Beard Blade

This is a fun game, the kind you can play over and over, with fun hidden things to find.

This game teaches you how to play it masterfully while making you feel like you discovered every mechanism. There's "wouldn't it be cool" games where people do a bunch of things in a genre that they think would be cool. This game takes "wouldn't it be cool if" and asks the question every time: "but would it be fun?" and then they do the fun thing that subverts what you think you know about the game, and invites you to play with the game instead of against it. It forces you to slow down and enjoy the design, and there is intention in every corner. The mechanisms are advanced, but they teach you how to get good through a little healthy punishment, but while rooting for you and giving you generous checkpoints. I'm not finished with it yet, but I'm soaking it all in.

Now, this review is coming from someone who has pretty much only played platformers ever since I was 5 years old, and I'm still seeking, finding, and playing platformers of any kind of this day. Beard Blade is no exception, and it definitely shows in every aspect. GWAPHICS ----------------------------------------------------------------- The graphics are really the strong suit here. Everything just feels so alive and shows excruciating detail and heart and soul at that. In some aspects, like some of the nighttime levels, show remarkable attention to detail. MUSIC ------------------------------------------------------------------ The music is literally one of my newfound favorite soundtracks. After hearing that the composer of this game, Steven Melin, was responsible for numerous types of SNES-inspired music, he really hooked me in for some foot-stompin' music. From the way it's all playful jazz music, to anything that comes from a cute 2D platformer, it's all harkening back to the good ol' days. CONTWOLS ------------------------------------------------------------------ The controls, while they're nice to have, can feel a bit slippery at times, and the hovering mechanic, in my personal opinion, I think is really only there for the sake of it, other than save for a few tricky jumps. With the hovering mechanic, the gravity starts to slowdown, but then about 1.5 seconds in, and I'm back to my normal gravity. I also like the addition of numerous other abilities Branson can unlock, such as the ground pound and claw ability. OTHER STUFF ------------------------------------------------------------------ For the overall polish, while the visuals are probably the stand-out point for everybody, I could see a few cracks in the polishing department. For one, in one of the first few levels, if I swim all the way to the left or to the right, I could see that the water was not all the way inside the tiles. In the first Shallot Shipyard level, if I try to jump over after I get hit by the Urchin-like enemy, not only can I not jump, but also, the jump sound plays more than once, which is pretty annoying and grating to hear. Also, for the collectibles, I don't see any real point in getting them other than for the sake of it, and for the end-of-level bosses with the green thief guy, not only is it pretty easy to beat considering that you have to mash the X key 3 times in order to defeat him, but also, I don't see any point in having to beat this guy all the time. OVERALL ------------------------------------------------------- Overall, while the graphics and music are the standout points for this game, the controls could use a tiny-bit of fine-tuning, and the polish could really be addressed. I would also recommend adding real value to the collectibles and the thief mini-bosses, rather than the sake of nostalgia. Now then, would I recommend this game in 2026? Yes, considering that it's now $4.99. (To which I literally don't know why, but hey, it's $5.) It used to be $13.99, and if it still kept that price, I would consider waiting for a discount, since I got this game for $2.79 on sale. Overall Rating: 7.5/10.

like a 90s platformer-

Imagine if Super Mario didn't attempt to do anything like introducing new mechanics. The movement isnt fun or fluid, its slow and clunky but theres no platforming challenge in the first place.

Exactly what I wanted and expected when i got it.