Bean dreams [$0.99] is a quirky colourful auto jump platformer. The objective of the game is to get through a level in the minimal amount of jumps, whilst collecting fruit and strange bunny creatures for bonuses.
The art style and music is very reminiscent of the early Sonic series, especially Sonic 2.
Being a massive classic platformer fan, I was pretty excited about this games release. The vibrant colour palette and general style gave me a sense of nostalgia. I eagerly bought it and hopped my way through the levels waiting for that ‘magical moment’. Unfortunately it never really came for me… In fact, at times I felt a bit bored.
A few points:
Though the player collects fruit throughout a level, it’s collection is not enforced, so most of the time you just run strait for he level exit/goal. Some levels are quite short so this can be a problem.
If on the other hand I had to collect ALL the fruit, or a minimum quota before the goal was made available (think Snake Rattle n Roll), I believe it would have added an extra challenge/ addictive balance to the game.
Bean Dreams is by no means a bad game. It shines bright in the areas of graphics and general production value, but without a doubt the core mechanic/ progression system could have been executed better.
Game-play wins over graphics all day long, so no amount of visual polish will save a mediocre game-play system.
But don’t take my word for it, go see for yourself!
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