It’s easy in life to be inspired by revolutionary things. We see it in life all the time. In the NBA, Steph has inspired the 3 point movement. Now everybody in the league is chunking up 3s. The hard part about emulating or paying homage to your inspiration is the balancing act. You have to come across as paying homage, with notable improvements or unique twists so that you don’t come across as a cheap knock off. That brings me to this Onion Assault review. A game that is paying homage to old school platformers. So how well did this game navigate that balancing act.
Let’s dive into it.
Onion Assault is an action platformer game that was developed and published by Hörberg Productions. It released on January 2023 for PC and the Switch. I was provided a Switch Code.
Narrative:
Unfortunately this is the weakest element of the game. In the beginning of the game you see that unnamed soldiers try to invade the home of the two playable characters, Mama and Pelle. After quickly beating them away the two set out on a quest for revenge. We don’t know why they go out seeking revenge nor why the soldiers invaded in the first place. Other than that quick cut scene we don’t get any other context about the characters or their motivations. It is obvious that the narrative isn’t the focus of the game.
Gameplay:
The game plays a lot like Super Mario 2. You chose the world aka the stage that you want to play and you platform your way to the end of the level. There are 16 levels total that with 4 main bosses that you have to defeat along the way. Depending on your skill level, you can probably beat the game in about 2-6 hours. The two playable characters, Pelle and Mama, play the exact same way without anything special gameplay wise to make the choice of characters feel monumental. That choice will come down to which character is the most visually appealing to you.
As for the controls, you can run, jump, pick things and enemies up and throw them. To pick items and enemies up you jump on them, and hit the pickup button. Afterwards you throw whatever you picked up at your enemies or off a cliff and proceed on your way. There aren’t a lot of controls and that element makes this game very pick up and play friendly.
Despite its clear inspiration, the game does have some unique concepts. For example in this game, you pluck onions out of the ground and use their attributes make your way through the level. Some onions you can use as weapons to throw at people, and others like the propeller onion for instance allow you navigate to new parts of the stage.
Additional Pros:
Onion Assualt has a solid artsyle and soundtrack. The game has a gorgeous and charming artstyle that features vibrant pops of color. It’s fun to see some pieces of the background like the flowers dancing to the music. Another enjoyable aspect of the game is the soundtrack. While it’s not one that I’d want to listen to constantly, it’s enjoyable, varied, and highlights the different vibes of the stages well.
Cons/Flaws:
An aspect that might dirve gamers away is the game’s difficulty. While it’s not on the level of a Fromsoftware game, it is a challenging platformer. For each stage you get 3 lives and 3 hearts. You lose a heart when you are damaged and life when you are out of hearts or fall off the stage. Unfortunately there isn’t a way to adjust the game’s difficulty. So if you’re looking for more of a chill and relax platformer then this probably won’t be for you.
The enemy variety is an aspect that is a bit lacking. You get tired of seeing the same baddies over and over again. Even something as small as changing some of the bad guys color schemes might have broken up that repetitive feeling.
Overall/Should You play Onion Assault:
If you are a fan of platformer then this is a easy yes. Onion Assault is short enjoyable experience that will scratch that itch if you are looking for a game similar to Super Mario World two. The soundtrack and the artstyle are solid and the gameplay is fun. It does come with its flaws like the enemy variety, and the lack of a difficulty slider; however those are outweighed by the game’s positives. You can get this game for around 8 bucks and at that price it’s a solid deal.
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Other Similar games that you should Check out:
Makis Adventure Review: https://pronerdreport.com/game-reviews/makis-adventure-review/
Midnight Dash Review: https://pronerdreport.com/game-reviews/midnight-dash-review/
Mangavania Review :https://pronerdreport.com/game-reviews/mangavania-review/
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