Once again, I’ve proven to be wildly famous beyond imagination, receiving copies of indie games to review and preview. Today’s game is Rush to Adventure, an interesting take on the platformer-with-RPG-elements genre. The game is currently in the alpha stages, so I’m not going to do a full review, but I did want to talk about the game a bit.
It can be easy to overlook this title based on graphics alone, but I’d say that you’d be missing out. What the game lacks in the graphics department, it makes up for in music gameplay. The music helps, but the gameplay is really what clicked with me. If you’ve read any of the other reviews I’ve written, you’ll know that there’s something about small numbers and incremental progression that can be pretty addictive. It’s not just me, though—that basic concept is what keeps people playing any of the dozens of MMORPGs on the market.
It feels great to try an area, fail, and come back later only to mop the floor with the enemies. In Rush to Adventure, this is emphasized and explicitly noted by an end-of-level ranking that shows you exactly how well (or, poorly) you did, including the ways you could have done better. Throughout the demo, you’ll always find yourself feeling more powerful—whether it’s learning a new skill, gaining new equipment, or just leveling up. There’s a part of me that wonders if the full game will be able to keep up the pace, but the alpha has me wanting for more.
It can be tough to stand out amongst the competition in the pixel-art-platformer arena. Some developers come in with the shovelware mentality, looking for an easy game to make and hoping that some day they’ll get a “viral” hit. Other developers come in with a grand story they want to tell, maybe even with graphics to match, but usually end up having buggy, lackluster gameplay as they focus their efforts on everything else. Rush to Adventure goes in the opposite direction, making a game that’s fun to play even if it’s not much to look at. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on the developer’s site and/or Twitter, and if you find yourself interested in checking it out, the alpha is free to play! The only thing you have to lose is maybe half an hour.
