1001 Spikes is devastatingly challenging. In this retro 8-bit, side-scrolling adventure. You control, Spelunker, Aban Hawkins as he navigates through wildly dangerous caves and dungeons in search of rare artifacts. You start with 1001 lives. No Continues.
1001 Spikes is definitely a bit of an acquired taste, but I'm a connoisseur!! Hoping to fill the void left by Super Meat Boy, Bit Trip Runner and the more recent Towerfall, I'm a sucker for these retro fit, blood boiling, endurance sessions that pay tribute to classic gaming. So much so that this sleeper (more or less) indie game made my Top 20 Most Anticipated Games of 2014.
Unfortunately 1001 Spikes works so hard to be a throwback to, I'll say it, shitty NES action games, it forgets to refine and polish the experience. Which I guess is the idea... But that doesn't make it a good idea.
1001 Spikes struggles to be appealing with it's score/sound, aesthetic or gameplay. Controls are tight enough but the level design often prevents you from being able to achieve any sort of momentum, which can be really frustrating.
Dying. sucks... I'm talking about the "...Shit. Wow that's annoying. Stupid game" kinda dying... There's an element of randomness in the level design that makes is difficult to master. Skill will not always get the job done. I found myself having to more or less, glitch to win sometimes. All the while this ticking time bomb that is your available lives HUD, just, diminishing and weighing down on you, reminding you. "This will get worse"
Now, it's not all bad. I admit, cracking the code on these levels was very gratifying, but the juice becomes less, and less worth the squeeze.
In a world where these indies have more and more to compete with, and new games constantly raising the bar on titles like these, 1001 Spikes falls short.
1001 Spikes does a great job paying homage to NES classics. I feel like 8bit Fanatics and Nicalis made the game they wanted to make. Any criticisms I have should be taken with a grain of salt. I loved reliving some Ghosts & Goblins action. And, it also celebrates the rise in retro gaming. There is a point in the game where I felt I'd hit the sweet spot, and things started to feel good. But it was short lived. Lack of any real charm left something to be desired.
It's just not very fun.
Thanks for Reading!!
Joe
1001 Spikes is definitely a bit of an acquired taste, but I'm a connoisseur!! Hoping to fill the void left by Super Meat Boy, Bit Trip Runner and the more recent Towerfall, I'm a sucker for these retro fit, blood boiling, endurance sessions that pay tribute to classic gaming. So much so that this sleeper (more or less) indie game made my Top 20 Most Anticipated Games of 2014.
Unfortunately 1001 Spikes works so hard to be a throwback to, I'll say it, shitty NES action games, it forgets to refine and polish the experience. Which I guess is the idea... But that doesn't make it a good idea.
1001 Spikes struggles to be appealing with it's score/sound, aesthetic or gameplay. Controls are tight enough but the level design often prevents you from being able to achieve any sort of momentum, which can be really frustrating.
Dying. sucks... I'm talking about the "...Shit. Wow that's annoying. Stupid game" kinda dying... There's an element of randomness in the level design that makes is difficult to master. Skill will not always get the job done. I found myself having to more or less, glitch to win sometimes. All the while this ticking time bomb that is your available lives HUD, just, diminishing and weighing down on you, reminding you. "This will get worse"
Now, it's not all bad. I admit, cracking the code on these levels was very gratifying, but the juice becomes less, and less worth the squeeze.
In a world where these indies have more and more to compete with, and new games constantly raising the bar on titles like these, 1001 Spikes falls short.
1001 Spikes does a great job paying homage to NES classics. I feel like 8bit Fanatics and Nicalis made the game they wanted to make. Any criticisms I have should be taken with a grain of salt. I loved reliving some Ghosts & Goblins action. And, it also celebrates the rise in retro gaming. There is a point in the game where I felt I'd hit the sweet spot, and things started to feel good. But it was short lived. Lack of any real charm left something to be desired.
It's just not very fun.
Thanks for Reading!!
Joe
