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| Literally jumping the shark - and I'm not even the Fonz |
- Reviewed by: Mark Goninon
- Developer: Pixeljam
- Publisher: Pixeljam
- Release Date: 4 December 2014
- Time played: 0.8 hours (INCOMPLETE)
Potatoman Seeks the Troof happened to be one of the games included as part of the Humble Freedom Bundle, a particularly special bundle since it was initiated as a response to U.S. President Trump's Executive Order 13769 (an order that was anti-immigration in nature). 100% of funds raised went to three charities: the ACLU, Doctors Without Borders and the International Rescue Committee. Humble Bundle also promised to match $300,000 if that target was met; not only was this target met but it was exceeded by a phenomenal amount with the final total of funds raised being over $6 million.
Anyway, I managed to get a whole bunch of games, books, music and audiobooks for $30 USD and one of the games I got was a little indie platformer called Potatoman Seeks the Troof. Despite my dislike of platformers in general, I decided to give this one a go since HowLongtoBeat.com reckons the game only takes about half an hour to complete - so I decided to give it a shot, hoping that it would be more of a casual platformer like Refunct - unfortunately it was not to be.
What I like:
Simple
The game is as basic as platformer games get: the up arrow key is jump and the left and right arrow keys move your character (assumedly, Potatoman) around the level. So it's very easy to get into the game - a very different experience to all the two hour long tutorials you often find in AAA titles.Retro
The game has an oldschool, 8-bit, Atari 2600 style feel to it in terms of the graphics and sound effects. Lots of indie games nowadays employ this style but thankfully for Pixeljam, I'm a fan.Trolololol
The game is definitely out to kill you. Several times you'll come across obstacles you would think are seemingly harmless but you turn out to be totally wrong. Often they're good for a laugh the first time and then you move on, wondering what other weird and wonderful traps you will encounter in the future.Steam Trading Cards and Achievements
The game has a couple of Steam Achievements and a whopping 15 Steam Trading Cards to collect.What I dislike:
Cannot save progress
Okay, that statement isn't completely true: the game does auto-save progress but how far you get is dependent on the number of lives you have on a particular level. If you lose one life you restart nearby. However if you lose all lives you have to restart the entire level again. If you quit at any time, you lose all progress and have to start the whole game again - this is what annoys me. Okay for someone who is good at platformers this might not be a biggie but for the rest of us mere mortals, not so much.All that I hate about platformers
I gave the game my best shot as I always do when trying out platformers, but eventually I ended up ragequitting after playing the game for almost an hour and only reaching the fourth level. I admit that my reflexes aren't up to scratch or maybe I just don't have the patience to play platformers. Whatever the case Potatoman Seeks the Troof reminds me why I hate platformers and it doesn't help that, as I've mentioned before, you get no choice where to save the game: this means having to retry the same tricky segments, over and over again, only so you can have a chance at doing another tricky segment. I don't think I've sworn so much at my screen in a while (and I play multiplayer FPSs like Rainbow Six Siege).Score – 5/10 (Average)
I'm probably not the right person to review platformers since due to my general dislike of the genre, I often end up giving them a low score. Despite the appealing retro nature of Potatoman Seeks the Troof it's not enough to motivate me to keep attempting its frustrating levels. If like me you don't generally like platformers, don't even bother. Otherwise, it may appeal - just don't expect much.
Is the game worth $3.99 USD?: No. The game is a basic retro platformer and while it has a few humourous moments, it's a bit on the pricey side for what you get. If you're into these sorts of games though and it goes on sale, could be worth a look.
If you like this game, you might like…
[ LINK: Official Potatoman Seeks the Troof Website ]
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