Tiny Barbarian DX finally released for the Nintendo Switch. The game as a self-described you play as a well, a tiny barbarian. Your main goal is to run, jump, climb, slide and fluctuate through levels and defeat the enemies and bosses that are at the end of the levels. The game comes with four episodes of each provide an unrelenting and unique adventure with coins and secrets to collect. The game closely reminds us old platformers and brings back great nostalgia of the 8-bit and 16-bit platform beat-em up games. All the vertical height changes and dodging spikes just make the game a fun challenge.
Tiny Barbarian is definitely unforgiving for the faint of heart. But that is also a good thing. The game provides you with a life bar that makes the game, not quite as punishing as classic platform days but don’t let that fool you that health bar can quickly disappear in the blink of an eye. There are constant traps and enemies will keep you on your toes throughout each level. The levels are well designed and are created to really challenge you to explore every corner for secrets and the multi-tiered platforms, allow you to pick which route to take. However, there is no easy route in this game as they are all fraught with enemies to block your path. The backgrounds for the level seem very simple, but they fit the field of the level so perfectly that they blend right in and made it so you notice the time put into the artwork. The enemies follow your typical type of enemies founded any platform games you have your mindless zombie type that just walks back and forth but has no real attack.
Thinking back Koopa Troopa tracking enemies that swings a weapon for little range to their attack and just homes it on you, no matter where you are, shooting enemies that shoot range attacks at a constant timing, swooping enemies are coming from both sides of the screen and then randomly swooped out to try to kill you. There is a unique enemy, the treasure goblin can’t not want to hit it when you see it, but it runs around and runs away, and every time you get the goblin it provides you treasures or food to help you get through the level. Such a glorious thing to see on the screen.
The game is humorous and really fun to play one of my favorite moments that still makes me giggle every so often. Maybe because I like to take a break and do it is when you can hurt enemies was standing still and flexing. If you time it right and flexes enemy comes close to you. You can hurt them and knock them back using the gapless action. There are other great moments that just make you chuckle, but I won’t ruin them by telling you about. I would advise that you take a few minutes to visit the tiny barbarian website at www.tinybarbarian.com and read the manual. There’s some great many comics in there that will give you the sense of the shenanigans of the game. The controls are very straightforward. You move around your analog stick and there’s a jumping action button.
The game is pretty tough and there were a few jumps or a vine swing sequences that were just though and definitely made me curse a bit but the controls were done well and allows players to choose Diverse landscape as long as they timed their jumps and attacks right. I will admit there were a few times I thought I jumped super early and still got hit by Spiro Eagle. That was a bit away. But once you figure out the timing you easily dodge anything the game can throw at you.
This game is a fun throwback to the nostalgic a bit and 60 bit here action platform is there not for the faint heart again as it gets pretty challenging. It does require a lot of patience to get through, the good thing is that there are no life limits or continues to worry about. If you die, you just started the last checkpoint and try to get the game really provides with the developer said they were making a classic that you can often play through it under simple, challenging and satisfying those gains were short by necessity. But brevity is the soul with and it’s not a bad way to do things the developer is right in that respect.
Consider how players are now peeling super Mario brothers in under five minutes or how people could be the original contract another 10 minutes while the average person was able to beat these games at about 30 to 60 minutes that brevity really made you come back to play it over and over again that combination with the portability of Nintendo switch really make for great throwback, and this is definitely something I see players pushing for speed reps in the near future. We give this game and 8.5 out of 10 deftly recommended if you just love to play those quick fast-paced games