Explodemon Review

Explodemon instantly strikes you as one of those games that has something you just can’t put your finger on about it – it has this weird sense of nostalgia about it, and while it’s a through and through homage to classic 8-bit platform games, how can you feel nostalgic for something you’ve never even played?

It’s a bit of a love letter to all those weird Japanese import platformers – the kind you can pick up for a pound from Amazon – and it puts you in the shoes of the titular Explodemon, a good natured Engrish speaking hero using his ability to spontaneously combust to save lives. Riiiiiiight. This pretty much forms the core of the gameplay, proving that old macho suspicion that explosions do, in fact, solve everything. The double jump is a thing of the past. Need to jump higher than usual? Time it so you explode mid jump. Want to take down a group of enemies? You can slide into them and – you guessed it – explode. What kind of diet Explodemon packs down on a daily basis is anyone’s guess, but he probably craps naga chillis and pisses Tabasco sauce.

There’s a decent array of explosion based abilities at your disposal, and it’s when you start to string them all together that the sheer dumb fun the game offers reveals itself. You don’t have direct control over the explosions, so it becomes a game of quickfire timing challenges rather than mindlessly spamming a detonation button to dispatch enemies and solve puzzles. It does feel impressive, if on a slightly small scale, to dash, slide, bounce and wall hop around, chaining explosion after explosion from enemy to enemy, paired, of course, with the intense disappointment when you don’t quite pull off the combo you intended to.

Unfortunately it talks a bigger game than it delivers, with the flashy anime visuals and funny dialogue, often running into repetitive speedbumps (especially boss fights, which become a bit of a turgid affair) and a very routine, platform-by-numbers level design puts something of a downer on the gleeful hotheaded fun. You won’t get to see the full extent of Explodemon’s skillset unless you take the path less traveled – the main road throughout the game is very straightforward and bland, save for a few sparkling puzzle examples. It doesn’t take itself too seriously though, and despite these flaws, remains consistently entertaining throughout. Explodemon might not captivate and thrill you for every second. It might be a flashy little Frankenstein of ideas pilfered from other games, but it does so out of love rather than lack of concept.

There isn’t much variety in terms of opposition – you’ll fight the same laser-pelting robots a hundred times over before you’re through – but they’re churned out in a satisfying quantity to test your upgrades and abilities against. There isn’t much of a reason to adapt tactics and create combos beyond the sheer fun of it, but it’s such a small, self contained experience that it’s nothing to really complain about. Combat is fluid and fun, the explosion dynamic and visual flair on show all gelling together, forcing you to fight creatively in order to get the most out of your detonations. It reminds me of my tender first steps into gaming culture. Simple, fun, and lovable throughout. The only truly frustrating thing about it is the amount of wasted potential. Cookie cutter levels and boss fights just don’t do the concept justice. It never really reaches that full zany, unpredictable level of fun that a perpetually exploding man seems to offer.

It’s certainly an idea worth revisiting – with a little more punch behind it, Explodemon could well have been a breakout hit, but in this incarnation it’s an average game with a huge nostalgia boner. The little platformer with a big, big heart, Explodemon is well worth the modest price tag if you miss the simpler days of gaming. It might only offer an evening’s worth of fun, but hey – it’s a game about a man who kills robots by spontaneously combusting. If that doesn’t appeal to you, where is your heart?!

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.