Pinkman+

Genre: Platformer

Players: 1

.

Review:

Pinkman is a challenging Platformer released on PC in 2017 and ported to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in 2021 in a “Plus” version that adds in a few minor features.

The presentation in Pinkman+ is extremely simple, but effective. This game uses very simple pixel art visuals with a minimal color palette. It’s an extremely old-school look that places the focus on the gameplay, which works well enough. This is backed by a surprisingly good soundtrack – surprising in that the game uses fair use music, but I can’t fault the game’s creator for doing so when the soundtrack includes superb electronica songs like Hot Nights in Los Angeles. Indie creators, take this as a lesson – if you can’t afford to hire a musician to create your own soundtrack, you can get away with fair use music if it’s high enough in quality and fits the theme of your game.

The gameplay here reminds me a lot of the N series of simple, challenging Platformers, most recently seen on the Nintendo Switch in the form of N++. It has a similar simple obstacle course approach to the genre, and features solid well-crafted gameplay with excellent level design. However, where N emphasizes its physics and has a high challenge level, Pinkman+ has a more moderate challenge level and gives players a jetpack that gives them more precise control over their jumps.

Where Pinkman+ falls behind N++ is in its breadth – Pinkman+ only has 100 levels, and doesn’t have a level creator or multiplayer like N++ does. However, while this game may lack content, it’s hard to fault it for that too much when it’s only $5. And while those 100 levels can be blasted through in fairly short order by a reasonably skilled player, I’d say this game is more than worth its money’s worth.

If you’re looking for a well-crafted challenging Platformer on the cheap and don’t mind simple visuals, a short play time, or sparse feature set, Pinkman+ is an excellent choice. It doesn’t offer anywhere near the depth of the somewhat similar N++, but for a mere $5, I think you’ll be satisfied with the quality gameplay on offer here.

tl;dr – Pinkman+ is a challenging Platformer with a simple retro-style look and a catchy soundtrack. It’s a short game without much in the way of features, but the gameplay and level design are excellent, and I’d argue that it’s definitely worth the small $5 price tag.

Grade: B

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