While On Thin Ice was released without fanfare, the original flash game Icycle was at least a little bit known. The concept is attractive: the world has been frozen and a naked man on a bicycle is navigating through the beautiful and bleak environments. I don’t mean that this particular man is attractive, but the concept is. Problem was, the bicycle was not very interesting to use (it could only move towards the right) and the difficulty was brutal and considered unfair. It seems like the lone developer of Damp Gnat learned from this because On Thin Ice is completely free of these issues. By the way, the same person did the coding and the art, which is impressive. Additional help was given for the audio, and that part is good too. Upon starting a level, our naked bloke will sometimes send a high-pitched scream that will echo throughout the frozen landscape. Chilling. Literally, as the poor guy is shivering on his bicycle even in the menu. If that is not enough incentive for you to go through the levels and unlock gear, the secret levels requiring specific pieces of clothing will be an additional motive. Because in these games the levels are so gorgeous that you will not want to miss a single one.


I have been itching to tell you why I think that Icycle: On Thin Ice is an amazing game, and here it comes. Notwithstanding the gorgeous art design, the game level is actually moving as you go along so that the levels transform under your wheels as you progress through them, from platforms rising out of thin ice to trees growing. If you have ever played a game from Vectorpark like Windosill, now imagine actually navigating the thing rather than just prodding it. There are many beautiful themes that serve as background, not just ice. From Magritte’s The Son of Man to a frozen war laden with dangerous bombs, anything goes in this surrealist game. I absolutely loved the experience. I felt like a kid watching marvels with little stars in my eyes. I am a platforming veteran. If a game can make me feel like that, it must be really damn good.


Since I mentioned the platforming, the controls have been vastly improved since the original flash game (which can be unlocked in On Thin Ice). It is now possible to cycle backwards without penalties, and it feels more like Trials without being as technical as the games from this series. Icycle: On Thin Ice feels more like a floaty platformer with a bit of momentum and sliding on the ice. While I usually use “floaty” to disapprove bad platforming feelings, here there is a physicality to the character that works wonders without being realistic. I find it hard to describe, but believe me when I say that the controls are tight and smooth while feeling different enough from other platformers to justify playing this game besides the gorgeous art. I would argue that the “floaty” feeling also comes from the fact that the naked man can deploy his umbrella in mid-air and gently hover in the same vein as Rayman with his helicopter hair. While this is not a unique mechanic, it adds a welcome layer of air control rather than just being a game on wheels. And that control will be well needed, as the levels start to get difficult half-way through the game. Nothing too brutal that a few retries won’t solve, and on top of that each screen is a checkpoint thus the player never has to restart from very far except if all lives were expanded and the (short) level needs to be started over.


The whole game is quite short, the main story can be completed in about two hours. Considering the price of the game and the enjoyment I had, I would say that it is fairly reasonable and worth the price. However, there is more to the game than this as there are bonus levels to unlock, lots of clothes and upgrades to unlock, and alternate objectives to complete in each level. These objectives range from completing a level without dying to finding a secret area. The economy of the game is based around ice cubes to collect in the levels. They are basically coins to pick up, but what is interesting about them is that they are very well integrated as part of the level design. They are either here for an extra little challenge to divert you from a route that is too easy, or they are here to signal where to jump so that you do not get surprised when an iceberg suddenly rises from below. These might seem like details, but it shows the mastery of the designer. For instance, the lums in Rayman are very well positioned and contribute to the pacing, while the gems in Black Forest Games (Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back and Gianna Sisters: Twisted Dreams) can be an awful distracting mess.


Enough praises, are there any shortcomings? I would say that a few levels towards the middle are not as exciting as the rest, and I feel that the environmental story-telling was occasionally brilliant (the first dream sequence) but then it was a bit too thin. I would have loved to see more of that. Finally, the options menu is essentially non-existent and the controls cannot be changed. WASD and arrows are both supported, however, this might be an issue for foreign keyboards with ZQSD and the likes.


