Too Angry to Space Demo

There was a time when platformers were at the top of the food chain, with games like Contra and Castlevania pushing players to tears on a regular basis. Nowadays, the genre is mostly dedicated to casual gaming, although you can still find the occasional gem, such as Super Meat Boy or BattleBlock Theater. They are the exception, however, because big developers focus on triple-A productions instead, as it is expected of them.

Too Angry For Space is retro platformer designed to look and play like they did back in the day, which means that it tries to be punishing and addictive at the same time. The term “tries” is relevant in this case, because although the idea and the general presentation are good, the game still needs a lot of work to be up to standards. On the other hand, it’s always nice to see someone working by themselves on something they truly enjoy.

To begin with, Too Angry For Space is obviously taking place somewhere in the future, where robots seem to have taken over everything, together with aliens. To make matters worse, you are also alone, since your comrades have fallen. You play the role of a badass soldier chewing gum, who must clear his way through level after level, in order to eliminate the aliens and the robots once and for all. The Duke Nukem inspiration is quite obvious, but it shouldn’t be a negative point at all.

The gameplay is as simple as it can get under the circumstances, given the fact that all you have to do is to collect ammunition for your weapons, destroy every enemy and find the access cards required to open doors. There is a timer you have to keep an eye on as well, although it replenishes itself whenever you make some damage. You may not have time to lose, but there’s nothing else to do anyway, so you’ll always be moving.

Lastly, there are a couple of flaws and mistakes that need to be fixed before this can become enjoyable. To start with, the camera movement is way too chaotic when you decide to turn the other way, which makes the platforming sections very annoying. The levels are a bit too barren and devoid of anything exciting, except for the repetitive enemies patrolling around. There are no bosses yet either, which means that this is not a real retro platformer as of right now.

In the end, Too Angry For Space has a real chance at making it, as long as its flaws are being fixed. It probably wouldn’t turn into Braid overnight, but it can become an addictive and challenging retro platformer akin to Contra with enough work and dedication.