Antonblast is an out-of-control platformer with a 90s heart.

Anton Blast It’s kind of like watching Saturday morning cartoons. It’s brash and maximalist and you’ll often feel like you don’t really understand what’s going on. Somehow, the chaos turns into something that actually makes sense, and sometimes even calms down.

Anton Blast Although it was just released in 2024, it looks like a long-forgotten side-scrolling platformer from the 16-bit era like the SNES and Sega Genesis. And it’s not just because of the fantastic pixel art. It has some fun touches, like delightful 90s character designs and Mode 7-like effects (characters bouncing on the screen when they die, etc.), making it feel like a lost classic from that era.

Sang-gu Jeong, Anton Blast‘s developers describe the game as a “fast-paced, explosive action platformer”, which is a good way to sum up what it actually feels like to play. What will happen if you put wario, sonic, donkey kong country, crash bandicoot, Ren & Stimpy Showand Rocco’s Modern Life In a blender.

As Anton or Annie, you’ll blast your way through various enemies and obstacles in your path, sometimes turning into a literal tornado of chaos, as you retrieve your souls (like drinks) from the villainous Satan who has stolen them and scattered them across 12 levels. . .

The levels usually have some sort of special effect or theme that is explored with almost Nintendo-like precision. One level often turns your character into a pinball. Another feature includes a section where you transform into a bouncing explosive bomb. One of my favorites was the maze-like bathhouse, which was strangely quiet compared to the rest of the game. And at the end of almost every level, you’ll activate a switch that starts a timer and begins a frantic, thrilling run towards the entrance.

In most cases, Anton Blast Like the classics, it encourages you to build momentum. sonic game. Because of the speed of movement or the amount of content on the screen, it’s easy to fall into a state of surge-forward flow, even when things feel out of control. As I got better and better at the game, I actually started to become more chill when things got out of control. The game usually steered me in the right direction, and I learned to accept that things were going right.

Sometimes the game can have difficult platforms or annoyingly placed checkpoints that can throw you out of your flow state. sonic. Some bosses, often epic, screen-filling sights, can be frustratingly difficult. Fortunately, the fast reload speed makes this frustration a little easier to deal with. The final level and boss are particularly challenging. But if you get that far, trust me when I tell you that the reward for completing it will be worth it.

Like the 90s cartoons that provide clear inspiration, Anton Blast Can be a bit noisy and immature. There’s a button that can literally make your character scream. But like the best of those shows, the creators clearly had fun creating the best world, and made it really fun to play in, even when I didn’t know what was going on.

Anton Blast Available now on Nintendo Switch and Steam.