Super One More Jump (Switch) [Review]

Product provided by developer - Opinions are my own.

Super One More Jump may look like another Meat Boy-inspired platformer, but it doesn't really play like one. This game is actually an auto-run platformer which uses single button controls to make your character jump as he/she/it hurtles ever onward across, around, and beneath obstacle courses of platforms and hazards.

The complexity of being able to change your speed and direct your jumps that is present in most other platformers is nowhere to be found here, meaning that the gameplay is quite simplistic. On the other hand, this lack of mobility also adds to the difficulty since you're given no time to stop and think, and no way to correct mistimed jumps in midair. You can't even change your jump height by holding the jump button for different amounts of time. As such, Super One More Jump's gameplay is fully committed to a design where timing is everything. What appears to be a platformer to an onlooker is, in practice, actually comparable to a single-button rhythm game - except instead of tapping to music, you're tapping to visual cues. And really, most of the obstacles and platforms are just visual cues. With the single button controls, most levels could just as easily be laid out flat without functionally affecting the gameplay, but it's the twisty, bouncy orientations of the platforms that make the relatively simple platforming more challenging, and entertaining, to decipher on the fly. Because of this, even though you may as well be running and jumping on a flat autoscrolling platformer in most cases, it looks and feels as though you're doing something much more complex and impressive.

(Click to enlarge)

Super One More Jump features over 140 levels of increasing difficulty, as well as several modes. Each of the levels in the main set contains three optional collectibles for an extra challenge, which can be used to unlock character sprites for each of the ten pixel art graphic themes that can be changed at any time. When a level has been cleared with all three collectibles, three additional modes are unlocked for that level. Unfortunately, none of these modes (Mirror, Night, and Rotation) really affect the gameplay much at all. Mirror just flips the level, which changes nothing, Rotation constantly spins the camera as a distraction, and Night limits visibility. You can try to clear every level in every mode, but that really just feels like playing the same level four times. It's worth mentioning that there is also a practice mode, which will let you slow down movement and try out levels without adding to your death counter.

Circuit mode. It's like Endless, but in a box.

Additional modes include Endless and Circuit, which are both semi-randomly generated endless running modes that track your high score. Endless plays like an infinite level from the main game, while Circuit is contained inside a box which swaps out walls as you go around the inside edge for as long as you can. There's also "Vault" mode, which seems to just be an additional set of levels without the collectibles, as well as a mysterious unlockable post-game skull mode.

2P Endless Mode

Lastly, there are the multiplayer options: 2P Endless and 2-4P Co-op. 2P Endless mode splits the screen horizontally and pits two players against each other to survive as long as possible in an endlessly randomized platforming course. The co-op mode is arguably the most interesting mode of the bunch, and it's a shame that it's limited to multiplayer as it would work quite well on a single controller as well. In this mode, there's only one character running through individual levels, but each surface is color-coded for a particular player. The character will only jump when the correct player pushes the jump button - for example, if you're on a green platform, only Player 2 can jump. The streak of successful jumps is tracked across levels, and any death or jump from the wrong player will break the streak. This is a good mode for blaming your failures on your friends.

"Night" mode

The Final Word

You have to go into Super One More Jump knowing what you're getting: a challenging, single-button, auto-run platformer. While mechanically simple, the timing-based gameplay forces you to react quickly and precisely without the crutches of slowing down to think, or adjusting a jump. Though much of the twisty level design is merely for show, the "show" does add to the difficulty by making you think harder to understand upcoming obstacles, and creates a satisfying spectacle when you do successfully complete a run. The multiplayer offerings aren't half bad either, and it's accessible for one-handed players as a nice bonus. Hardcore platforming game players might be disappointed by the lack of complexity in the gameplay, but I think there's still enough challenge, style, and content to satisfy most.

Splatoon 2 - Give Single-Player Some Love (Preview)

Product was provided by Nintendo.

Much of the focus when talking about Splatoon always ends up landing on the multiplayer portion of the game. That makes sense, considering it is the game's most advertised point and it's what you spend the most time playing after finishing the single-player campaign. But unlike most online multiplayer-centric games these days, Splatoon, and now Splatoon 2, have as well designed of a single-player experience as one would come to expect from any offline Nintendo game. I was blown away by how well the gameplay of inking surfaces for movement combined with shooting for a unique action platforming experience in the first game, and after a few worlds of Splatoon 2's single-player adventure, I'm loving it all over again.

Shooting one of these targets causes objects to move.

Splatoon 2's Octo Canyon mode is arranged much like the first game's Octo Valley. Several hub areas house a handful of levels each which must be cleared before that world's boss stage becomes available. Even the hubs are like small levels though, as each stage entrance is initially hidden and often requires you to perform some platforming and exploration before shooting and revealing the entrance. This time, Marie, the celebrity squid from the first game, helps you on your quest by dropping the knowledge on all the new weapon types and their new functionality (for example, flinging ink in a narrower, vertically oriented line when jumping with a Roller, or using the new Dualies' dodge roll to instantly activate and ride a grind rail). Her and other characters' dialogue is also pretty darn amusing, so that's another plus.

Nearly every level I've played so far introduces new gameplay elements that weren't present in the first game (and a few that were) and then expertly builds on the concept with more complex level design as you progress. To give a few examples, the first game's "Inkrails" have been upgraded to Grind Rails, which allow for shooting, swimming, jumping, and bombing while riding them. There are "Grapplinks", glowing orbs which warp you to them when shot. Also, "Inkfurlers", which extend like party noisemakers when shot with ink, creating a temporary path and mowing down enemies along the way. And these are just a few examples from the first few chapters of Octo Canyon.

The single-player adventure would be fun enough as it is, but what really brings it above and beyond is the ability to use any weapon type in any stage (once unlocked), and have each completion tracked with an icon in your stats menu and at the level entrance. Weapons are unlocked for single-player as you progress when, on particular stages, Sheldon will send in a new type for you to try. After clearing that stage, the weapon will then be available for use on any other level. These levels are usually designed with the newly introduced weapon in mind, so I found that I ended up quickly learning to use things that I hardly bothered to touch in the first game. Furthermore, using a different weapon often means that you'll need to find a new method for success and some levels even have minor redesigns to accommodate you when playing through again with something different. Each weapon can also be upgraded with the plentiful orange orbs and hidden trinkets hidden throughout this mode, although the upgrades are surprisingly expensive, meaning that you'll need to replay levels with the other weapons if you want to get all the upgrades. To be clear though, these upgrades only work in Octo Canyon, so it's not like you'll need to grind offline for online success. (I'm not exactly clear on whether or not you need to use a weapon type in single-player to unlock it for mutliplayer though...) Unfortunately, these upgrades can only be performed at a particular location in the World 1 hub, and even though you can warp to it or any level you've unlocked from the menu, each hub is separated by a loading screen this time around, so chances are you won't want to be checking your available upgrades between every single level. (Also, chances are low for finding a way to skip a whole world this time around, speedrunners!)

Speaking of speedrunning, your fastest time on each level, along with which weapon you used to achieve it, is also tracked on the stats menu. At the point I'm at, there's not really any incentive for speedrunning stages, or any online leaderboard for times, but something about seeing that "New Record" pop up really makes me want to go back and play everything faster. Now if only there was an update to have the timer show fractions of seconds and keep records for each weapon on each level... please? Update: The mobile app shows your best times per weapon per level!!