One of the standout experiences from my time at PAX West was playing Antonblast. The game boasts fast-paced action, fluid animations, and challenging boss battles that really pushed my gaming skills. Its high-energy gameplay evokes a mix of Sonic the Hedgehog and the wild chaos of the Tasmanian Devil. It’s definitely one of the titles I’m eager to play when it launches.
The first thing that grabbed my attention was how visually striking the game is. I told the developers it reminded me of the Tasmanian Devil—not just because of its frenetic gameplay but also due to its overall look and feel. They confirmed that their goal was to capture the essence of a Saturday morning cartoon, and they absolutely nailed that aesthetic.
If you haven’t heard of Antonblast, it’s a platformer where the main objective is simple: destroy everything in sight. It all kicks off when Satan steals Anton’s collection of souls, and naturally, Anton isn’t thrilled. He teams up with Brulo, a shady casino owner, who places detonators throughout the levels, which Anton uses to blow things up. How blowing everything up helps Anton reclaim his soul collection is anyone’s guess—but it sure makes for a chaotic and entertaining ride.
The controls were intuitive, and it didn’t take long to get the hang of them. A short tutorial guided me through the basics—how to jump, achieve higher jumps, and duck and dash to move under tight spaces. Then, it was my turn to clear the level. The game’s pace reminded me of Sonic the Hedgehog as I sped through, blasting my way forward. One of the developers mentioned I picked up on the mechanics quickly. Whether it was skill or sheer luck, I managed to navigate the demo level at a good pace. There were a few standout moments I appreciated. For instance, in some areas, the foreground and background split, and I had to find a corridor to reach the background, hit detonators, and then return to the foreground. If you’ve played Mutant Mudds, you’ll get the idea. At times, there was so much happening on screen that I missed where I was supposed to go, but having the dev team there to nudge me in the right direction when I missed a turn was helpful.
After clearing the demo level, the dev team asked if I wanted to take on a boss. Naturally, I said yes. But when they mentioned that the boss design drew inspiration from Cuphead, I knew I was in for a challenge—and I was right. The boss I faced was a Chinese dragon-like creature that spewed fire and whipped across the screen. The first time I died (and it certainly wasn’t the last), I was caught off guard by an attack that started in the background and shot straight toward the screen. At one point, the dragon filled the entire screen, making it hard to avoid its attacks. With its massive health bar compared to my limited health bubbles, it was a tough fight. Given more time, I’m sure I could have beaten it, but my session ended before I could fully learn its attack patterns.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Antonblast. Despite not being the biggest Sonic the Hedgehog fan, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this game. It struck just the right balance of familiarity and originality to keep me hooked, making me eager to dive deeper into its fast-paced platforming action.
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