumbleseed (Switch)

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eneuman96
Posts: 326
Joined: April 13th, 2015, 11:16 pm

Tumbleseed (Switch)

Postby eneuman96 » May 3rd, 2017, 4:12 am

This indie game has turned out to be one of the most unexpectedly creative titles I've played this year. The controls are quite unusual: you use both analog sticks to control both sides of a beam that your spherical player character rolls across. Since this game is a "roguelite" in the vein of Spelunky, Binding of Isaac, FTL, Risk of Rain, and too many other indies to count, each level is procedurally generated. If you're sick of indie games using cookiecutter pixel graphics, the colorful and imaginative art style of Tumbleseed should provide a refreshing change of pace.

Said art style belies the fact that attempting to beat this game is a brutally difficult affair. Littered throughout each level are not only quite a few enemies, but dozens of holes that you have to use extremely precise control adjustments in order to avoid. You do have attacks in order to get rid of the enemies and collect crystals (which are required in order to use most of your abilities), but all of them require equally precise reflexes to use properly, and some can even hurt you if you aren't careful. I personally quite enjoy the challenge, but those expecting a relaxing jaunt from looking at screenshots of the game are in for a rude awakening.

Regardless, this game is definitely worth buying. Between Mario Kart 8 and to a lesser extent Puyo Puyo Tetris soaking up the Switch games spotlight, I fear that titles like Tumbleseed and Kamiko (an inexpensive yet well-made arcade-esque take on Zelda) won't get the attention they deserve. There's a frankly disturbing notion among many gamers that there aren't any indie games worth checking out, and these are the people I recommend Tumbleseed most of all to in order to change their minds.

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