If you have read the rest of this review the conclusion practically writes itself: Icycle: On Thin Ice is a brilliant game. The platforming on wheels feels fresh while being tight and an absolute pleasure to control, while the art design is magnificent. And then these moving levels that morph as you go along? I’m completely charmed. As a veteran platformer player, the game constantly put a big smile on my face and that’s rare enough to be mentioned. Well done! The game is cheap, I strongly recommend it.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POWjdKLH3Uk

I used to play this game on FRIV.com when i was around 8 or 9 years old look at me now playing this again in my 19th :)

Platforming on a Tricycle? Check.
Skateboard physics on a bike? You bet.
Squeaky wheels? Triple check.
Wacky costumes? The perfect amount of LGBTQQIAAP+HHe
Shopping cart motocross and exploding beetlejuice donuts? Yep and it gets better.
Base diving with a motorized go-kart? No ♥♥♥♥ !

Buckets of fun? Just what my ADD-OCD mindset needs.


Mai 2018

Climate change. Rene Magritte. Depression. Terry Gilliam. Mortality. Charlie Harper. Consumerism. Richard Matheson. The futility of war. Maurice Binder. You will be hard pressed to find any game that can blend all these elements, let alone do it with as much flair, as indie mobile darling Icycle: On Thin Ice, which looks and plays fantastic on PC as well.

Its game mechanic is about as simple as an 8-bit console cart: you guide Dennis, a paunchy, balding, naked dude on a tiny bicycle, through the mostly frozen remains of civilization in an attempt to find someone, ANYONE else. Dennis must avoid stalagmites, stalactites, avalanches, expanding ice crystals, sinkholes, debris, explosions and many other environmental hazards, many of which he more or less provoked. On the way, he collects ice cubes and items that he can use to dress himself somewhat or upgrade his ride.

Like Half-Life 2 and Fortnite: Battle Royale, Icycle: On Thin Ice is another great example of environmental storytelling. Every background gives you a clue as to how the Earth went to sh** without hammering you with exposition. The 2D vector graphics by game designer Reece Millidge really pop on a big screen, highlighting the detail that went into every short but challenging level. The difficulty level is just hard enough to make it challenging yet not frustrating.

Overall, Icycle: On Thin Ice is casual, colorful, goofy and clever, a trek well worth taking.

Short, but magnificent game!

Levels are innovative and fun to play and you have little upgrade shop for visual items and then few usual upgrades for buying upgrades or for collecting currency in game. Game is joy to look at and controls felt quite swell in my playthrough
with the Xbox One controller. Game gives starting speed for your characters after dying instead of letting you standing in the respawn spot waiting to be dead again in case reflexes aren't split second class, which is very nice since it becomes frustrating thing in some games i have previously played. Reminds bit of Elastomania perhaps, but not like it still.

Overall only negatives i could say about it is bingo bango bongo ball level (guess starting ball had something to do with the slots) and keeping jump button on to float with umbrella and landing after will do jump again so might hit spikes on wall/roof etc due this.

TLDR; Fun, short, innovative game which makes you most likely happy and entertained while you are helping our middle aged naked man on cycle chasing love of his life.

Despite the simplicity of the game-play mechanism, the design of the stages is innovative. The game contains deep meanings, suffering, war, climate, entertainment, and love.
The art-style is also fabulous.What a fascinating journey!

I cycle a lot — on thick earth — so this is refreshing in both ways! Great, various level design, with the only bittersweetness that I can correlate the level of design with the level of trial-and-error; e.g. the final chapter is surprisingly, uniquely designed, but you have to guess your next move frequently, which ruined the fun for me a bit. Other than that, I'd definitely want a threequel, but instead of 4 challenges per level (mobile-like), I'd definitely prefer 1 mission/challenge per level, and then leaderboards for scoring and/or speedrunning.

Last and maybe the least/forgettable: some glitching adventures ...

34⚙/38⚙ — Too bad I'm nót seeing more games, Damp Gnat. Gotta love the humor!

naked man on a bicycle destroys everything is his path without somehow receiving frostbite?

I've had a big pleasure playing this game.
There is so much effort put into small details here and there.
Art style is just amazing! It could be considered itself as a piece of modern art.
Gameplay is intense and some puzzles are truly challenging but obtainable.

I wonder why such a good game have so low sales and reviews ratings?

dennis is love dennis is life