Binaries Demo

Tough platformers are a special kind of torture, the kind every hardcore gamer likes to go through every once in awhile to prove his worth. However, it’s not enough to make a game difficult, because the whole thing must have some sort of purpose as well. On top of that, it must also be fun, at least in some regards, otherwise players get bored and frustrated way too quickly.

Binaries is a unique 2D platformer with a pretty simple idea at its core: control two characters at once. It may sound quite easy to put into practice, and it probably can be, but it’s a whole other thing to make the recipe fun. Thankfully, Binaries is a shining example of inspiration and good design choices, not to mention the fact that you’ll go through a six-pack of controllers every week.

In short, you have two balls under your control, and they move at the same time throughout the level. They also move in the same direction, which is a detail that becomes mighty important later on. While the first few levels are fairly easy, things get unpleasant in a rush, especially when the balls have to navigate different obstacles using the same motions.

Sometimes you have to move the balls in opposite directions, which is about as frustrating as you imagine. Thankfully, it’s worth noting that the orange ball is only vulnerable to orange obstacles, which means that it can bounce unscathed on and around blue spikes. This solves a few problems, but there are enough of them left to make the rest of the experience feel pretty miserable indeed.

As for the graphics and the controls, everything is as smooth as it needs to be not to create any annoyances. In fact, the graphics are very pleasant for some reason, even if there’s nothing much to see, except for a few clean-cut geometric shapes. The controls are responsive and accurate as well, regardless of whether you use a controller or a keyboard.

All things considered, Binaries is a very intriguing, fun and challenging concept, and it deserves a try from every platformer fan out there. It features enough levels to keep you playing for a long time, not to mention the fact that you can also beat your times and compete for better scores.