Freedom Planet

[Gunstar Green]

So Freedom Planet has been released on Steam today:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/248310/

This is one I've been looking forward to for a while. It's a Kickstarted indie-game in the style of Sonic the Hedgehog, but leaving it at that would be selling it short. It combines some of the best elements of Genesis platformers like the Sonic games, Rocket Knight Adventures, Ristar and even some Treasure inspired graphics for good measure.

I've plowed through the first three levels and I'm pretty impressed so far. The game feels great, and looks great with lovely animation and smooth gameplay. The levels are huge and have loads of variety with lots of nooks and crannies to explore.

The characters are adorable and the story, while a bit long, has been entertaining so far. Thankfully for those who aren't interested in sitting through it you can opt to play without the story sequences but they've been worth seeing with some loveable characters.

With Shovel Knight being my favorite NES love-letter, this is shaping up to be a great Genesis one. In a way it feels like what Sonic could have been had they continued with the series and made a traditional Sonic game for the Saturn.

From about the hour and a half I've put into it so far I think I can already safely recommend it!

[Sload Soap]

Thanks for the update, Gunstar. Been looking forward to this one for a while.

TO STEAM!

Edit: £10.99? Wasn't expecting that.

[Gunstar Green]

I'm getting near the end of the game (for one character at least) and it's quite a ride. The pixel art is absolutely stunning at times and many of the boss fights have been really wild and challenging.

[ZeroAX]

The game looks amazing, but the price is pretty steep :/ I guess it's worth it though. Will check it out when I have the money

[Gunstar Green]

I've had a lot of fun with it. I enjoyed playing through as Carol more than Lilac.

Lilac has a Sonicy feel to her gameplay naturally, Carol has bit more Zero from Mega Man X in her.

I think the price is probably hurting it because this game is deserving of a lot of praise yet I haven't really run into a lot of people online who have played it. It's not really a high-profile mutli-platform release either I guess.

It's one of my favorite indies of the year so far.

[ZeroAX]

Lilac has a Sonicy feel to her gameplay naturally, Carol has bit more Zero from Mega Man X in her.

one protagonist plays like my sig and avatar, and the other as my nickname....I think this game was made for me....I'll be getting it sooner rather than later.

[ZeroAX]

oh my god I tried the demo....this game is SOOOOO GOOOOOD. Buying a gamepad just for this

[CFFJR]

Ohhhkay, I have no idea how I missed this a month ago, but I too just played the demo.

Love. LOVE!

I'm buying it. Its too awesome to ignore.

[ZeroAX]

Anyone know of any gamepads with good D-pads for 2D platformers on PC? Something cheap too (around the 20-30€ mark), cause Sega's Saturn USB pad is way too expensive.

[CFFJR]

Well, I just beat the game with Lilac. Took me just over 3 hours, with 67 deaths, almost all of which were from stage 8 on (where the difficulty ramps up). Of those, 19 were to the final boss alone, who was fun but tough. Thankfully, the game is kind enough to drop you where you left off if you get a game over, even if it is at a particular phase of a boss.

I really, really loved this game. Fast paced and exciting, an interesting story, gorgeous to look at and listen to, well designed levels (that are not at all confusing, I saw that criticism elsewhere and I don't get it at all). Just wonderful overall, and well worth the 15 bucks.

Gonna jump right back in and play it with Carol.

@Zero, have you considered getting a usb adapter for a normal saturn controller?

Something like this:

http://www.raphnet-tech.com/products/saturn_usb_adapter/index.php

I've been considering picking this up myself for a while. Its within your price range and he ships internationally.