Your planet is doomed. Your leaders are perilously close to surrendering their homeland to their arch enemies after losing all hope. One of your greatest generals comes to you with an idea to try and preserve your home. With desperate times come desperate measures, but this measure is far too erratic to trust and cannot be used. Perhaps fortunately or unfortunately, a missile flies through a cryogenic chamber which is keeping this last hope at bay. With his release, the planet of Nibia may finally have a chance to survive thanks to one individual and his explosive personality. Ladies and gentlemen meet Explodemon.
Explodemon was released in 2011 for PlayStation 3 and PC, but the game has only recently been released on Steam. The game takes inspiration from several games including Super Mario and numerous other SNES-era platformers. The main comparison for this game would be to compare it to 2009’s Xbox Live Arcade title Splosion Man as the main features of the game involve Explodemon using his ability to explode himself to progress through areas and solve puzzles. The first time I played through the game, I thought I had been here before. But as you progress through each level, you soon find out that the game is unique in what it’s trying to convey.
Having explained the beginning of the game in my introduction, the opening level introduces you to the gameplay mechanics. Explodemon can explode to reach high platforms, run at fast speed and explode to destroy enemies. When you use your exploding power, it takes a few seconds for you to be able to regain your power making you vulnerable to attack and unable to progress through some parts until your powers have been restored. Sounds the same as Splosion Man, right?
Wrong. Splosion Man relied on the flow of the player’s movements to achieve your goals whereas Explodemon puts a lot more objects in front of you which often requires you to think outside the box. Although the gameplay is frequently stop-start, the puzzle aspects of the game are well thought out and sometimes require you to stop and figure out how best to progress past a puzzle. Although this often becomes a hindrance and difficult to figure out, the puzzles are sometimes a welcome break from the dull enemies you face. Many of the puzzles are similar and they mostly involve exploding at the correct angle or time to direct an object somewhere. As the game progresses these inevitably become harder and with the controls can sometimes be frustrating when the outcome doesn’t go to plan repeatedly.
When playing something with the gameplay features which Explodemon has, it’s almost natural to try and speedrun your way through everything. The main character performs actions that you would associate with Rayman or Splosion Man and these games allow for a flow which feels natural to these characters, but despite this I feel as though there are too many stop-start sections of the game. One moment you are racing through an area and the next you are in an extremely small area trying to punch the enemies who surround you and can defeat you cheaply, at times. Although trailers and gameplay videos show of the protagonist racing through everything, this only becomes a viable option once several hours have been put into the game.
Explodemon has been designed to be played several times over in order to gain the best ranking of each level. Each stage of every planet (there are 3 planets with 5 levels in each) there are many collectibles to both improve Explodemon and make the game easier as a result. The typical ranking system applies with grades depending on how fast you have completed the level against the par-time and how many items you have collected. While this may suit someone who is looking to play the game for the long-term, this may affect players who are experiencing this type of game for the first time. With the game taking around 4 hours to complete, it isn’t a huge game, but can offer replay value. Some of the larger enemies take around 5 explosions to destroy and is rather dull once you explode and then proceed to wait on your explosive powers recharging once again.
The graphics on PC look fresh and colourful, although some levels require you to progress through caves containing a mix of futuristic technology and ancient rocks which are quite dull, the game is vibrant and it makes you feel excited when you begin playing any level. I was eager to see what each level had in store as the initial impression which Explodemon projects is an exciting one which reminds me of games from my childhood.
The comparison to SNES platformers may seem short-sighted at first, but as you get to grips with the game you can see why so many people have compared the game to such classic platformers. In saying that, the game doesn’t avoid problems which existed back in the SNES days as well. When battling foes, the fighting sequences seem delayed and feature a lot of lag. I’m unsure how this game performed when it was on PS3, but the delays in the combat are rather jarring and there isn’t a huge degree of variance with this gameplay mechanic either. You can run past a few enemies, but other areas require you to destroy all nearby foes to proceed and it feels as though you are merely button bashing rather than tactically using the combat.
As the game is relatively inexpensive, the music and sound effects from the interaction with the enemies and the environment are the only sounds used in the game. You do have a degree of interaction with characters, but this is only in text form. From the moment you begin the game, it almost feels as though you are reading from a comic book and that style certainly suits Explodemon. The script for the game is often humorous and puts a smile on your face by what they say and the reaction of some of the characters. The cut-scenes are all done very well, but the characters you meet throughout each level seem lifeless and could very well be replaced with signs providing you with the same information. It would have been good seeing more interaction with some characters or just remove it altogether.
Explodemon has several plus points, but it also has its flaws as well. The game provides joyous moments which will leave you smiling and others which will have you scratching your head and wondering why parts of the game were ever implemented. If you are willing to take your time with this game and check under every nook and cranny, then the game can be really rewarding, but if you want to play this game as it seems from first impressions then it can be frustrating. So if you want a game that is a classic idea with a modern twist then Explodemon could be for you. In my opinion, I would only recommend that you play Explodemon if you are willing to put in the time to play through it several times.
Explodemon is available now via Steam for £6.99.