Developer: Cascadia Games
Publisher: Chilidog Interactive
Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Mac
Tested on: PS4
Mighty Aphid – Review
Mighty Aphid is a spin-off game for Cascadia’s earlier project, Moon Raider – a game we reviewed here and which in turn takes heavy inspiration from Mega Man. Mighty Aphid falls into the same genre of retro-inspired action platformer, with similar mechanics as the one it’s based on. This means it is similar in all regards – good and bad – and it should be mentioned that where Moon Raider released on Steam, Mighty Aphid is a console game first and foremost, with an additional ‘pay what you want’ release through Itchio.
Story
A quick blurb at the start of the game sets the stage. Avery Cavor, nicknamed Aphid by friends, is a young Earth boy who happens to be the little brother of Moon Raider‘s protagonist. While his sister is in space fighting the Lady Bug’s alien intruders, Aphid is left behind on Earth. Sadly, those same creatures are attacking our little planet too, meaning he’ll have to grab a blaster and be on his way to protect everything and everyone he holds dear.
The plot is really more side-dressing for the actual game, which sadly never delves into its lore all that much. All the story is dropped on you through the opening sequence, and there isn’t much explanation afterward, which can be a bit confusing. If you’re not familiar with Moon Raider, you’ll be in the dark for most of the game, as much of what is described above was information not presented in the game itself but added by the devs on the store page.
Graphics
Visually the game does look great. The retro pixel graphics come to their full right and look modern enough to be appreciated by young and old. Colorful and vibrant, each level has a unique look to keep things fresh, with classics such as an underwater level making their appearance. The designs look nice too. This makes it all the more disappointing that the game does suffer from a few graphical glitches. Minor things such as enemies phasing through walls seem to plague every single level, but that’s not half as annoying as the game’s tendency to let the gems that enemies drop do the same. The result is that some of these gems get stuck in the game’s walls and are thus unobtainable for players.
Sound
As lovely as the graphics are, the music in Mighty Aphid is not stellar. Actually, the music itself isn’t too bad on the surface, but it definitely feels as if it was meant to play in much shorter levels. With the current length of the levels, you’ll be noticing how often the tune loops within several minutes. And no matter how funky the music is, if you’re listening to the same three-minute track on repeat for too long it’s going to drive you insane. The sound effects on the other hand are super old school and fun.
Gameplay
Mighty Aphid is an action platformer that has an interesting gimmick where you upgrade your character by completing levels. From the start of the game, three levels are available to play through, while the other three remain locked. Each level consists of a rather large map full of alien creepers and a handful of civilians for you to save. Once all civilians are saved, you can defeat the level’s boss.
Starting out, you have a regular blaster that can only shoot in a horizontal straight line, as well as the ability to perform a basic double jump. When you defeat a boss, however, you’ll get a new power that will aid you in the upcoming levels. Shooting diagonally and wings to glide with are just some of the options. Know that using these upgrades comes at a price though. These abilities use the gems you collect from defeated enemies as a sort of ‘fuel’. Sometimes enemies also drop health, which is certainly appreciated. Your character can only take a few hits before dying, and upon death, you will have to start your current level from the beginning.
For those interested in being a completionist, the game does track how many gems you have collected, showing you the percentage, comparing it to the total amount of gems in the level. With only six levels, you’ll notice Mighty Aphid isn’t actually offering that much content, even if you’re trying to collect everything. It should be mentioned that the game is reasonably hard though, so how long it will take for you to beat this title will still rely highly on your skill level.
Conclusion
Mighty Aphid has some merit as a Mega Man clone and is probably more interesting to those who enjoyed playing Moon Raider. Sadly, the many neat ideas of the game don’t carry through, and its plain gameplay doesn’t weigh up against graphic glitches and its overall lack of depth. Even so, since the price is so low, you can check it out if you enjoy the genre more than the average person. If you are looking for something new and innovative, this game won’t be that interesting.
Mighty Aphid - Review,
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