#explodemon

[sithsensui]

explodemon red guitar girl

[crossroadsalpha]

Capcom sidescrollers reigned over my all my free time as a child. The Mega Man X franchise in particular was what I leaned on for a satisfying gaming fix. If new games got boring or I woke up early in the morning and couldn't sleep, I slapped Mega Man X in my SNES and went [...]

[crossroadsalpha]

Explodemon is a side-scrolling explode 'em up made roughly in the vain of the old Megaman games with a few more modern adaptations. You play as the eponymous Explodemon the last Guardian of the world of Niblis during a horrible alien invasion. Sadly, Explodemon is just a little bit unstable and has a tendency, as [...]

[owenza]

Explodemon

The classic 2D sidescrolling platformers are not so much dead as they are mummified. Every now and then a new 2D Super Mario or Sonic the Hedgehog will lurch out of its sarcophagus, getting gauze all over the place as it tries to recapture its glory days. While such games aren't exactly bad, they also aren't exactly new, aside from a few half-baked mechanics tacked on to the same basic formula. The real innovation these days is coming from indie developers, who understand that if the genre is going to capture our hearts (and wallets), it needs to offer something fresh and varied, challenging but light-hearted, something that taps into the reasons why gamers want to play platformers in the first place. Something like Explodemon.

While this game has some clear influences--the art style is very Megaman, while the platforming puzzles are reminiscent of Metroid--Explodemon isn't afraid to walk its own path. You play as the game's namesake, a jovial and volatile lab experiment who talks like if Minsc from Baldur's Gate had been run through an internet translator about four times. Accidentally broken out of cryogenic stasis by the alien Vortex invasion, Explodemon takes it upon himself to heroically and gratuitously rid his people of this menace--even if that means destroying everything else in the process.

A for effort, I suppose...

The story is light-hearted and intentionally silly, which pairs well with the cutscenes' simple but smooth animation style. The bright colours and funky soundtrack are a welcome distraction from the drab blues and browns and obligatory orchestral score of so many of today's Triple A games. Level design is fairly varied between the three playable worlds, with plenty of breakable walls, windows and crates to obliterate in your relentless pursuit of justice.

Everything in Explodemon is built for speed. Menus are minimalist and intuitive, with only a couple of button presses from the start screen to get you straight into the action. Though the volatile hero isn't as blindingly quick as a certain blue hedgehog, quick reflexes are just as important if you want to stay alive. Explodemon's platforming is geared more towards good timing than accuracy, as with a little skill, missed jumps can often be corrected mid-flight. 

Uh, guys, a little help here? Guys?

Double jumps, wall jumps, phase dashes and explosions can be combined to perform all kinds of aerial manoeuvres, and more than once I found myself accidentally pulling off a move I hadn't even known existed. The at-times blistering pace of the game encourages you to throw yourself about with reckless abandon, blasting through anything that moves--and plenty more that doesn't. However, the inclusion of instant-death pits from the second planet onward forces you to slow down a little, but as death only takes you back to the start of the current screen, it's a minor speed bump. 

Puzzles are fairly standard, usually involving moving weighted blocks onto pressure plates or destroying a power generator to open a door. However, since Explodemon can't actually pick anything up, solutions tend to involve skilfully timed or directed explosions, to bounce a block over a gap and set off a chain reaction. Many of these are off the level's main path and so can be ignored, but the rewards--usually power or speed boosts--are worth the effort. However, a few required puzzles toward the end are maddeningly difficult, so don't think you can just breeze through this game without engaging your brain a little.

Couldn't have put it better myself.

Given the short range of Explodemon's powers, combat is up close and personal. As explosions do more damage the closer you are to an enemy, precise timing is key. Explosion chains can shred single targets, and the fearless charge attack is a great way to mow through a half dozen critters in only a few seconds. Victory does tend to favour perfection, though, as the more damage you take, the less damage you can deal. Boss battles could also do with a little more variety; arch nemesis Absorbemon wins the Golden Robotnik award for most appearances with the least change in strategy required.

Explodemon'sfrantic but frustrating gameplay lends itself to quick bursts, ideal for filling a spare twenty minutes here and there. Like Super Meat Boy, it instills the player with a manic determination to attempt each platforming puzzle "just one more time", and when you do manage to pull off that perfect run, it feels pretty great. As such, both casual and more hardcore gamers should find something to enjoy with this ode to property damage. While the adventure is fairly short--only about four hours--each of the twelve levels has a par time and a ranking to beat, enough to keep completionists happily blasting away for hours.

7/10

[weirdunclegamer]

First playthrough of Explodemon... Complete!

Time for ANOTHER game completely out of nowhere for me to suddenly say I beat!  I actually only learned of this game and bought it because I randomly received a coupon for it on Steam.  It described itself as playing like 16-bit era platformers, and I'm all about my Mega Man X.  Since I had the coupon and all I decided to go it a shot. You play as the titular Explodemon himself, a robot built to... well explode stuff!  It's all he does and he's good at it, unfortunately he's not good at anything else, including grammar, and he is ENDLESSLY quotable as a result.  You're broken out of a confinement you were placed in for being too dangerous, to help save the world!  Granted only your creator thinks you actually can, everyone else thinks you'll just speed up the destruction.  The only boss, whom you encounter multiple times with different tweaks to the room geography to alter the challenge, is Absorbemon!  You're sort of robot brother who has been reprogrammed to help the invading alien enemy, and is your power polar opposite, as implied by his name. The game is all humor and platform puzzling, you're ability is to explode and you use it to destroy enemies, destroy things, move stuff around, propel yourself higher into the air, and dash if you're currently running.  You can acquire currency to upgrade aspects of your exploding, and you get powers after each boss fight to add some more movement and use to your exploding.  The game is short, a mere 12 stages, though getting an S rank isn't easy, and the last four stages kick up the challenge a notch.  Still in all it's a pretty easy game, and along with it's length, makes for a good purchase to play in a single day and have a good chuckle. I have no idea if this is anything like Splosion Man, as I have not played that.  Made by Curve Studios, you can find it on Steam for a base price of ten earth money amounts, recommended.

[operationrainfall]

PUBLISHER SPOTLIGHT: Curve Studios

PUBLISHER SPOTLIGHT: Curve Studios

I seem to have trouble paying attention when playing my games. Much like the situation with Nyu Media, this month’s Spotlight is another company that had a hand in several games I’ve enjoyed, yet I never knew about them. While you may have seen some of these titles on other systems, Curve Studios is mainly responsible (with a couple of exceptions) for bringing them to Sony platforms. It’s quite a…

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