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synatria-studios · 4 years

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Let's Talk About Platformers

Hey, it’s Aria Tempest here! Lead Artist and co-creator of SynAtria! Since we’re making a platformer game, I wanted to go through and talk about some games in the platformer genre that you may have overlooked or maybe you’re hoping to get into platformers but you aren’t sure where to start.

Most people when they think of platformers probably think of Mario games so I won’t be putting any in the list, though Mario Galaxy was one of my first favorites, Mario Sunshine is a classic, Super Paper Mario is a great casual time, and Mario Odyssey is perfection in the genre. I think everyone’s definition of platformer is a little different. I’ve seen people call Portal 2 a platformer and I’m not sure I’d agree since it’s mostly puzzles where you occasionally get to do a really cool jump or two.

I consider a game a platformer if the main bulk of the gameplay is platforming. It can have some puzzle or action elements but not more than the jumpy bits! Anyways let's get started with the list!

Shovel Knight

This game is incredible, probably the best 2D platformer to date. If you haven’t played it you should and if you have played it then have you played the other campaigns? There are 4 campaigns total, Shovel of Hope (The main storyline), Plague of Shadows, Specter of Torment, and King of Cards. You can also do two player mode with a friend (or just anyone you can get to play with you I guess). Also have you tried changing things about the characters? There are loads of secret codes you can put in for various effects (like moon jump mode and giant mode) or you can just change character pronouns and genders. I often turn Shovel Knight into a girl for some cute WLW (women-loving women) gameplay and then I often make everyone else a girl too just to see their changed character models. You can make the pronouns gender neutral as well, which is something that I think is really important to put in games with gender options.

So for context, my experience with the game is having beaten Shovel of Hope several times, Plague of Shadows one time, Specter of Torment one time, but I’ve only played a small amount of King of Cards. So obviously I haven’t played the new card mini game or the new fighting game Shovel Knight Showdown.

The gameplay is based around which character/campaign you pick and in my opinion the easiest characters to pick up and play in order are Shovel Knight, Plague Knight, Specter Knight, and King Knight. Playing Shovel Knight is an easy and fun breeze though not without its challenge. Learning how to play feels new and natural at the same time. I’m not sure I’d say that for the rest of them. It took some time for me to get proficient with the other playable characters, especially King Knight, who frustrated me to learn. The game is a 2D platformer done perfectly. Jump, attack, get new items and abilities, and several different play styles. Also something that isn’t often seen done well in 2D platformers, they managed to do branching paths without it feeling metroidvania-like (like you need a map) and they were able to throw in several types of collectibles, some of which are well hidden!

I should mention the death system. Anytime you die 25% of your total money is dropped where you died even if you’re in mid air. You then respawn at the start of the level or a checkpoint. If you can get back to your money then no big deal, not even a loss. However if you can’t get back (die on the way over) then you’ll continue to lose money and each previous money bag will disappear. It’s a pretty good and simple system, not too punishing. Though it’s embarrassing to finally get back to your money only to die right in front of it, just leaving piles of money bags in the same location over and over. Some people commonly compare this to the death system in Dark Souls in which when you die your collected souls are left in that location and you have to retrieve them before dying again. While I get the comparison, that’s really where the similarities start and end.

As far as the level design, it’s genius. Each level has a great flow to it and has incredibly different feelings. Most levels have their own mechanics and enemies that need to be learned how to overcome. Everything feels very meticulously planned out to the point that you’ll probably be just running around having a great time without even thinking about it. If you’re a level design lover like me, I recommend watching this video on one of the levels on Shovel Knight if you want to get a feel for how they designed the whole level to flow together perfectly. ❀

As far as collectibles, each campaign has a unique item that you collect throughout it. In Shovel Knight the item is a music sheet that you can turn in for rewards and extra dialogue. I think it’s important in games for collectibles to feel like more than just a number. They should give extra story, items, or maybe images you access in the main menu instead of just giving out a single achievement and nothing else. I like achievements and achievement hunting but I think it’s best when a game does more than that to reward it’s player, which Shovel Knight does well.

