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Sol, A Platformer With Retro Sensibilities, Released and Reviewed

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Platformers are made or broken by how responsive and fluid the action is. The precise controls and the reasonable inertia go a long way in helping the player assert control. I found myself getting a hang of jumping and stomping almost immediately. Difficulty ramps up naturally as the stages progress with one or two exceptions that require a little bit of practice to to get past. At no point I felt that the enemies or mechanics were unfair or made the game hard to control or unresponsive.

A design decision I didn't necessarily appreciate was the unlimited lives or the lack of a time limit to stages. Dying has no real consequence with the very many checkpoints in stages saving the player from any frustration of starting from the beginning. The downside is that ultimately the players are encouraged to take their time when moving forward as there is no penalty for performing poorly. The only difference between the difficulty levels is the movement speed of enemies. A limited checkpoint system, limited lives system, or even just a time trial would make the prospect of repeating stages to earn more points and discover more secrets far more appealing.

Sol really shines when it comes to level design. Whatever other issues it may have, the game presents a varied and fun challenge to the player at every turn. Much in the tradition of early Sonic the Hedgehog games, each stage has multiple routes that the player can take to reach the end. Add to that a healthy dose of hidden paths, items and areas that the player can reach only certain power-ups and you get a lot of different ways to approach a stage. Exploring stages takes a combination of imagination, experimentation and the occasional item to reach hidden areas and secrets.

It's not only the tile sets that make each zone stand apart. It's also the type of hazards and platforming that set a different mood for each segment of the game. I never once felt like the game repeated its challenges between stages too often and the action encouraged me to adapt to the new types of enemies and their impact on the environment. The feel between different zones kept me on my toes until the very end of the game.

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My casual run on normal difficulty took me somewhere between 2-3 hours to finish the game. There's replayability in taking different paths on each stage but that's not where the potential value of the game can truly be measured. There's an in-built level editor that's both robust and easy to use. Within ten minutes I had a simple stage built and ready for sharing. The game is very mod-friendly with every asset modifiable or replaceable with the use of 7z files. Community-made maps could possibly add hours upon hours of additional gameplay. To top it all off, Sol is GPL3+ licensed! This means that players have full access to the source code, encouraging talented individuals to tinker with and alter the game, potentially create great new content and freely share it with the world.

The very many accessibility settings available to the player are worth a mention. The developer has taken remarkable steps to ensure those who have trouble seeing have easily-enabled high contrast modes or options to zoom the game in further or remove the background entirely. The options don't end there as plentiful and completely modifiable control schemes make it easier for just about anyone to play the game. It's not every day that I see well thought out options for fellow gamers with disabilities so, forgetting any other merits the game has for a moment, Sol deserves praise for implementing them.

Somewhere during the first few levels the solid gameplay and the excellent level design the game won me over. I had a lot of fun dying and trying to get better. I had a lot of fun trying to reach the end of the game. Most importantly, I never felt bored by the game. It's easy to recommend it to anyone looking for a game that succeeds in making both simple gameplay and clever level design mesh well together. That said, the simplistic art and short length of the game will no doubt be turn offs for some. Those looking for something more cerebral, flashy or unique will do well to skip this game. This is not a game I would consider unforgettable or even unique but I think that it will appeal to most people who enjoy platformers.

I hope that Azura Sun expands upon the game. More levels and challenges would be a welcome addition. While I have no doubt that if a community forms around the game, it'll create good game content, it's really the developer's attention to detail in creating hidden areas and alternate paths that really sells the experience. It's clear that there's a lot of love put into Sol. For a new developer it's a good first game and I'll be keeping an eye on any future projects by them.

You can grab a DRM-free version of Sol from its homepage. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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About the author -
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History, sci-fi, technology, cooking, writing and playing games are things I enjoy very much. I'm always keen to try different genres of games and discover all the gems out there.

Oh and the name doesn't mean anything but coincidentally could be pronounced as "Buttery" which suits me just fine.
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1 comment

flesk Apr 29, 2015
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  • Contributing Editor
I played a little of the beta a while back and it reminded me a lot of Superfrog with its huge levels and myriads of secret passages. Very impressive for a one person effort.
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