Unformed Demo

Although most platformers are designed to be simple and to the point when it comes to story and gameplay mechanics, that’s not a rule. Developers can include just as much complexity in a 2D platformer as in a regular game, although it ca obviously be somewhat trickier to do so. Good artwork helps a lot too, especially in terms of atmosphere and mood.

Unformed is a 2D action-platformer in which you get to explore a fascinating world and do your best to survive the challenges that await you along the way. There’s a heavy focus on combat when it comes to gameplay mechanics, and the difficulty level is up there too. Hence, this is mostly designed for the veterans of the genre who are looking for a challenge, although newcomers can have a good time with it as well.   The game world is inspired by ancient China and Lovecraft’s writings, an intriguing combination indeed. Your goal is to get to the end of every level and defeat the monsters that await you along the way. In fact, the levels are constantly changing, which adds a bit of excitement to the exploration component. Most levels also feature a few environmental puzzles that mix things up.

The combat system is interesting to say the least, especially since you can customize the abilities by finding special stones along the way. These stones can be combined to obtain special effects, which in turn make it easier to bring down enemies. Speaking of which, every type of enemy must be approached with care, because they usually have some kind of special ability too.   Lastly, the graphics are worth a mention as well, at least in terms of level design and the colors used to depict them. The Lovecraft influences are very obvious sometimes, although the style can be a bit too cartoony to be taken seriously. Things are bound to be improved in the future, however, especially since this is barely an early demo at this point.

Unformed is not quite there yet, but it’s certainly on the right track. The combat system is great, the environments keep you engaged, and the graphics are not bad either. The developers are running a Kickstarter project at the moment, and you can participate if you want to help them.