The soundtrack is perfect and they know it. They even have songs as collectible rewards that you give to a bard like character that gives extra info about the game and songs with each music sheet turned in. Jake Kaufman did the music excellently and I can only assume the bard like character is based on him. The songs feel memorable, catchy, exciting, and retro. They're retro in the way that someone today who loves retro game music may have taken that love and made something brand new and exciting for the current time, not in the way that it sounds exactly like it just comes straight from an old game which I think plays in its favor.

The look of the game is beautiful, the backgrounds and movements look lovely and it’s a pixel art game that’s clearly been made with lots of attention to detail. Sticking to a retro feeling, they did the game with just the color palette that an NES could do and only added a few additional colors where needed. The thought process going into giving this game the right feeling and look is incredible.

One of my only regrets in life is not having known about this game’s kickstarter. For the ones who pledged enough, they get their face in a specific part of the game. Every time I get there though I always say hi to two specific portraits, one being Matt from BestFriendsPlay and my favorite one being Arin from GameGrumps. If you haven’t seen them yet I recommend trying to find them. The first time I played I scoured the area for Arin’s portrait like a treasure hunt.

For the story, it’s not that big but I loved it; I felt so invested. There’s a segment at the end of certain levels where you have to catch the girl you love and it immediately gets my heart pumping. I was all in on rescuing her from second one. People often complain about games in which a female needs rescuing, often games in which her only personality trait is being easy to kidnap. This game steers away from that, with the girl being gone, you can feel the loss and desperation to get her back from the cutscenes and you can see her as a person outside of just being someone who is kidnapped. She has friends, a life, and even a personality! (Oh my)It does a great job at establishing the two character’s strong love and bond. As for the other campaigns, Plague Knight never had me tearing up (unlike Shovel Knight), though I did adore it. However I felt that Specter Knight’s campaign was really lacking. Though maybe that’s because I’m a romantic loser and there wasn’t any romance in that one. Did anyone else feel less invested in the Specter Knight storyline? Also for those who have played it, what did you think of King Knight’s storyline?

Overall it’s an incredibly fun game that everyone should give a try if they like the genre, though just note that the story isn’t huge but it makes up for it in every other way it could.

A Hat in Time

Super cute and friendly feeling, I remember seeing gifs of the main character blowing kisses at enemies and knew I had to try it out. This game excels at giving you happy feelings, with fun dialogue as well.

Story wise it has a lot of fun elements and lots of different characters. Each world has its own character types, and while they’re all fun and interesting, they don’t feel very connected to each other. That aside, the main character is a silent protagonist type, but plays it very well using noises and expressions that in the end give her as much personality as anyone else. You aren’t going to feel super emotionally invested in the plot and characters, but you’ll have an excellent time.

With collectibles there are so many different types. There are yarn balls, which give new abilities (hats) when enough are found. Relics, sort of a multi piece collectible, you need to find a few of a certain type to make one, like for making the burger, you’ll need the top and bottom of it. Once you put them together it unlocks a bonus level, which is reminiscent of the secret levels in Mario Sunshine, with a focus just on platforming with no story, as you just kind of jump around random cubes in space. I could not love segments like this more. ♡ Finally there are rift tokens, which you can use to get random cosmetic options, such as different looks for your hats, different color palettes for your character, or music remixes. I loved these because I’m a sucker for character customization, and will frequently change my appearance several times in a sitting. I’m the type of person that plays Animal Crossing for 1 hour and changes my look three times during it to match my current mood. I definitely want to add character customization to lots of games we’ll make, I think it adds a fun element to it.

The gameplay is bouncy and energetic, and the levels are great at having separate paths with secrets in them that, even when long to explore, feel really easy to go right back to where you were at the start of the path. Several times I was impressed at the perfect wrap arounds since some games you look for a secret and get lost or just have to back track with nothing other than maybe a respawned enemy or two. You have different powers tied to whichever hat you have on and I find things like this to be very fun in 3D platformers, though I will say that some of the hats don’t feel as useful as others and you won’t put it on often. (Looking at you, sprint hat. Why do you have so many cute customization options if you’re just going to suck?)

So for this one I’d recommend it because it takes a lot of classic older 3D platformer feelings but does them with a fresh feeling. It’s less trying to figure out the genre than it is showing why the genre is amazing.

Cave Story

This game impresses me time and time again and I think I’m addicted to buying it on every platform I can. This game was made by one man in his free time over five years and it was free to play for quite some time; surprising given it’s quality. I’m glad that they started selling it though because they deserve the money for this excellent game.

