2d platformer – Eric Watson

How a Young Daughter, a Late Dog, and an 80s Platformer Inspired Battle Princess Madelyn [Pixelkin]

Read the full interview feature at Pixelkin

When your child is having a rough time, many fathers would bring home a teddy bear, or take them out for ice cream. But for pixel artist and indie game developer Christopher Obritsch, he decided to make a game.

“[My daughter] Maddi was bullied in daycare and at school,” says Obritsch. “The boys picked on her, telling her she couldn’t do things because she was a girl. I remember being very angry. I wanted to do something to cheer her up. I have scoliosis so I’m not exactly the playful dad I wish I was – so I make up for it in the only ways I know how.”

Battle Princess Madelyn was born, a retro-inspired platformer starring a pixelated version of Obritsch’s young daughter.

Read the full interview feature at Pixelkin

Aegis Defenders Review [PC Gamer]

Read the full review at PC Gamer

Things were going well until the escort mission. My regular tactic of hiding behind towers and traps didn’t work when I had to safeguard a caravan across a level full of monsters, trying to keep things moving while also juggling multiple characters and opening pathways for them. After several failures I recruited a co-op partner, and the challenge suddenly went from frustrating to exciting. Aegis Defenders can be an enjoyable cooperative mix of tower defense and platforming, but playing solo did test my patience.

Read the full review at PC Gamer

Metroid: Samus Returns Review [Pixelkin]

Read the full review at Pixelkin

The Metroid series is held in high esteem. It helped jump start an entirely new genre born out of platforming and exploration. Super Metroid (1994) is considered one of the best games ever made, yet Nintendo has been painfully quiet on any Metroid news or games over the last decade – until now.

Metroid: Samus Returns isn’t quite the new 2D Metroid game we were hoping for; it’s a remake of the second game in the series, 1991’s Metroid II: Return of Samus for the Game Boy. A lot of impressive went work into updating the old monochrome visuals into stunning 3D models and animated backgrounds, while the core gameplay of exploring a labyrinthine world full of secrets and power-ups remains just as compelling all these years later.