Platformer Reviews

The two platformers I will be reviewing are Steamworld Dig 2 and Iconoclasts, both which I have been playing in my off time.

The first platformer that I have been playing is Steamworld Dig 2, somewhat like Spelunky (without the roguelike) but also Motherload.  So far I've had fun with it, I really enjoy the customization afforded by the cog system. In it you can buy upgrades for your gear (robot pun) that raises it's base stats and unlocks cog upgrades, which generally give a unique benefit like more xp from kills or mined resources destroying nearby tiles. I like games that don't pigeonhole you into one build and the two resources gives you progression and customization. 

I've played Super Motherload, and found it to be too focused on very linear puzzles randomly scattered around the map with rewards that rarely were worth the effort in comparison with the more easily accessed ore. Steamworld 2 separation between the main map, which is very open to the player dig around in their own pursuit of riches and instanced puzzles that give cogs more refreshing. You do puzzles with the tools you use in the over-world to gain upgrades that help you in both situations.

 In Super Motherload, the "puzzles" unmineable tiles got in the way of you progressing and made one of my favorite tactics, the linear shaft (wherein you dig a giant hole unobstructed by any tiles) impossible without explosives that cost you more buying upgrades. Steamworld 2 does not have any consumable (so far) and thus you never feel wasteful in using your rechargeable steam rifle or worry about paying for lighter fuel, removing time wasted fretting at the shop. Overall having a lot of fun even if I die a lot from falling rocks of my own design.

The other plat-former  that I've been playing also is the Iconoclasts, a Metrovania, pretty art, solid game.  It has some fun characters, an interesting story, but also suffers from slightly confusing parts. The game has a lot of boss fights which are of the puzzle variety, but they often have very unintuitive solutions.

 The worst offender is the Aztec head and hands boss early on, which has a very sequitous solution. To beat you have to hit a never before seen switch box, wrench a bolt , then shoot it a bunch,  then jump onto a plat former then shoot the laboriously pulsating gears which would feel artificially emphasized, and then repeat. This is combined with the fact this is the first time the game introduces character switching, forcing you to also learn a completely new character. The ally in question has two unique powers: shoot a directed blast and dodge dash. Neither of these abilities are particularly relevant to the solution, since there is no need for accurate aiming and the stage is too small for the dash to be useful. This also combines into a boss fight that feels less like a challenge and more a janky and disconnected laundry list of steps to complete. This problem of new skills learned in the preceding levels not being the answer to boss fights is less egregious in most other bosses but comes up here and there. 

The game uses a similar system to Steamworld 2 in terms of upgrading  where you can change out various modules that increase stats. The upgrades are mostly additive, such as a higher melee damage or faster walk speed and I really never found much of a reason to switch them out since their impact was so marginal. Iconoclasts has a lot of quality of life mechanics like autoaiming and easy ledge grabbing which only make it's rougher edges more obvious though the core gameplay remains engaging and