10/01/2025:
Editing this review now that I finally finished through the main campaign and managed to get 100% on the save file I was playing on.

I haven't had this much fun playing a game since 2020. To me, ANTONBLAST managed to scratch this urge for a proper joyful and exciting adventure I haven't had in a long time. Waiting 2 and a half years as a Kickstarter backer and finally getting to play this was such a fun experience. I love EVERYTHING about this game, the controls, the barebones story it has, the interactions between the characters and of course the music. Oh my god the MUSIC. It's simply a work of art to create such a soundtrack to accompany this wonderful experience. The main campaign will not disappoint you in the slightest, as the amount of checkpoints and health pickups is very generous and comes up exactly at the times you need them.

In my opinion, the bosses in ANTONBLAST are the complete highlight of the game. I don't replay them often but they're designed really well and I've had a consistent smile, maybe even a laugh with tears of joy while playing through them. This game had the best bosses I ever experienced in 2D platformers yet.

There is also a ton of collectibles to obtain in the game, casette tapes which may or may not contain music and a GREAT selection of costumes you can equip for both playable characters, separately even! While most of them you're able to purchase directly through the shop, some of the Spray Cans can only be obtained by doing and finishng the optional side modes, Time Trial and Combo Chain.

The side modes Time Trial and Combo Chain are probably the most hours you'll spend in the game. Time Trial requires you to beat the stage as fast as possible while keeping your timer frozen for as long as possible, the levels in Time Trial are pretty like the Tme Trials in Crash 2 and Warped, where you need to go through the stage as fast as possible while breaking Time Crates to stop time for as long as you can to get the best time on the stage as possible. Combo Chain however requires you to keep moving at all times. If you thought this sounds easy, you couldn't be any further from the truth. If you thought some of the Time Trials were difficult, you're not going to have an easy time doing the Combo Chain side mode on them. There is no health pickups, so you have to make sure you can beat the stage in 2 hits or less (unles you have a temp health upgrade, in which case 3 hits). You don't need to keep one combo going for the entire stage, however. Playing through the stages this often genuinely feels worth it though. Despite what it may seem, you learn a lot from doing the stages over and over, which makes replaying the stages and improving your best time or highest combo really worth it. It's really gratifying to finally pull off a flawless run on a stage you previously struggled to even pass.


3/12/2024:
Only halfway through the game's story at the time of writing this but this game might genuinely be my favourite game I played this year. The levels are all unique with different vibes and phenomenal music accompanying them. The bosses so far are also really well designed, they're difficult if you don't know what you're doing, but also challenging should it finally click what you gotta do. I backed the game in mid 2022 and I've been watching how the game evolved throughout the two and a half years and even with what's been revealed and shown by the devs and PR team already, I still find new things to cherish, appreciate, have a little giggle or even laugh uncontrollably about. ANTONBLAST is genuinely a work of love and passion. I'm happy to have supported the game's development financially back then and I'm happy to support the game even further by purchasing the soundtrack when it ever becomes available.

If you haven't checked the game out and are looking for a snappy, action-packed platformer with Wario Land 4 and Crash Bandicoot influences, do not miss out on this game. If not on sale, this game is easily the worth the 20 US dollars and it's guaranteed you'll have a ton of fun, if not a BLAST. Just make sure to not go fast immediately. Instead take it slow and learn the stages until you're comfortable rushing through them.

10/01/2025: Editing this review now that I finally finished through the main campaign and managed to get 100% on the save file I was playing on. I haven't had this much fun playing a game since 2020. To me, ANTONBLAST managed to scratch this urge for a proper joyful and exciting adventure I haven't had in a long time. Waiting 2 and a half years as a Kickstarter backer and finally getting to play this was such a fun experience. I love EVERYTHING about this game, the controls, the barebones story it has, the interactions between the characters and of course the music. Oh my god the MUSIC. It's simply a work of art to create such a soundtrack to accompany this wonderful experience. The main campaign will not disappoint you in the slightest, as the amount of checkpoints and health pickups is very generous and comes up exactly at the times you need them. In my opinion, the bosses in ANTONBLAST are the complete highlight of the game. I don't replay them often but they're designed really well and I've had a consistent smile, maybe even a laugh with tears of joy while playing through them. This game had the best bosses I ever experienced in 2D platformers yet. There is also a ton of collectibles to obtain in the game, casette tapes which may or may not contain music and a GREAT selection of costumes you can equip for both playable characters, separately even! While most of them you're able to purchase directly through the shop, some of the Spray Cans can only be obtained by doing and finishng the optional side modes, Time Trial and Combo Chain. The side modes Time Trial and Combo Chain are probably the most hours you'll spend in the game. Time Trial requires you to beat the stage as fast as possible while keeping your timer frozen for as long as possible, the levels in Time Trial are pretty like the Tme Trials in Crash 2 and Warped, where you need to go through the stage as fast as possible while breaking Time Crates to stop time for as long as you can to get the best time on the stage as possible. Combo Chain however requires you to keep moving at all times. If you thought this sounds easy, you couldn't be any further from the truth. If you thought some of the Time Trials were difficult, you're not going to have an easy time doing the Combo Chain side mode on them. There is no health pickups, so you have to make sure you can beat the stage in 2 hits or less (unles you have a temp health upgrade, in which case 3 hits). You don't need to keep one combo going for the entire stage, however. Playing through the stages this often genuinely feels worth it though. Despite what it may seem, you learn a lot from doing the stages over and over, which makes replaying the stages and improving your best time or highest combo really worth it. It's really gratifying to finally pull off a flawless run on a stage you previously struggled to even pass. 3/12/2024: Only halfway through the game's story at the time of writing this but this game might genuinely be my favourite game I played this year. The levels are all unique with different vibes and phenomenal music accompanying them. The bosses so far are also really well designed, they're difficult if you don't know what you're doing, but also challenging should it finally click what you gotta do. I backed the game in mid 2022 and I've been watching how the game evolved throughout the two and a half years and even with what's been revealed and shown by the devs and PR team already, I still find new things to cherish, appreciate, have a little giggle or even laugh uncontrollably about. ANTONBLAST is genuinely a work of love and passion. I'm happy to have supported the game's development financially back then and I'm happy to support the game even further by purchasing the soundtrack when it ever becomes available. If you haven't checked the game out and are looking for a snappy, action-packed platformer with Wario Land 4 and Crash Bandicoot influences, do not miss out on this game. If not on sale, this game is easily the worth the 20 US dollars and it's guaranteed you'll have a ton of fun, if not a BLAST. Just make sure to not go fast immediately. Instead take it slow and learn the stages until you're comfortable rushing through them.