Bumballon

Wow. This is a well made "fly out of cannon-action game". But beware, it is HARD.

I posted a combination write-up and let's play video on my blog with more info on Bum Ballon: https://mrdavepizza.com/bum-ballon-review/ This game is so good for the price. I love other platformers of this nature like PomPom and Grapple Dog, but surprisingly I heard about this first by checking for deals. It's short and sweet with unique but masterable mechanics. High replayability for sure too. You really have to play it to get the vibe of the levels, but it's pleasant and feels great. By the way, the full controller support tag is accurate here. https://youtu.be/BPizJmPzykg

It's ... too much at once. Correctly time when to inflate, hold it for a while (holding a button for too long gets fairly painful), memorize the level layout (it's too fast to react), keep track of A and X... The story is big enough to not be obviously ignorable, but too small to make any sense. And pressing X while a line is half shown skips it, instead of revealing the entire thing. And it can't be rewatched without deleting the save file. Feels like a phone game. All that's missing is a level end screen with three stars.

Quick Description: -Bumballon is an adorable, frantic, and colorful platformer hybrid. It's a cross between an autorunner, a platformer, and a collectathon. It's fun, easy to learn, and dirt cheap. This is a great choice for those looking for a fun and decent challenge for a light afternoon. Consensus: -Middle of the Road Game (Tier 4 and makes up 25% of my reviews). This game is adorable and offers more strategy than you would expect at first glance. It's a bit one dimensional, but you could do a lot worse for $2.

If you love the barrel sections in the Donkey Kong Country games, then this is the game for you - an extremely charming experience with simple mechanics. It doesn't feel repetitive in its short run time & hard difficulty was fun to play through. I was a little disappointed by the last few levels because the mechanic they introduce doesn't build upon the fast, rhythm-like gameplay like the rest of the game. But, in a world full of indie 2-D platformers, its hard to find a better game at this price.

Meh