I’ve had a connection to the cinematic platformer style from an especially early age. It all began with Out of This World/Another World on the SNES, which opened my 10-year-old eyes to the larger prospects of gaming. Up to that time, I had largely performed normal platformers the place the story was gentle and the motion was fast-paced. Cinematic platformers definitely had mechanics I used to be principally aware of, however introduced them in an entire new trend. Every motion was calculated, each interplay was distinctive, and an incredible story was introduced with thriller and intrigue. Playing that sport stirred one thing inside me that could be very a lot alive and effectively to today.
Out of This World/Another World pushed me to discover the cinematic platformer style. I went again and tackled the video games I had missed (Prince of Persia), and rapidly snatched up new releases as effectively (Flashback, Blackthorne, Oddworld, ect.). With every cinematic platformer I wolfed up, I felt my love of the style develop. Now right here I’m 40+ years outdated, and I’ve performed by just about each cinematic platformer there’s. The style isn’t wherever close to as common because it as soon as was, which suggests I’m at all times on the hunt for the following sport that matches the invoice. That brings us all the way in which as much as 2023 and LUNARK.
LUNARK, created by Johan Vinet and printed by WayForward, is indubitably impressed by the all-time greats of cinematic platforming. These inspirations are worn on LUNARK’s sleeve, as followers of the style will little question immediately acknowledge the DNA of titles like Flashback and Out of This World/Another World at work. Of course, simply being impressed by the classics doesn’t imply a brand new title can be worthy of your time. Thankfully, after some prolonged hands-on with the title, I can say LUNARK appears to be worthy of standing alongside the titans of the style.
Watch your step!
If you’re aware of cinematic platformers, you’d immediately peg LUNARK as one with only a fast glimpse of gameplay. Everything you’d anticipate from the style is right here; environmental platforming puzzles, death-defying leaps, back-and-forth enemy battles, and so forth. That stated, followers of the style might also conjure up concepts of stilted controls, unfair deaths and sluggish response time. This is the place LUNARK actually manages to reach my eyes. The sport manages to remain near the sensation of cinematic platformers of yesterday, however with sufficient minor tweaks to take away a wholesome quantity of the frustration.
Controls for LUNARK will immediately really feel acquainted to cinematic platformer aficionados, however refreshed for some appreciable enhancements. Little high quality of life changes are current, similar to your character having the ability to climb platforms above you with out the necessity to flip them left/proper, and begin/cease animations being much more forgiving. Previous cinematic platformers could possibly be extraordinarily brutal by way of controls, with characters behind a slave to animations relatively than enter, leaving you dealing with a number of unfair deaths. While there’s undoubtedly nonetheless a few of that feeling in LUNARK, issues really feel extra responsive total, supplying you with a a lot larger sense of management.
To be clear, LUNARK nonetheless retains the general really feel of cinematic platformers, so don’t go in anticipating management and response akin to Mario. That stated, those that’ve dabbled with the style ought to discover some changes that make a distinction, and a stage of forgiveness you don’t typically see. Now, the query is that if issues have been revamped sufficient to take away annoyance from the typical participant or those that have by no means performed a cinematic platformer. That’s truthfully a tricky one for me to decipher, but when there have been a sport that inches nearer to one thing extra approachable, LUNARK could be it.
Welcome to the jungle
As far as gameplay goes, LUNARK is strictly what you’d anticipate from one of these sport. Again, if you happen to’ve performed Flashback particularly, LUNARK goes to look acquainted in design. Mantling platforms, shoot-outs, jumps throughout chasms, multi-tiered platforming puzzles, it’s all right here. Those sorts of mechanics are the bread-and-butter of any cinematic platformer price its salt, and LUNARK nails them. While I haven’t skilled something thus far that severely breaks the mould or surprises me with its implementation, what I’ve come throughout is strictly what I’d need and anticipate. Yes, it might be good to see issues transcend, however there’s additionally nothing improper with perfecting what’s come earlier than.
The one space the place LUNARK carves a little bit of its personal path is with boss battles. While they’re few and much between, cinematic platformers aren’t actually recognized for providing bosses to take down. I at all times thought this was because of the slower response time of the character and the extra particular button inputs, however LUNARK manages to give you some boss concepts that work in, round and with these limitations. You see this early one with an enormous spider battle, which performs to the strengths of cinematic platformers to current an attention-grabbing drawback to deal with. Whether there’s extra of that sooner or later stays to be seen.
In phrases of visuals, I discover LUNARK to be extremely pleasing. Turning once more to my childhood, I vividly bear in mind being floored by the look of Out of This World/Another World. Since I used to be a console/transportable gamer solely again in these days, I had by no means seen something even near the graphics in Out of This World. It was fairly truthfully a thoughts blowing expertise for me. Fast-forward to 2023 with LUNARK, and also you clearly can’t get the identical wow issue, however what you do get is extremely good to take a look at.
I want this as an artwork print RIGHT now!
LUNARK goals to imitate the types of Flashback and Out of This World/Another World, albeit with a little bit of a twist. The sport employs a relatively chunk pixel aesthetic that goals to do extra with much less. When coupled with the sport’s extraordinarily vibrant shade scheme and the painstaking character animations (a cinematic platformer hallmark), the tip result’s one thing to behold. This is cranked as much as 11 with the sport’s rotoscoped cut-scenes, that are completely dripping with fashion and finesse. Again, this concept comes straight from cinematic platformers of days passed by, but it surely undoubtedly stands the take a look at of time and appears simply as unbelievable right now.
There’s much more for me to discover in LUNARK, however what I’ve seen thus far makes me extraordinarily assured. LUNARK has been close to the highest of my most-wanted listing ever because it was revealed, and nothing I’ve skilled thus has upset. While there’s loads of journey to come back, LUNARK has been nothing in need of a dream come true for a style fan like me.
