Sometimes all you want is an arcade game that you can pick up, play a bit, then put it down. It’s okay, I understand. We all get that urge sometimes, which is why flash games like Super Puzzle Platformer are so great to just have around. It might not be the depth or graphics of AA commercial titles, but it has its place.
Super Puzzle Platformer is as straight forward as it gets. You take your little orange man in a quite handsome red cape and shoot colored blocks for points. The bigger the block combo, the more points. The more points, the stronger your blaster is. You also must avoid the spikes at the bottom of the pit, insta-kill spike blocks, and having all of your power squished away by incoming colored blocks. Oh, and drills. I probably don’t need to describe what they do.
The gameplay is delightfully simplistic. There’s nothing you need to worry about outside of surviving and getting a high score. While dodging hordes of incoming blocks can be stressful, at the same time it’s relaxing to play a game you don’t have to worry about too much. One game only takes a few minutes, and you can either play again or go do something else. Nothing about it is a big deal, and that’s a bit refreshing these days.
I’m sure you can imagine what the game looks like with the description above. A throwback flash arcade game with a focus on getting the best score doesn’t need to look great, it only needs to play great in order to compete with other flash games in the genre. It’s just a bonus that Super Puzzle Platformer looks and sounds like a 16-bit game, bringing the feel home. A game like this wouldn’t be the same with shiny visuals and modern-style music. This is a formula was perfect when it was cutting edge and is still just as effective as it has always been.
