Antonblast

Antonblast explosively reinvents the destructive energy of Wario Land, delivering high-energy action that has you demolishing levels at speed while also rewarding precise play with a serious sense of momentum. Boss fights slow the pace a bit, but this is a front-to-back thrillride that you'll keep coming back to master.

Antonblast is a great tribute to Nintendo's Wario Land series with its madcap action and focus on gameplay variety. The cartoonish visuals, high replayability, and overall spectacle of the experience make this one well worth a recommendation, though we'd temper this by saying that it really needs some work on its Switch performance. Whether on Switch or elsewhere, we'd suggest you pick this one up if you're at all a fan of Nintendo's other Italian mascot and are looking for a well-made and fast-paced new 2D platformer-Antonblast has got it where it counts and is well-deserving of a spot in your library.

Antonblast is a delightful and silly platformer that successfully captures the spirit of those retro Wario-style games while still introducing some modern and fun twists. The fluid gameplay, vibrant visuals, and engaging mechanics make it a great pick for anyone who loves a good 2D challenge. The game can get pretty brutal and visually confusing, but its strengths far outweigh these minor issues, making Antonblast a fun and rewarding adventure.

As it stands, Antonblast feels like it should do everything right. In reality, it feels quite hollow. There’s no real relatability to the characters. The game is fine and everything, and the way it’s laid out makes sense even if it does kind of hide levels from you for some reason. Still, there’s a lack of real spirit that doesn’t make it fun beyond just the fact it plays well. It’s really frustrating because when a game does a lot right, but still feels really bland at the same time. Just playing well at this point doesn’t make a game great, and that’s the only place where Antonblast truly succeeds.

It’s very easy to like the game’s characters thanks to how much personality they have, and things like the voice acted cutscenes are the cherry on top of the whole experience. If Pizza Tower looks a little too daunting, then look towards Antonblast for an easier entry into the world of fast-paced 2D platformers; you won’t regret it.

Never has a game captured so well the chaotic feeling of two demolition experts battling satanic forces! [...] Nothing in ANTONBLAST is delivery half-baked.

Antonblast is chaotic to a fault. Its explosive personality makes for an entertaining spectacle, but it left me wanting for a more controlled detonation.

Antonblast comes with a glowing recommendation for all fans of 2d action - platformers. With a protagonist more rowdy than Wario, tight controls, blistering action, satisfying level variety and spectacular boss fights, what's there not to love?

A fun platformer with timeless gameplay. It will be fun for those who enjoy fast-paced games where you only stop occasionally to find secrets.

Antonblast meets the primal need to play a game to smash everything and score points without caring too much about the story, which, however bizarre, is simply a guise for introducing the action. The various levels are very different from each other but always united by destruction. The atmosphere felt owes much to Wario and sometimes even to Sonic, with mad runs down very steep slopes and jumps into the void while crossing fingers for everything to be okay. The ability to remember critical points on the map is rewarded more than the players' actual skill, but who cares? It entertains, and that's enough.