I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "What if Mario was a fat penguin who could freeze things with snowballs and then turn them into delicious frozen treats by touching them?" Well, have we got a surprise for you! Neutronized's Snow Tale is an adorable, pudgy little platformer that takes classic Super Mario World-esque gameplay and dresses it up with a little of that old vaguely Hammerfest-ish flair. Now that's what I call da magicks! Just use the [WASD] or [arrow] keys to move, and the [spacebar] to throw snowballs at enemies; once that freezes them, you can waddle into them to send them flying, Koopa-shell style, and they'll take out any other enemies in their path. You can only take three hits, but don't worry; you'll simply respawn at the last bell you rang and continue on your way to the end. Sign posts along the way will educate your further in the art of being a fat penguin, such as the double-jump, the bashing roll, and the all-important butt-stomp. (Don't leave home without it.)
Snow Tale has a lot going for it, not the least of which is its beautiful sense of style and eeeeee omigosh lookit the widdle baddies! Neutronized always makes gorgeous games and Snow Tale is no different. The looks go perfectly with the classic jump-and-bump gameplay... which unfortunately is only ever particularly challenging when it feels like the double-jump falls asleep on you. The whole movement feels just ever so slightly sluggish in a way that makes you want to go, okay, we get that he's a fat penguin, but even Wario was light on his creepy little feet. Still, Snow Tale does a great job of delivering family-friendly platforming action in one colourful, cartoony package that's just the right size and squishy shape for some coffee-break gaming. Or any time, really. Who am I to tell you how to enjoy your penguins?
If something ticks me off, it's shaky controls that cause multiple deaths...
Graphically I loved it, but the controls ruined it for me. The controls were indeed sluggish. And jumping needs a complete overhaul. It was at times impossible to even jump over small gaps that weren't much larger than the penguin.
It was really hard to convince myself to freeze-and-bump the bad guys. They were too cute! I'm telling myself that it didn't really hurt them and that a feather bed awaited them off-screen.
And, yeah. Controls not the niftiest. I guess they can't all be Fancypants.
This game's alright, but it's not allowing me to escape from my weekday.
Cute (like Nitrome), but the controls are deadlier than the enemies.
Well I thought it was just me - but apparently not, sluggish controls make this unplayable for me.
The jumping is horrible in this game. If the developer can fix it I would say this is a really nice game.
Reading all these control issue posts I think I'm just gonna go ahead and skip this one. Besides, I don't have none of thems newfangled keyboards fitted with sapcebars ;)
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