Developer: Nighthouse Games
Publisher: Nighthouse Games, Versus Evil
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Sockventure – Review
You know that moment when you open up the sock drawer and of every pair, there’s only a single sock left? Fingers have been pointed at sock gnomes, a hungry washing machine that eats it all, and oblivious family members. Well, no worries, a variety of amateur researchers and repair companies provided some clarity in the matter. As it turns out, washing machines can actually eat your socks! Sockventure took this pretty literally and sends you on an adventure to retrieve what’s lost in dark, damp places.
Story
When you start playing Sockventure, you play a short introductory story about a kid who needs to pick up his socks and throw them in the washing machine. The washing machine looks like it could be alive and evil though, swallowing all the socks with an evil grin. Oh no! All the socks! Don’t worry little boy, there’s an easy way to retrieve them. Before you know, you will play as a (sockpuppet?) friend of the young kid, going on a platforming adventure to retrieve the lost socks. During the game, there are little pop-up windows that guide you through the “story” which basically is the sockpuppet talking to the kid as he is doing his best to retrieve the socks the kid is yearning for. It boils down to cute storytelling in a basic way.
Graphics
While Sockventure is essentially a very simple platformer like there have been thousands, the graphics are very pleasant to look at. There’s a clear color scheme in place for every set of levels, and the details in the traps and animations around you are very smooth and polished. It’s a perfect example of how to get the maximum out of a simple concept.
Sound
The sound helps a lot in the same way the graphics do a good job. It’s professional and polished. The machines and traps around you sound like i.e. top-quality lasers that do not get annoying to listen to when you are near them a lot. The tapping of the cute sockpuppet’s feet when running is very timely (and leaves tiny words indicating his running with positive words such as ”cool”), and the overall music is great too. It’s a bit tense and atmospheric at times. It might not be the most memorable music out there, but it gives you the feeling of traversing a brave new, often dangerous, world.
Gameplay
The gameplay is as straightforward as any platformer can be. The game is divided into chapters that are split up into smaller levels. In these levels, you run from one side of a level to another while trying to collect as many coins as you can. While doing so, you avoid many types of traps including spikes, saws, and lasers. While the game gives you new skills such as double jumps and wall-climbing over time, it also gradually gets harder. This is a method that has always worked well for platformers, and this time it’s no different. That being said, especially at the start, for those looking for a challenge it might be a bit too easy. Luckily the game created the perfect medals for each chapter, giving a challenge for even the most hardcore of players.
The medal system is simple. You can try to go for completion of a chapter within a set time limit, go for zero deaths (which is quite insane) or try to get all the coins. The latter is probably the most doable for the largest group of gamers. That being said, the increasing difficulty combined with these medals and some nifty classic platforming makes for a good gaming experience. When finding a new sock, the sockpuppet character also instantly gets a new outfit which is a nice addition. On top of that, the controls feel smooth. Well, for the most part at least. Sometimes the game feels just slightly unfair in asking you to i.e. hang on a moving platform, jump, and land on the side of the platform again to hang some more. All this while there’s little space to land and you don’t move to the side as fast as the platform. Other than instances such as these, the platforming gameplay generally feels balanced, and is exactly what you’d expect from the phrase “classic platforming”.
Conclusion
Sockventure is a great platforming game with a cute little story and polished graphics and sounds. The gameplay feels slightly unfair every now and then, but is otherwise balanced out well with smooth mechanics and gradually increasing difficulty. With Sockventure, if you know what classic platforming is about, you know exactly what you’re going to get.
Sockventure - Review,
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[…] publisher Versus Evil and developer Nighthouse Games have announced that their 2D platforming game Sockventure will be launching on Nintendo Switch on April 14th. In the game, players take on the role of […]