Goldbug

There are many examples of simple video games that managed to create a legacy for themselves, mainly because they used those simple mechanics to make the experience as fun and engaging as possible. One of the most illustrious examples in this regard is the Dyna and Bomberman series, which although featured a very basic idea, they managed to win a place in the hall of fame.

Goldbug is a 2D puzzle game that borrows elements from the titles mentioned above and combines them in a different way. It’s not much of a technical achievement, but the puzzles and the levels can be pretty fun to tackle, especially if you enjoy a challenge. It gets harder and harder to stay alive later on, which is exactly what you need to form an obsession for the game.

In short, your goal for each level is to make it to the treasure chest at the other end. However, there are various obstacles stopping from doing so safely. Thankfully, you have a few tricks up your sleeves, such as a jumping platform that keeps you afloat, or bombs that can go through solid concrete. Thus, the goal is to use the two in combination to overcome a variety of obstacles.

Each time you die, the corpse remains behind and you receive another one. This should provide you with a bit of perspective in regards to your dexterity, because it doesn’t take long to fill the level with corpses. Speaking of which, the levels also feature a few interesting changes along the way, including explosive blocks, rotating saws and even enemies that patrol on specific paths.

Unfortunately, there are a few issues you have to watch out for as well, such as the controls. They are not as tight and as responsive as they need to be for a platformer, although they are pretty decent. The graphics are quite poor as well, and the lighting is by far the most detrimental, because there are times when you cannot even see where you’re going.

In the end, Goldbug is actually quite a fun and addictive game, especially if you enjoy puzzles and challenging platformers However, it could use a bit of polishing when it comes to controls and graphics.