No matter how many top-tier shooters or AAA 3D adventure titles come out, I'll always have a special place in my heart for old school, 2D side-scrolling goodness. To me it represents the purest form of gaming. It's just you vs. machine and any good platformer makes your controller feel like just an extension of your body. There's nobody else to blame for your mistakes other than yourself.
I know I'm not the only one to have such a love for this style of game. The indie community has been and still is absolutely bursting with outstanding titles and players are continuing to buy. The trend seems to have started with the mother of modern masochistic platforming, the incredible Super Meat Boy (Steam Store). Super Meat Boy can be attributed as a game that really helped kick off the re-popularization of extremely difficult platformers. Simple but tight controls, basic gameplay, and excellent level design/mechanics catapulted the game to the top of the charts to become one of the most successful Xbox Live Arcade games of all time.
Since Meat Boy took off, waves of difficult platformers has been constantly rolling in, with a few gems in the bunch that bring some new and exciting twists to the classic "run & jump" style of platform games. VVVVVV (Steam Link) and Risk of Rain (Steam Link) are two very simple yet difficult platforming inspired games that have been standout hits in this post-Meat Boy renaissance.
Lately I've been playing Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures (Steam Store) when I feel the need to abuse myself digitally and it's what inspired this post. This game is very difficult, but not unfair. Sure, there is the occasional surprise that's near impossible to dodge the first time you run through a level, but for the most part, your reactions and patience are tested more than anything.
Riding a lavashark while shooting lasers at flaming skulls. Average Tuesday...
Never have I felt such a mix of rage and joy at the same time.
Plenty of low-brow humor, accented well with a high self-awareness of difficult mechanics in classic games really fits well with the feel of the Video Game Nerd's YouTube series. Controls are spot-on and if you die, it's your fault. This actually inspired me to finally pick up a gamepad for use on my PC, because keyboard controls just felt wrong (as a side note, I don't know how I dealt with Meat Boy for so long without a controller). Also, the music is amazing.
In any case, I'm really glad these crazy hard, retro experiences showing up. Not only is it a great blast from the past for those of us who grew up with seemingly impossible to beat classics like Contra and Ghosts 'n Goblins; but it's also an excellent way for today's young gamers to get a modernized taste of where gaming came from.
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