Screen Boy

The story begins with the titular hero, Screen Boy, who decides to propose to his beloved girlfriend. Just as the moment turns heartfelt, a villain and his gang burst onto the scene. The antagonist’s plan is to throw the hero into a well, hoping to remove him from the picture and marry the girl himself. Like most platforming protagonists, your moveset is fairly straightforward. You can jump, double jump, wall jump, and throw out a short punch to attack enemies. The punch only reaches a small distance in front of you, and unfortunately, taking damage happens far too easily. At times it feels as though enemies harm you even without making clear contact. The jumping mechanics are a mix of solid and frustrating. The double jump functions smoothly and adds flexibility, but the wall jump is a disaster. It requires pressing away from the wall while jumping but you never get comfortable with it. Mashing the button doesn’t help because a double-jump resets everything and drops you all the way to the bottom. Instead of straightforward, linear stages, the game emphasizes exploration. Each area tasks you with searching for switches to press or items that need to be carried to other charac…

A fun and challenging game. A mix of platforming and adventure with amusing dialogue and extremely good level design. Well worth a punt!