Beard Blade Demo

Fashion is by definition a passing thing, and it’s also a great way for designers to keep making money by changing the way people dress every year. Some trends come and go, on the other hand, while others manage to stay relevant for decades. Hence, beards were pretty much mandatory for men up until a century ago, but they went away for a long time. Now, it would seem like facial hair has made a big comeback.

Beard Blade is a humorous platformer in which you play the role of a manly farmer trying to repel an invasion of imps that threatens to take over his land. In order to do so, he makes use of his bear, which is the sturdiest thing at his disposal. The game is inspired by all the SNES classic, which means that older gamers should feel right at home with the mechanics from the first seconds of gameplay.

As such, each level is a succession of traps and enemies that must be overcome and defeated, plus the occasional boss stage in which you face a larger target with special powers. Speaking of which, your character has some interesting skills as well, such as the ability to glide by rotating his beard, or even making a hand out of his beard to pick up and throw enemies.

The levels are pretty challenging if you are new to platformers, but the first few ones are designed to be easy even for beginners. Most of your time is spent jumping over gaps and avoiding spikes, but it’s also important to watch out for enemies. Some are harmless if you don’t bump into them directly, but others have ranged attacks that can hurt you if you stay in their range for too long.

The graphics are gorgeous as well, especially if you have a soft spot for pixel artwork and retro landscapes. Each enemy is unique as well, not to mention the fact that the environment changes as you make your way forward as well. On top of that, there’s a nice soundtrack keeping you company along the way, which is always good news for a platformer.

When it’s all said and done, Beard Blade appears to be a very promising game, not to mention funny and engaging. Thus, if you want to see it complete as soon as possible, you can support the developers by backing the game’s Kickstarter campaign.