Derelict Star

VERY difficult precision platformer. Very difficult even by the standards of the genre. I love it. The challenge comes in 2 stages. A puzzle element where you have to figure out the details of how the movement mechanics work and how to apply them to the current situation and then, the hard part, actually executing. The difficulty spike is very steep but stick with it and things you first thought "there's no way that's what it wants me to do, right?!" become doable. Very satisfying. Some of the harder platforming goes above and beyond what would be considered normal for the genre. Seeming more like something from a kaizo mario level or a difficult speedrun trick. But you do not have to complete all challenges to complete the game. Even so, just finishing will be a demanding but very satisfying feat. I think for someone who likes this sort of game (i.e. hates themselves) it's worth a lot more than the asking price. Many many hours of precision platforming for those who want to do everything. Edit: I should add that the exploration element is also fun. It's basically a big 2D open world with different biomes. Nice music and atmosphere too.

these bubbles are vying for my demise

[b]Derelict Star[/b] is a deep meditation on its movement system and how it interacts with the world around it, and it asks you to explore and experiment to solve challenges that initially seem inscrutable. The combination of learning and execution are really where the game shines, setting it above a pure puzzle platformer where execution is often pretty easy once you understand what the game is asking for; Here you actually have to do it, and it's incredibly satisfying when you do. The game is divided loosely and permiably into a number of areas that each tend to emphasize different sorts of platforming challenges or puzzles, one area might lean heavily into momentum preservation while making very long multi-screen jumps while another requires very tight precise jumps covering just a few tiles. If you find yourself stumped at a particular challenge you can simply try pressing on in a different direction to see if you can make further progress elsewhere, possibly learning more that might allow progress where you were stuck. Progress is only ever gated by your knowledge and skill. The minimalist story telling and art design allow you to project a lot of your own imagination into t…

I like to judge a game on 5 different aspects from 0 to 10, with 10 being "no flaws" If it scores an 11 on an aspect, it means it goes beyond having no flaws, and is a masterpiece in that aspect. So here's my review of Derelict Star: Gameplay: 10/10 The game created a movement system and explored every single possible thing you could do with it, that's exactly what I look for in a platformer. The game is beatable for average players but will be a great challenge even for the best platformer players if you wanna collect everything. A huge problem of a lot of open games is having to backtrack. This game solves that flawlessly with its checkpoint system, making you able to warp to essentially every room you've been to. The level design and teaching of the rules of the game is very well done as well. I have no criticism of the gameplay. Visual Identity: 8/10 The game's art style is directly taken from Pico 8 games. The developer has made great Pico 8 games before like "Control The Body", so they probably really like the style so much that they decided to recreate it in Godot. That's what makes and breaks the art style... It's very consistent of Pico 8 games, but also not very unique…

Feels a bit like Super Mario World but I'm still early. Tightly designed

I've never laughed so hard at my own misery