Platformers on handheld games are basically evergreen; there is quite the selection at any time of year, and apart from the usual ones there are some which shine among the others. Flyhunter Origins, developed by Steel Wool Games, falls in the former’s category. Essentially being a kids’ game may distinguish it a little from the other serious stuff but that is basically the only distinction one can really make.
Flyhunter Origins is the tale of Zak, a spaceship janitor. Initially, we are not given any mission details apart from the briefing in the start of the adventure, but little later on we discover that Zak was poking his nose in what could be presumed to be a storage chamber. He improvises a “sword” fight with a dummy which, and no one will ever see this coming, results in Zak pressing the big red button in the centre of the table, which sends all the contents of the chamber into outer space, while the ship is still travelling. Thus we find out that Zak is on a mission to capture the flies which he let escape.
Gameplay in Flyhunter is relatively standard, following a platformer style which those familiar with the genre know inside and out. Left to right sidescroller, with various enemies and jumps and also a few collectibles. In Flyhunter’s case, these collectibles are insect eggs, which are white orbs and are placed quite frequently in the level, there are 100 in each stage, and finding them is no big issue, having personally scored over 80 in all the levels. These white eggs are used to upgrade the weapons in the game, of which there are only two, but given the short length of the game these couple of weapons are enough to not bore players. There are also green orbs, dropped by enemies when killed, and which fill a meter sitting top right on the screen, which needs to be filled in order to progress. This meter is also not an issue since enemies are relatively easy to kill and drop these orbs in abundance.
Flyhunter Origins rotates around two characters, being Zak the main and Captain Ara the other. Players control both, the former on his quest to reclaim what he let loose, the second on her supposed mission to torture Zak and punish him for his wrong doings. Zak is, as mentioned, tasked with recapturing the flies, and is equipped with a Swatter and a Zapper, both upgradeable to Mk.III, which adds to their power. The Swatter is the only damaging weapon in the game, since the Zapper only puts targets in a temporary stasis. On the other hand, Captain Ara is arrested by the SLURP, who are some sort of intergalactic officers, after her cyropod crashes in the middle of nowhere, and gameplay with her is equivalent to survival. She can double jump but that is her only ability, later acquiring the Zapper but never the Swatter, which means that she can never effectively dispose of enemies. Which is fine, since this provides a right mix of gameplay styles, and one can let loose the frustration of dying from enemies with Ara by swatting the goo out of the poor insects roaming around in Zak’s levels.
A neat mechanic which was a cool twist is the fly capturing in itself. Upon reaching a fly in the end of the chapter, the gameplay shifts from a 2D sidescrolling game to a 3D game of tag, much like Harry Potter’s quidditch, hoping to have written it correctly, used to look. Here, Zak can collect nitro to boost himself close to the fly and swat it. on the right, a meter representing the health of the target will show the remaining hp and when it reaches 0, the target is downed and captured. Even though this feature is a very nice addition, it is virtually never a challenge since there is no time limit, no enemies, and you can bump into everything and not receive the slightest bit of damage. It can also get a bit frustrating since some nitro packages are placed between leaves or rocks and bumping into them will slow you down, making the chase drag for longer than it is supposed to.
Audio and Visuals in the game are as normal as an Englishman having tea at five, and nothing stands out. They do their bit to keep the player in the game though, so by any means they do their job well. The graphics embrace a sort of comic and cartoon style, which given the nature of the game and the targeting for kids can be seen as a good choice overall. What is not good is that the game can feel a little choppy, maybe a little lag as well. In fact I found myself having to nudge the analog stick little by little to move small steps since I could not afford to risk moving and seeing Zak keep on walking after releasing the stick. Still, this does not have a massive impact on the experience and most players will not be discouraged by this adverse issue.
Flyhunters Origins has not made any impact upon its release on the PS Vita, but not many indie games are at this point, if not for a massive advertising campaign. Luckily, the task it sets itself to accomplish is done fully, delivering a good story and also a chuckle at the briefing before missions, where usually there is a joke or two in the text. Being a game for kids, and understandably so, the story is not that long, just enough to keep children, and even adults, focused on Zak the little janitor-turned-flyhunter.
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
You must be logged in to post a comment.