Game: Deleveled
Genre: Platformer, Puzzle, Action, Strategy
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Steam, PS4 & Xbox One)
Developers | Publishers: ToasterFuel | The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild
Age Rating: EU 3 | US E
Price: EU €8.99 | USD $9.99 | UK £7.99
Release Date: September 10th, 2020
Review code used, with many thanks to The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild
Do you fancy giving your brain a more thorough work out? If the answer is Yes then you are gonna love Deleveled a new puzzle game released across Steam and consoles and it will certainly give your brain a workout.
Master Momentum
In Deleveled you must master momentum in this jumping game that features no jump button! You are in control of two squares, each of two squares has opposing gravity. In other words, when one square is bouncing up the other square is bouncing down.
Sounds simple enough right? Well, it is pretty simple in theory and once you get the hang of the movement of the squares down pat, it all comes together.
Deleveled has a simplified design off clean-cut art lines and boxes, the look of the game reminds me of some early Atari games. The clean-cut art lines are backed up with a snazzy chiptune soundtrack, which is a great match for the puzzling.
Hypnotic Bouncing Squares
As with most puzzle games, Deleveled starts out easy enough with some simple levels to get you acquainted with the style of gameplay and the control system with a mini-tutorial. Controls are basic, you can move left and right and everything else is down to gravity and momentum. You press A to active switches and If you make a mistake you can press the B button to reset the puzzle.
Both squares are momentum-based, and they bounce off the surface they touch. The speed and the distance in which the squares fall off of a ledge or platform will decide whether the bouncing will be enough to propel you to your next destination. If there isn’t any momentum the squares come to a complete stop. And this is where the pressing the reset button comes into play to reset the squares back to their starting position.
New Mechanics Introduced
There are ten stages in Deleveled with twelve levels in each stage and each stage introduces new mechanics. Spikes are deadly to the squares which evaporate if they touch the spike. Switches make an appearance too, you will have to work out ingenious ways for the square to touch the switches and turn them on by pressing the A button.
I was proceeding quite nicely through the puzzles in Deleveled until the introduction of some of the new mechanics in the later puzzles…My brain fried from overuse.
However, that’s the fun of playing Deleveled as it’s one of those puzzles games you can spend a while on one puzzle trying lots of different ways to complete and getting nowhere. Then all of a sudden you have an ah-ha moment and it all falls into place, giving you a great sense of achievement when you finally finish the puzzle. And it is a great game to pick up and play a few levels with for a quick gaming fix as well.
Collect All The Stars
To get all the stars on a level, you need to finish a level without the squares dying, or using a level refresh. The squares can die in a number of ways, they can either touch the spikes or collide with each other, or they can fall off the map completely. If any of these things happen it is no longer considered a perfect run and the level needs to be fully reset to get the star bonus.
As I’ve said, each group of ten levels is separated into different chapters and some levels can be completed in unique ways. If you manage to turn on two switches in a way that’s a little bit more complicated than intended, then there is the possibility that a bonus level is unlocked. Deleveled also offers some flexibility in that you can skip around to different levels in each stage if you are having trouble turning on a switch in a certain course or getting past some spikes.
Once you complete a level, two squares shoot off the screen like shooting stars to the next level. I found Deleveled to be a very rewarding puzzle game to play through rather than being an exercise in frustration that I’ve experienced with some other puzzle games.
Visuals and Controls
I really like the look of Deleveled with is retro design look and it sounds like an early 8-bit game, only better. There are lots of different tunes in the soundtrack and it doesn’t get repetitive listening to it.
Deleveled is controlled via the joy-cons and controlling the movement of the squares left and right feels very natural and is easy to pick up.
Conclusion
Deleveled offers addictive and challenging gameplay throughout the 120 levels in the game. It is a simple concept of momentum in action, but don’t let that fool you. As Deleveled certainly delivers lots of puzzling enjoyment and hours of bouncing fun.
Final Verdict: Two Thumbs Up