Alice Cooper once argued that “Only Women Bleed”, and SoGameSoftware is here to agree in a roundabout way with “Avatars Don’t Bleed”.
It’s a super-hard platformer with streamlined controls, ala Super Meat Boy, but with at least one striking (and interesting) difference: from the moment you select “New Game” you’re into it. There’s no intro screen, no pointless storyline (and I’ve argued in the past that it’s better not to add a pointless storyline to a game that doesn’t need one, I’m looking at you “Tetris Worlds”), just pure gaming for gaming’s sake. You’ll jump, wall slide, wall jump, dodge, double jump, and you’ll figure it all out without instructions. And you’ll likely have no trouble doing so. That’s the way I’ve played *every* platformer I’ve ever played anyway. :)
The use of avatars adds an interesting level of customisation that’s rarely seen in platformers. You couldn’t change the look of Mario, Bonk, or Sonic, nor can you do anything to modify “Aban Hawkins”‘ appearance. You can here, with the normal Avatar customisation options, and that’s a feature that I found I appreciate. I also found that the game seemed somewhat forgiving of glancing blows against obstacles, the amount of force required to kill you felt just right to me (but make no mistake that solid contact with a spike or other threat is going to kill you). A nice assortment of such obstacles faces you, include sawblades, spikes, cannon, and more. Well worth 80 Microsoft Points for those who don’t find themselves unduly frustrated with challenging platformers.
Here’s what the developer (SoGameSoftware) has to say about the game:
“Use your avatar to beat 30 levels of extreme platforming with double jumps, spinning saws, spikes, sliding and canons.”
Writings of Mass Deduction 