Sunblaze Reviews

Very good

Sunblaze is pretty good. Clearly taking a bit of influence from Meat Boy and Celeste, but with a much stronger emphasis on puzzle-like level design. It's not quite what I was looking for as I tend to just prefer more skill based precision platformers with clear direction than each level being a puzzle where you have to figure out the intended steps to win while making tight jumps without stopping. It just made levels take longer to complete when I have to look at everything and try to figure out what I have to do before I even make my first jump cause I know I'll never get another opportunity to stop and figure out my next step. Platforms are always falling when you step on them or there's some hazard that activates when you touch it. Don't get it twisted, this is not Celeste. Celeste is a great beginner's precision platformer that's very accessible. This game is much harder and often due to annoying design elements. I hate the way ledges work. If you keep holding left or right, you automatically climb or jump off which can lead to instant death. Moving along horizontal pipes will make you fall off when you reach the end instead of just stopping. This may not sound that bad, but in a precision platformer, these little things add up. There's a story and I'm not sure what to make of it. You're supposedly training to be a superhero like your dad, but you die in one hit to everything. I'm not sure she'd find much success when her only powers are jumping and dashing. For a hero named Sunblaze, she only uses her fire ability in one chapter, Chapter 5, and never sees it again in the sixth and final chapter. Why even bring it in then? The dialogue is honestly painfully cringe. There are so many Marvel-tier quips and jokes in every single dialogue sequence. It's just not very funny and it does nothing for character development when everyone speaks like this. Sunblaze, her dad, the damn AI. They're all cornballs. The tonal inconsistencies stood out to me as well. We have cheesy dialogue in a PG-13 tone, but blood and gore when you get killed by a trap or crushed. That works in Meat Boy cause that game was built on dark internet humor from Newgrounds, but this game is tonally closer to Celeste's cozy feel, so it just stood out as being way out of place. That said, the pixel art looks pretty good. Smooth animation and colorful vibrant levels. The soundtrack is pleasant if unexceptional. The hand drawn art and overall art direction is very anime-esqe which I can take or leave. I'm not a fan of big head chibi looking art, but it's well done. Level design is definitely the game's bread and butter. These levels demand a lot of pure skill and problem solving abilities. This blend of styles is handled much better than say Tiny Thor. You'll die a lot as you work through solutions, but if I can beat it, any competent player can. There is an additional chapter if you just want some more after beating the campaign. I wasn't impressed with the final boss as the game never really prepares you for a threat like this. There are literally zero enemies in game that actively pursue you or fire any projectile attacks. Everything just floats around waiting for you. To suddenly pull this right at the end felt jarring. I recommend for precision platformer enthusiasts exclusively. (6/10)

Perfect masterpiece!!! If you enjoy games like Celeste, Bzzzt, and others, I highly recommend it!

Very similar to Celeste, yet it has its own undeniable charm. A simple but engaging story, plenty of tricky levels that test your skills, and optional collectibles — in short, everything a good platformer should have. I had a great time!