Reviews:
-
Mix together elements of Pac-Man with some platforming and shades of Donkey Kong Jr (and others) and you’ve got Annalynn
As a child of the 80s who absolutely grew up in the arcades, the retro-flavor indie gaming community has been a pretty fascinating blessing. One trend I’ve loved to see, though it has borne fruit of varying quality, has been the creation of new games that have mashed up concepts and elements from multiple classics to try to make something new. Sometimes it works out pretty brilliantly, and other times it simply seems to prove out that perhaps those styles and elements of play simply don’t work well together. Thankfully in the case of Analynn, it’s a pretty solid adaptation. It’s obvious that the central inspiration is Pac-Man, with the maze being replaced by a series of platforms, but otherwise on a general level the rules being similar with you being able to power-up to take out your pursuers and central bonus items. The rules for how they disappear and can reappear or move between levels can take some getting used to, but once you get the idea it works quite well. The fact that there are some other touches, specifically ropes hanging from the ceiling which give the game some Donkey Kong Jr. vibes, just helps to make the experience all the more fitting. While I wouldn’t say it’s the most successful hybrid retro title out there fans of old arcade games should still get enough of a kick and challenge from it to make it worth putting on your radar.
Justin Nation, Score:Nindie Choice! [8.1]