One of the most heartfelt homages to the arcade scene of the 80s that I've ever played. Annalynn doesn't simply copy ideas from its ancestors, it takes those ideas and creates something with its own identity. You've obviously got Pac-Man as a base, but the decision to design it as a 2D platformer gives it room for a lot more variety and stage hazards. A lot of it actually reminds me of Mario Vs. Donkey Kong. The music sounds straight out of a classic Namco arcade title, with extremely memorable melodies for every stage.
In terms of sheer addictiveness, it's commendable that I always manage to boot up Annalynn every time it catches my eye in my Steam library. I've got around 60 games unfinished in my backlog, but I keep coming back for one more round of Annalynn...which turns into several rounds, which turns into a couple hours sucked away by this wonderful game. Fulfilling certain conditions unlocks alternate palettes for Annalynn, and clearing the game once unlocks extras like Practice Mode, Random Mode and optional cheats, so there's a decent amount of content to dig into here.
It only costs $5, so you've really got nothing to lose. Skip grabbing takeout and make your lunch at home, buy Annanlynn instead. You can buy it on itch.io to directly support the dev, or buy it on Steam if you value convenience more. Either way, I want more people to play this game. Hopefully this review can help put it on even just a few more people's radars.
In terms of sheer addictiveness, it's commendable that I always manage to boot up Annalynn every time it catches my eye in my Steam library. I've got around 60 games unfinished in my backlog, but I keep coming back for one more round of Annalynn...which turns into several rounds, which turns into a couple hours sucked away by this wonderful game. Fulfilling certain conditions unlocks alternate palettes for Annalynn, and clearing the game once unlocks extras like Practice Mode, Random Mode and optional cheats, so there's a decent amount of content to dig into here.
It only costs $5, so you've really got nothing to lose. Skip grabbing takeout and make your lunch at home, buy Annanlynn instead. You can buy it on itch.io to directly support the dev, or buy it on Steam if you value convenience more. Either way, I want more people to play this game. Hopefully this review can help put it on even just a few more people's radars.
I really enjoyed this game allot. I actually thought it was even better than all the og arcade games it was inspired from. Loved every second of it, and I will come back to it to 100 percent, ones I clear out more of my backlog.
its good
An incredibly lovely tribute to 80's Namco arcade games, it really understands what makes those games good while adding little things to make it feel more "modern" (but not so much that it breaks the arcade-like experience). I've said before that I love games in which the creator is clearly a fan of the genre the game is in and wants to invite the player to understand the genre and appreciate it the way they do, and this game very much does that. I'm not one of those "pls port to Switch" guys that bother devs on Twitter all the time, but this game would be perfect for Switch. Either way, highly recommended for those who have any affinity for the classic Namco arcade games.
The perfect tribute to the old Arcade days!
Yoooo Pac-Man maze game made into a platformer
Annalynn pays homage to classic '80s arcade games like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and Mario Bros. It takes dot collecting, multi-colored enemies, and temporary power-ups from Pac-Man. The differing levels and jumping action are from Donkey Kong. Enemy-kicking feels right out of Mario Bros. I can't say Annalynn is as elegant as those games, nor that it establishes an identity distinct from them, but it's about as addictive as them and substantially more approachable.
The aesthetics are on-point. The visuals call back to the art found in the arcades, albeit with some nice enhancements (characters have more frames of animation, for example). The music uses an arcade-like soundfont, but it's written like later NES games. And it slaps. Sound effects are also pleasant, and they punctuate the action well. The presentation makes the game feel like a throwback done right, but it has its own additions too.
The characters are appealing and presented with a ton of charm thanks to the way they're shown in cutscenes between levels. Like in Pac-Man, a short scene will play every few levels, one before each new area. Not only do these flesh out the context, they sometimes introduce new hazards that will appear in the next set of levels. Thus, levels can be more concise, as the player can start playing with immediate knowledge of what to expect. It stops doing this after Round 9 until Round 16, however. Instead, those cutscenes just show cute shenanigans. They feel like a missed opportunity.
The controls are responsive, with a modern feeling jump that can be adjusted in mid-air. The core design feels modern too, but in a way that detracts from the retro feel. Information is sometimes hidden, with the snakes popping in and out of holes or getting scrolled off-screen. This sometimes leads to the player getting caught off-guard. Older arcade games often kept all the information they could handle on-screen at all times. Hiding the snakes this way can sometimes lead to frustrations, either with them suddenly coming out of a hole or not knowing where the last one is while they're dazed.
