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Platformines

Platformines

Magiko Gaming serves what appeared to be a mix of a 2D Borderlands and Terraria, but ultimately fell short of the target.

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I have some mixed feelings about this game. On the one hand it is entertaining with easy to learn and simple gameplay mechanics that are still hard to master. On the other hand, there's nothing more here than what it says on the box. It is a platformer that takes place in a mine. That really says it all. A bit like if Call of Duty was called Corridor Shooter.

Platformines is developed by Magiko Gaming, and starts with the premise that you are stuck in a mine and want to get out of there. To achieve this, one must collect a variety of block cannons used to for building a large drilling machine you need in order to facilitate your escape. That's the game. Jump and shoot through a randomly generated mine, get all the guns, solve a puzzle and you have won!

Platformines

Platformines gets a lot of things right. It hits the mark with platform and shooter elements that feel familiar. You collect money to upgrade your backpack and health, and find new weapons as you go. There is a fine balance between exploration, treasure and mindless shooting which is fun for the first hour. Unfortunately we quickly noticed that our initial impressions were pretty much all the impressions there was. The enemies are replaced by the same enemies with the other colours, and the same goes for the four different types of weapons in the game. New areas means stronger opponents, so all the monsters you killed to upgrade their health feels like a fairly pointless passtime. We'd rather have new types of weapons and equipment instead, using them in new and creative ways against new enemies rather than shoot at the same monsters as before, only with more health.

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Platformines

The mine where the game is set is huge with lots of chests to discover and some cool topographical oddities, like a huge crescent shaped cave. Unfortunately, this is also stained with the same degree of repetition. There is not much difference between the various zones, with the exception of the colour palette used. Compare this to Terraria where different zones and temples offer entirely new enemies and challenges and Platformines falls short.

Other minor things that disappointed us was that you can only shoot in four directions, and not diagonally, which we thought was a pretty obvious thing to be able to do in a two dimensional shooter. There are a number of hats you can collect in the game, but these have little value and the lack of a multiplayer ensures that you won't show them off to friends.

Platformines
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We had strong hopes for Platformines. At first glance it seemed like a two dimensional Borderlands, or a Terraria shooter. The reality is a game that rarely managed to keep us interested more than an hour at a time, and it did not live up to its potential. Even in its current form it could have been an entertaining game, if for instance, it featured a multiplayer where you either compete or co-operate to restore these drilling machines. Instead we're fighting hordes of bats on our own, only to face marginally stronger bats of a different colour next.

04 Gamereactor UK
4 / 10
+
Sold start, Fun exploration, Quadruple jumps.
-
Stagnates quickly, Little innovation, Doesn't deliver on the potential, No multiplayer.
overall score
is our network score. What's yours? The network score is the average of every country's score

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Platformines

REVIEW. Written by Adrian Berg

Magiko Gaming serves what appeared to be a mix of a 2D Borderlands and Terraria, but ultimately fell short of the target.



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