Abacus

Actually a good game

Abacus may seem like a simple retro platformer, but underneath its cute and charming surface is a deep and unique game. The campaign levels each have their own unique challenges and mechanics, making completing them very rewarding. The weapons are inventive and fun to use, and the care that has been taken in designing them becomes clear in the multiplayer, in which you have to pick the right one for each situation and try your best to survive the mayhem. It even has a level editor! Cannot recommend highly enough.

(Ooh, unsurprisingly struck a nerve! Replies to the lying dev are in edits throughout.) When I dropped an honest review for Abacus in the past, I was pressured to take it down, which I can but won't post screenshots of. But that's corruption (Edit: Look up nepotism), and part of then-ongoing borderline psychological abuse so here we go! (Edit: That was the "disagreement". It's a "nasty thing to do", and we aren't friends anymore due to it. This review exists because I now have freedom to say the game is crap.) Honest feedback isn't wanted because feelings mean more than people's wallets, but now it shall be given publicly because that's what's right, and because this game needs a bit of a whistleblower from inside. Almost all reviews for this game is by somebody listed in the credits. (Nepotism.) Firstly, some behind-the-scenes is necessary to appreciate where I'm coming from in this review: I'm credited in this title as a tester or something along with most of the others, however the majority of problems with this game stem from how it was tested - there wasn't really any room for real feedback during the alphas, as it was a group of friends in a Whatsapp group with an unspoken…

This precision-puzzle-platformer-shooter is the closest thing to actual childhood nostalgia I've experienced on Steam. You can 100% earlier levels with upgrades attained later in the game, which earns you stars that you spend on further upgrades to make later levels easier. Enough hours of harmless light fun to keep you busy, and with the level editor it becomes something more unique. It's good.

After playing Abacus, I got the feeling I experienced the journey of not only a game but a developer learning and improving his craft along the way. Abacus' first impression is of a somewhat generic platformer with floaty physics. In fact, the biggest problem I have with the game is how the character controls. While it feels good to move Abacus at lightning-fast speed, it also feels very imprecise, especially when the player tries to land on smaller platforms where movement finesse is required. A run button could have alleviated some of these issues. I also found myself in many situations where I’d like to be able to look up or down to have a better idea of my bearings. Adding an option to do so by holding the corresponding directional key would have helped a lot. While playing through the campaign I thought that the first few levels were a bit bland, however they quickly started improving. By World 3 I found myself utterly enjoying some of the more maze-like puzzles and thrilling auto-scrollers. The game keeps this quality from that point on and never looks back. Abacus can also wield a variety of weapons and they are all extremely inventive and fun to use. In particular, the heli…

Abacus is an excellent new take on classic 2D platforming. A perfect mix of story, heart, fun & tricky gameplay and 2D platforming at it's best. Secret areas, collectables, witty narrative, it's all here. But it doesn't stop there, the multiplayer is addictive and can get pretty heated! With a variety of game modes on tap, I've managed to lose hours blasting my mates and capping flags. The soundtrack will get stuck in your head and the art style will charm you into forgetting any frustrations you may have after missing that jump for the 5th time haha! A great buy for 2D platform veterans and new comers alike.