Annalynn's homages to the classics can hurt its ability to set itself apart as well. It takes many ideas from arcade greats but doesn't leave much to say for itself. It does have more level variety than games from back then, but the level themes are reminiscent of ones from NES games (Rounds 7-9 for example feel like something out of Mega Man 2). The game puts a heavy focus on making its cast appealing, but, well, this is a game with four, colorful, big-eyed enemies that get scared and start flashing blue after the player collects a large item. Which game am I talking about? That said, I guess making something with a new spin on Pac-Man is better than a lot of other '80s arcade games managed. There's enough room for Annalynn too.
The best thing Annalynn has going for it is its approachability. The game can get tricky in later Rounds, but there are infinite continues, with the player's score getting cut in half being the only punishment. This means most of the game's content is available to anyone who just wants to jump around collecting coins and kicking snakes. This doesn't make the game toothless though. Some achievements and unlocks require striving for perfection. To help get players ready for mastering the game, beating a level once unlocks the ability to play it in Practice mode. Getting a Perfect Clear in Practice mode even counts towards some unlocks. This balance of tough challenges and accommodations for approachability makes the game easy to go back to over and over again.
The aesthetics are on-point. The visuals call back to the art found in the arcades, albeit with some nice enhancements (characters have more frames of animation, for example). The music uses an arcade-like soundfont, but it's written like later NES games. And it slaps. Sound effects are also pleasant, and they punctuate the action well. The presentation makes the game feel like a throwback done right, but it has its own additions too.
The characters are appealing and presented with a ton of charm thanks to the way they're shown in cutscenes between levels. Like in Pac-Man, a short scene will play every few levels, one before each new area. Not only do these flesh out the context, they sometimes introduce new hazards that will appear in the next set of levels. Thus, levels can be more concise, as the player can start playing with immediate knowledge of what to expect. It stops doing this after Round 9 until Round 16, however. Instead, those cutscenes just show cute shenanigans. They feel like a missed opportunity.
The controls are responsive, with a modern feeling jump that can be adjusted in mid-air. The core design feels modern too, but in a way that detracts from the retro feel. Information is sometimes hidden, with the snakes popping in and out of holes or getting scrolled off-screen. This sometimes leads to the player getting caught off-guard. Older arcade games often kept all the information they could handle on-screen at all times. Hiding the snakes this way can sometimes lead to frustrations, either with them suddenly coming out of a hole or not knowing where the last one is while they're dazed.
Annalynn's homages to the classics can hurt its ability to set itself apart as well. It takes many ideas from arcade greats but doesn't leave much to say for itself. It does have more level variety than games from back then, but the level themes are reminiscent of ones from NES games (Rounds 7-9 for example feel like something out of Mega Man 2). The game puts a heavy focus on making its cast appealing, but, well, this is a game with four, colorful, big-eyed enemies that get scared and start flashing blue after the player collects a large item. Which game am I talking about? That said, I guess making something with a new spin on Pac-Man is better than a lot of other '80s arcade games managed. There's enough room for Annalynn too.
The best thing Annalynn has going for it is its approachability. The game can get tricky in later Rounds, but there are infinite continues, with the player's score getting cut in half being the only punishment. This means most of the game's content is available to anyone who just wants to jump around collecting coins and kicking snakes. This doesn't make the game toothless though. Some achievements and unlocks require striving for perfection. To help get players ready for mastering the game, beating a level once unlocks the ability to play it in Practice mode. Getting a Perfect Clear in Practice mode even counts towards some unlocks. This balance of tough challenges and accommodations for approachability makes the game easy to go back to over and over again.
I was just smiling ear to ear the whole time playing this. I'm so bad at Pac-Man and here comes a game that's taking great influence from pac-man to make a much easier to get into (thanks to the score-life system) and different beast that is much more tangible but just as interesting as the good ol' Namco game! Props to the creator still having that great different enemy behavior and especially with levels that provide different quick-thinking routing with their own mechanics without ever getting stale. Absolutely in love with the game's simple charm too, just so refreshing to see. Please do pick this up and give it some love it has all the heart in the world and such wonderful sensibilities to the genre ^w^
Es un crimen que tenga una estética tan cute.
I remember around level 13 I said out loud "this has a cute retro charm like Shantae" out loud
I honestly hope it gets put on Switch or the PC version gets/has controller support because I wanna buy a USB NES controller to play this game with :3
I honestly hope it gets put on Switch or the PC version gets/has controller support because I wanna buy a USB NES controller to play this game with :3
based