The Spelunky games pride themselves on being punishingly tricky to the point of comedy. Spelunky made a name for itself in the roguelite and platforming genres by upping the challenge for those willing to take it on. Then last year, Spelunky 2 increased the toughness even further by punishing veteran players that had grown used to the levels and obstacles put forth in the original games, but Minute of Islands is quite the opposite.
Now, many platformers take inspiration from Spelunky 2, setting the bar higher and higher for the maneuvering required to finish the game. Usually, the experiences and stories are rewarding to balance out the time and effort players have put into them, such as with Celeste's gut-wrenching tale or the beautiful tone set with Hollow Knight, but the number of strenuous platformers, especially in the indie scene, is ever increasing. This level of difficulty has resulted in frustration and even sometimes hatred from a section of gamers, but Minute of Islands proves that platformers can be intriguing without the challenge.
What is Minute of Islands?
Minute of Islands is an upcoming art-driven indie game, and in a comic book style reminiscent of the kids' show Adventure Time, players will assume the role of Mo, an engineer and the only person capable of repairing the machines around the beautiful archipelago that Minute of Islands is set on. Gameplay will revolve around puzzle-solving thanks to Mo's versatile Omni-Switch.
According to developer Studio Fizbin, Mo's mission will be transformational in that brings Mo not only on a journey through the haunted islands but through her own subconscious as well. Should the game unfold to be what Fizbin hopes it to be, Minute of Islands will unfold into a moving story, not unlike Celeste and Hollow Knight.
What Makes Minute of Islands Special
Not only will the game's looks set it apart from Spelunky, but Minute of Islands will also be a story-driven tale. And unlike many platformers out there, the story won't take a backseat to gameplay in the development process, but rather will play an equal part in how gamers experience it. But most likely, Minute of Islands won't be overly challenging. Sure, many gamers that partake in platformers are looking for a good challenge that they can overcome with time, hard work, and sometimes muscle memory. When it comes to Spelunky, a player will likely die hundreds, if not thousands, of times before beating Yama, and Celeste reaches similar numbers.
At least with Celeste, players can look up solutions online for each level if they're having an insurmountable time with a particular chapter. With Spelunky, levels are procedurally generated, though the traps and enemies are predictable, so players can't look up solutions, making passing some levels nearly impossible for some.
But Studio Fizbin had this in mind when creating Minute of Islands' concept. The game shouldn't be so difficult that players need to look up solutions online. Rather, puzzles in Minute of Islands will take an approach closer to Nintendo, where some levels might be head-scratchers but not impossible. Additionally, one full run of the game should take between 2-4 hours, so players can complete the rich, atmospheric journey in one or two sittings without running into any major roadblocks.
Rather than relying on one player's reaction timing to obstacles, a skill that may come naturally to some and is far more of a learned skill to others, if they are able to learn it at all, Minute of Islands is a relaxing puzzle platformer that will never be stressful. Perhaps taking pages from stories like Oxenfree or Gris, players will be able to lay back and enjoy the ride rather than gripping their controllers on the edge of their seats whilst yelling how "stupidly difficult" Spelunky 2 turned out to be.
Minute of Islands launches March 18, 2021 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.