The gameplay isn’t too complex. Mostly platforming challenges and instead of close range attacks like most platformers, you actually have several different types of guns. You can get several weapon types throughout the game, then you collect these little yellow triangles (I always called them Doritos) to level up each weapon. Each weapon’s level cap is low, but each level up gives a better version of it. Taking damage will level down your gun however, but getting it back in shape isn’t too hard. The only thing to keep in mind is if you want to level up a gun you aren’t currently using, then every time you see the Doritos you have to switch guns to whichever one you want to level, pick up the Doritos, then switch back. Not hard to get into the habit of, but a bit of a pain.

As for the story it blends with the gameplay very well. The world, characters, and story all feel very interconnected. I think it’s important for games to not feel like THE CUT SCENE SECTION and THE COMBAT SECTION. The world feels real and the characters are easy to start caring for. It’s one of those games that can make you laugh or tear up, and as you play you’ll feel yourself become the character and want to know more about the people around you and the world itself. Most games throw you in and tell you who your character likes and implies that you’re invested in the world around you from even before the start. While I don’t mind that approach at all, it’s interesting to see it done like Cave Story where you’re a stranger in the world with no memories or attachments and you feel yourself make them as your character does. It lets you really look at the world through your character’s eyes.

Some cool features of Cave Story + specifically includes different difficulty settings, multiple versions of the soundtrack to choose from (all with their own beautiful and unique feeling. I like playing with the Cave Story + one or remastered, but if you want to hear it all badass sounding then Ridiculon covers that), a really fun Local Co-op where you can play out the whole game with a friend, and you can change the graphics between the original graphics and the remastered ones whenever you want in the settings. I personally love when games implement this. The first time I saw it was Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary and when I realized that I could go between new and old graphics even while in game just by pressing a button. Man, I wasn’t even playing that game anymore, I was just walking around looking at grass textures and switching it back and forth like a madman.

Also this game can get challenging towards the end, and if you want the best ending, you’ll probably have to look up what to do ahead of time, because none of what’s needed to be done will be something you do naturally in my opinion.

Overall it’s fantastic and if you can take a bit of challenge it should really draw you in.

DLC Quest

This game is small, short, but very fun, especially if you’re familiar with common gaming tropes.

The writing, characters, and story, are all based around common tropes in gaming, poking fun at them but exploring them in new ways, much like the movie Cabin In the Woods in the horror genre. The writing is very clever and funny. At one point there’s an area with a sign that says “Allan please add world” which is a reference to the game Hitman: Blood Money where the description of an item reads “Allan please add details” and has been referenced in many other games. The game writing knows itself well, to the point where several characters point out being part of a game, or make it clear which pointless NPC role they’re clearly meant to fill.

In the gameplay it’s basic jumping and platforming without much attacking, though there is one important detail. You don’t have access to most gameplay elements until you pay with coins in the game, poking fun at something I hate, DLC microtransactions type of stuff. At the start you can’t even move left or pause the game without paying coins first. It turns the game into an interesting experiment, that while it was done well, I wish was longer.

Level design isn’t amazing however. Falling could make you have to redo way too much platforming and I’d get lost on multiple occasions. Though I am known for getting lost in games easier than most, most of the other games on this list don’t come anywhere near this issue.

I recommend giving this game a try. It’s an interesting look at gaming and a fun time, but it obviously isn’t going to blow you away or anything.

Ori and the Blind Forest

A beautiful game where everything looks and sounds amazing. The first few minutes might make you cry, but after that you probably won’t care as much, very similar to my experience with the movie Up.

The story isn’t important though, because it shines in it’s gameplay and art. I will say one way the story suffers is if you’re in a scene you actually really care about the plot and as you move your character you feel like you’re in it and you’re trying to make it through and figure out what happens next, then you die over and over. Every time it sends you back, that obviously gives the story scene less and less impact and by the time you see the ending of the scene you don’t even care, you just want to save so you won’t have to go through that section again.

