Retro Rollers Bundle

Genre: Compilation / Platformer

Players: 1

.

Review:

Retro Rollers Bundle, released on Nintendo Switch in 2023, is a Compilation of Panic Porcupine and Polyroll, both Platformers clearly inspired at least in part by Sonic the Hedgehog.

I have separately reviewed both of these games. Here is what I thought of both of the games in this collection:

Game	Genre	# of Players	Score
Panic Porcupine	Platformer	1	D+
tl;dr Panic Porcupine is a Platformer that’s clearly a tribute to the Sonic the Hedgehog series, albeit with sadistic level design. This high challenge level already makes the target audience for this game pretty narrow, and things get worse when you introduce scrolling problems that make the game difficult to look at. As a result, I cannot recommend this game, even to those who love Sonic and enjoy a challenge.
Polyroll	Platformer	1	B+
tl;dr Polyroll is a Platformer that plays like a midway point between a Sonic game and a Mario game, and the result is something that’s actually pretty enjoyable. It’s definitely not going to win any prizes for originality, but what it lacks in originality it more than makes up for with well-crafted gameplay and quality level design. Add to that an appealing $5 price tag and you have a game that Platformer fans should definitely check out.

In short, this is a really lopsided package, and ironically I think it’s lopsided in the opposite way most other reviewers seem to feel. Yeah, I don’t normally comment on this sort of thing, but it was certainly interesting to see other reviewers were pretty happy with a game I thought was absolutely miserable, and totally dismissive of a game I thought was a great take on the genre. Anyway, both games offer a different spin (ha) on the Sonic the Hedgehog formula, and as a result they make a pretty good pairing, regardless of which one you prefer.

So then, of course, it comes to a question of value, and at $10, this package is saving you $3 off the cost of getting both games separately. Now, if you’re like me and watch for sales, you’ll note that both of these games regularly go on sale for only $2, but you’ll also note that this bundle goes on sale for as low as $3, so either way it’s a good deal.

However, I still have to fall back on my original assessment of the two included games, and that assessment is that only one of these two games is worth getting. Is it worth spending an extra $5 to get this bundle when the other included game isn’t good? Or, if you’re looking at sale prices, an extra $1? I would answer with a flat-out “no” to the first question, and a “probably not, but that’s just me” to the second. I leave it to you to decide how you feel.

tl;dr – Retro Rollers Bundle is a Compilation containing Panic Porcupine and Polyroll, two games that each try their own take on the Sonic the Hedgehog formula. Of the two, I think that only Polyroll succeeds at this, and while this bundle does offer some savings over getting the games separately, it doesn’t make much sense to buy this when only one of the games is good.

Grade: C

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