Antonblast review

When my mind feels like it’s been overclocked and becomes inundated with an overabundance of thoughts, chaos often helps me unwind. Lately, my drug du jour has been Summitsphere’s Antonblast, a platformer that revels in its visual commotion and screwball sound design. Typically, the action is so tumultuous, I have to devote nearly all my brain bandwidth to keep Dynamite Anton (or his functionally-equivalent coworker, Annie) alive.

At its core, Antonblast builds on Wario Land’s premise, tasking players with harnessing their selected character’s abilities to plow through stages.  But here, the intensity has been cranked to feverish levels. Wielding a giant hammer, your fundamental move is called the Clutch ‘n’ Bash. Perform this and you’ll mow through successions of enemies and environmental objects like a category four typhoon, flinging foes right through on-screen barriers. Who knew wanton destruction could be so therapeutic?

A Kill la Kill Reference?

Combine the Clutch with a jump and you’ll catapult Anton to elevations his standard jump won’t reach. An advantageous follow-up is the Hammer Slam maneuver, which sends the character downward with monumental force and optionally, into a level-warp. It’s also possible to slide through narrow spaces, clearing ducts like a cranked-out human drain snake. Similar to Rayman Origins, the action can switch from the foreground to the background.

For the first half of each level, there’s no time limit. As such, you’ll probably try to clean the stage of every last poker chip that’s floating around or lobbed into your possession when you defeat an adversary. And while Nintendo’s covetous character might not be around, there’s something deeply satisfying around watching in-game currency pour into Anton and Annie’s accounts. It’s like one uninterrupted slot machine payout, even if your finances are largely restrained to unlocking new skins and single-use aids.

Pits That Don’t Always Hurt You!

But there’s little time for sightseeing during Happy Hour, which provides you with four minutes to make a turbulent sprint for the exit. Here, Antonblast draws inspirations from Sonic the Hedgehog, often providing players with multiple methods of getting through the stage. Predictably, traversal through harder-to-reach areas pays more dividends, with at least one of the game’s four collectable items stowed in remote recesses.

Beyond the adept level design, a bit of skillful storytelling also elevates Antonblast. Animated cutscenes reveal Satan’s resentment of Anton’s reddish glow. To dilute our protagonist’s crimson-hued complexation, the scoundrel decides to steal Anton’s beloved spirits, prompting the impassioned chase to get back your booze. Animations with exaggerated gestures and comically frantic voice-acting punctuate the action, recalling the madcap verve of The Ren & Stimpy Show.

Tony Grayson ‘s soundtrack is another crucial component for cultivating maniac energy. With punchy sound samples and hard-hitting riffs, Antonblast’s audio recalls the era when musicians integrated hip-hop into the set list. Layered on top of those melodies are sound effects ranging from screams, squealing tires, and roaring aircraft engines, providing a cacophony of cartoonish mayhem.

Conclusion

Antonblast sporadically has moments where the platforming might not be as precise as you’d like. But save for the infrequent frustration of attempting to scale ascending collapsing steps, Summitsphere’s sophomore effort is one of the best platformers of the year. Fueled by a hyperactive energy that makes each stage feel frantic and feral, Antonblast is Wario Land for a generation who came out of the womb multitasking.

Antonblast was played on PC with review code provided by the publisher.