The gameplay is amazing but challenging. Mostly based around jumping (it even has double and triple jumps yay~), wall jumping (kind of similar but sadly isn’t present in most games), and attacks. Your character feels fairly weak and though they get stronger this is not a game you can just run through without thought. The save system in the game is based on how many points you have and it takes some points to save so you have to pick your save locations wisely. This is one of those games where you could end up doing a platforming challenge that takes a few seconds to do but you keep dying on it so then you have to redo that few seconds 50 times over. Then I’ll immediately crawl over to a save spot, happy that I did one small feat in this big scary world. Throughout the game you gain different very fun and helpful abilities and there’s also a skill tree which is rare for platformers. Put in points you get while playing into one of the three branches to continue expanding on each one. When you start the game and look at the tree, all ready to be filled out, you’re probably going to find something to get excited to save up for. Try not to focus on only one branch though unless you know what you’re doing.

I recommend this for gamers who would like more of a challenge. If you liked Super Meat Boy you’ll like this, though I found Ori to be less punishing. Finding collectibles and exploring the world is so much fun and if you can handle throwing your tiny, cute, and frail body into spikes constantly then you’ll have a great time. This and Cave Story are good when you really want to just have some platforming challenges without overly thinking about story and other elements.

Grow Home

A shorter game (especially if you don’t plan on getting all the collectibles) but with a really nice feeling to it. The story is very basic (well honestly almost non-existent) but it doesn’t really need one. You go around as a cute little robot, jumping and climbing to collect things.

As far as the climbing goes, it almost reminds me of playing Girp as a young teen. Most of the gameplay consists of holding two buttons back and forth to climb around the world. The fact that climbing is done mainly with two buttons back and forth (similar to Donkey Kong King of Swing) can mean it can hurt your fingers after a while, so keep that in mind.

There are tons of collectibles throughout the world but the world is relatively small and the types of collectibles are limited. Besides scanning individual new objects and creatures, the only form of collectibles are glowing blue crystals found throughout the world. It sounds same-y but you still feel excited every time you spot a new one and once you see it, the next thought is how do I get to it??? The answer to that while usually simple, can take some time but you generally feel satisfied and have fun exploring as you go. For most of the game you locate the crystals through sound so if while playing the game you put on a youtube video, I’d keep the volume low. Also keep in mind, your little robot character moves around like they’re drunk. Wobbling all over the place even while jumping. It can make it more of a challenge but it’s cute to watch and fun to move around.

Do you know that feeling when you’re rock climbing, you’re high up, you see the rock climbing wall above you stick straight out, then you look down and feel absolutely terrified? This game gave me that feeling several times, which I did not know was possible, but my body almost felt scared that I was actually going to fall. I’ve never had a game give me that feeling, and you might think well that’s terrifying, why would I even want that, Aria? Because reader, it was exciting and really put me in the game. It made me feel like I really grabbed that crystal! Also, I hate actual rock climbing so I recommend a version where you can’t actually fall in real life.

Something to note is there really isn’t any music. Most of all the noises are ambient sounds and occasional cute robo noises. Personally I watched a youtube video while I played.

Since it’s small and relaxing though, I’d say it’s worth giving a go, though I wouldn’t get it if you need something fast paced or with story. Patience is the key in this one.

Psychonauts

Finally Psychonauts. While this list has no order, Psychonauts isn’t just my favorite platformer or collect-a-thon, it’s my favorite game of all time. It embodies a lot of what I’d like to put into games, from writing, to gameplay elements, to level design.

The story is wild to explain but as you play it doesn’t feel weird at all somehow. You’re a psychic who wants to go to psychic summer camp so you run away from your home at the circus to go there and you get to know the other campers, hope your parent’s don’t try to take you home, solve conspiracies, and try to become a psychic soldier aka a Psychonaut!

The gameplay and story connect pretty well and the story is very engaging. The game is known for its amazing writing and it often took me by surprise. Also you know how NPCs or filler characters often are boring and aren’t much to think about? That is not the case with this game, each character no matter how small intrigues me and gets me thinking about their life. Several characters will sometimes say random dark things when they think you aren’t in earshot and I’m still to this day thinking about Dogen or Crystal and Clem. Also if you want some excellent dialogue, the first level, Basic Braining, has a section where you’re in a plane. My advice? Don’t exit the plane. Sit there and listen to what Vernon has to say. He goes on for longer than you’d expect, it’s amazing and I still think about what he says to this day. Though he does start looping at one point so then I just leave him there while he’s still talking. This is a game where more likely than not you’ll get engaged and pulled in by the characters, the plot, and the world.

