Platformers have been an immensely popular genre in gaming, dating all the way back to the 80s. While many are considered easy, many platformers prove to be incredibly challenging. This is partly thanks to their origins in the arcades. The harder the game was to beat, the more likely players would continue putting in their quarters. As the years went on, console platformers continued the difficulty trends. Games like Mega Man proved that the genre could be difficult, while still being fun and fair.
This difficulty trend continued into the modern era of gaming as well. One game that comes to mind is 2010’s indie darling, Super Meat Boy. Requiring quick reactions, and precise movement, Super Meat Boy proved to be tough as nails. Years have passed since Team Meat’s smash hit, and many devs tend to try and capture their success. Canada based Queen Bee Games’ second title, Spinch, takes cues from previously released titles to create a unique but familiar experience.
A Strange Encounter
Spinch has players take on the role of a weird puffball named, you guessed it, Spinch. What exactly Spinch is, is very unclear. What is clear, however, is that Spinch’s babies have been kidnapped by a mysterious being. This creature manifests itself as a large, incredibly abstract, colorful mask-like creature. Engulfed in fear, Spinch must recuse her 10 offspring and defeat the dastardly face. While the narrative is very short, the bizarre nature of the characters and their interactions gives the game a lot of personality.
The premise isn’t the only thing odd in Spinch, thanks to Canadian illustrator Jessee Jacobs. Jesse is known for his psychedelic, and abstract, illustrations featured in Mad Magazine, The New York Times, and many other print media. Spinch is no exception and features a mix of abstract elements and simplicity. The character of Spinch and the square blocks she collects are very simplistic. Contrasting the simplicity is a diverse range of vivid colors and patterns as the levels’ backgrounds. A lot of what’s on display is reminiscent of Jacob’s previous work. The antagonist alone, the ominous face, looks like one of his pieces! It’s very unique and absolutely works very well.
How’s It Play?
Controlling Spinch feels very familiar. Those comfortable with 2D platformers will feel right at home! Complimenting the simple controls, Spinch feels incredibly nimble. Moving around and jumping feels very smooth and responsive, which is very important in a precision platformer. Most deaths that occur are typically the result of user error. Thankfully there are numerous checkpoints spread around levels. In addition to check-points, each of the game’s 6 worlds are filled with Spinch’s children. There are 3 kids spread across each level. Collecting as many of the children as possible is crucial, as they directly correlate to each world’s boss level. Once all 3 children are collected, Spinch completes a level by jumping into a safety basket. Quite literally a picnic basket.
In addition to Spinch’s own offspring, there are white blocks spread across each level. Collecting 100 of the squares will grant Spinch temporary invincibility. This can be strategically used to get past difficult areas, or speed run through a level. In addition to the block collectibles, Spinch will also come across a large pink being, one of her cousins. Upon discovering the cousin, a bonus stage is unlocked, within the level. These bonus stages have you catching falling cousin babies from the sky. If a certain ratio of little cousins are rescued from their demise, Spinch will unlock a bonus that contributes to the world’s boss.
Face That Face Face-To-Face
The boss battles, at the end of each world, are very engaging. Spinch must now face that face, face to face. Thankfully, she is accompanied by the kids she was able to save throughout the world’s levels. The babies act as ammunition for a pressurized cannon-like device, that must be used to shoot the boss. This is controlled by jumping on a red button on either side of the screen. One button reloads the chamber, the other acts as a trigger. The number of rounds in the chamber is based on how many children were collected in that world, and if you found and completed the cousin’s challenge. I found these boss encounters intuitive and fun!
There’s Always a But!
Spinch is not without some issues, however. The first thing I noticed is a weird anti-gravity bug when sliding off a wall, and holding in the direction facing the wall. You will slide down the wall, and float at a gradual decline in that direction. The way this incorporates into the gameplay makes me feels like it’s an unintentional glitch. That said, I used it to my advantage in quite a few levels. My biggest issue encountered throughout was some framerate drops. These would typically occur while a lot of objects were on the screen, or a larger enemy was pulling off its attack. Unfortunately, I do not have access to the Steam version to confirm if this is exclusively a Nintendo Switch issue. That said many Switch ports seem to suffer from staggering framerates, so it’s very possibly an isolated problem.
Trippy Tunes
The trippy trend continues, once more, with Spinch’s music. The game’s soundtrack is composed by Canadian Hip-Hop artist, James Kirkpatrick, better known by his stage name Thesis Sahib. James’ work is known to include very heavy chiptune/retro-inspired backtracks and elements. The soundtrack for Spinch takes that up a notch and has a very nostalgic feel. Each track is varied and in how it incorporated chiptune sound effects with Hip-Hop influence and beats. Many tracks were incredibly catchy and had me looking up the artist. I am now a Thesis Sahib fan!
Overall Opinion
Overall I had a blast traversing through Spinch’s incredibly hallucinogenic worlds. I found myself backtracking to earlier levels in some of the later worlds, to ensure I had enough babies to defeat the boss. I can see this being one I go back to again years from now. While very challenging, Spinch continued to deliver a very fun and challenging psychedelic platforming experience. Spinch is drastically different from Queen Bee Games’ other title, Onion Force. Spinch was a good direction for the development team to go and proved how well versed the programmers are! While there were some technical issues, nothing was game-breaking. I would put Spinch up there with Super Meat Boy on well-made precision platformers. I’m really looking forward to seeing what’s next on Queen Bee Game’s docket!
Spinch is available now digitally on the Nintendo Switch eShop, as well as on PC through Steam, Humble Store, and GOG. Spinch’s MSRP is $14.99, but at the time of this writing is currently on sale for $11.99 on both the Nintendo Switch eShop and Humble Store.
A digital copy of the game was provided for the purpose of review.
