Free Game Focus: Spike - A Love Story
Have you ever considered the plight of the Thwomp? It sits in Bowser's castles, day after day, given only one purpose in life: squish Mario. When Mario finally shows up, more often than not, he gets by unscathed, and the Thwomp is left all alone, with nothing to consider by how it failed to fulfill its purpose.
Perhaps you've never considered the plight of the Thwomp, but Newgrounds user, Matzerath, has. In Spike - A Love Story, Matzerath proposes that perhaps the Thwomp tries to thwomp Mario out of love, not hate. When the only way to express yourself is by smashing things, the better you smash, the more you care, right?
The premise of Spike is simple: the player controls a spike trap and tries to smash the hero, while the hero tries to outwit the trap. It basically boils down to memorizing the hero's routine, and hitting the space bar at the right time, with a bit of randomness thrown in to keep you on your toes. Story mode features twenty-five lives for the hero, with failure happening only if you do particularly poorly. Survival mode features fifty lives, and you're out on your first miss.
Simple as the game is, it's still oddly compelling. The animations and behavior of the hero are great, and the tricks he pulls to get past range from silly to clever. It's the trap, though, that has a surprising amount of character and connection. From the blissed-out look in its eyes when it squishes the hero, to the tears that well up when it gets fired for doing poorly, I found myself trying really hard to make sure the trap was the best, most loving trap it could be.
The game is a bit gruesome, as it takes a more visceral approach to the many deaths of platforming heroes. However, I still found Spike - A Love Story to be clever, funny, and enjoyable. Definitely worth a half hour of your time.