Can I talk about the art? Please, I’m begging. I adore it. It’s so weird and unique to itself. It doesn’t seem to be trying to be anything but it’s own thing and in the PS2 era this came out in when I was a kid, it blew my mind. I recently even drew myself in the style of this game, just as a challenge since my own art varies so much from it. I think most art styles vary from it. Here’s my attempt at it. How’d I do?

Next I have to mention the powers, I love games with different abilities in them and this game has quite a few. They’re very fun to use in battle, but I recommend also testing them all out on NPCS as well. Try setting a camper on fire with pyrokinesis, or use clairvoyance to see how your teacher actually views you. Clairvoyance is my favorite but after that, Levitation is the best. It creates such a fun way to explore and move around the world.

In games like these I love collectibles and I think it’s super important to make the game in a way where it’s fun to traverse the world and with this one I love it so much that one of the ways I treat myself after a hard day is doing a 100% completion playthrough of this game. Sadly there’s only 1 form of customization in the game but it is fun. You can change the color of your levitation ball. I used to do pink to be cute but there’s a later level that feels dark and gives me the creeps so I always use white in that level like it’s a glowing nightlight to protect me.

This game has the best level design I’ve ever seen. Each level has different themes and feelings in it and plays differently. Each level is supposed to represent the mind of a different character and they capture it amazingly. Every little object and detail in each world feels like the character that you’re in the brain of. Then after a level the camp is a perfect hubworld, comforting to be in but also has occasional changes or cutscenes that you can trigger by finding them at specific times making the hub world itself feel alive and evolving. For a great secret location I recommend looking for the hidden room in Milla’s brain. I call it the nightmare room and I love it. Also which level is y’all’s favorite? Mine is the Milkman one, not just due to the humor and theming but I find it the most fun to jump around and explore and with the way the world twists and turns around it provides a completely unique experience. They’re all great though! (except for Sashas)

This game has my favorite collectible system. Tons of different types and different rewards for different types and it lets you revisit old levels to get ones you missed. The game even shows which levels and even which section you’re missing things in. They have collectibles in the hub world too! Also The collectibles feel like they’re all fun concepts in the world, unlike a meaningless item. The collectibles are memory vaults (which give you backstory to whoever’s brain you’re in), emotional baggage (Such a cute concept. You have to find a bag and a tag for it that match each other, then the bag will stop crying and you’ll get a cutscene of the bag and tag happily reuniting!), Cobwebs (You’ll see them throughout brains and they can be turned in for Psi Cards), Psi cards (You’ll see them in the hub world), Psi Cores (Use one core with 9 cards to make a Psi Challenge Marker which levels you up. Leveling up can upgrade your powers!), Scavenger Hunt Items (Turn them all in for level ups), and Figments (figments of the imagination, colored cute drawings that you’ll see all over brains. They’re a bit transparent though so finding them all can be a challenge).

This game is fun to 100% but I’ll give a piece of advice and a warning. My advice is in the first level, when there’s a punching game, try playing it more times. Keep going, dude. My warning is that it’s fun to find everything (except for the fairy figment in Napoleon’s mind) but there’s one segment in Milla’s mind called The Race that is absolutely awful for collecting in. It might make you nauseous or give you a headache. The section was designed to run through it fast but when I replay it to look for figments, I have to go slow and methodical which I find makes the colors more nauseating at that speed. It’s hard to go backwards in it as well and it’s hard to even see the figments due to the color choices in this section. Fair warning. Also don’t worry about beating the game before collecting everything. At one point there’s a save called POINT OF NO RETURN that lets you know that it’s time to backtrack if you missed anything.

Overall I recommend this one most of all for it’s clever use of writing, level design, and collectibles. If you want a good impression of some feelings that’d I’d want to implement in SynAtria’s games, it’s this one for sure.

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If you want to know more about our games, check out Wintercearig, or support us on Patreon to see the latest info on the platformer we’re working on!

If you want more art content from me, I can be found on many social media platforms so here’s my LinkTree if you want any of those links ❀

Thank you for reading! Let me know in the comments your opinions on these and what some of your favorites are!

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