Goliath Depot

Genre: Platformer / Arcade

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

What do you get when you combine an old-school Arcade-style Platformer like the original Donkey Kong with modern game design and mechanics, and place the focus on, of all things, the door-shutting gameplay of Hotel Mario, the Phillips CD-i game that Nintendo would very much appreciate if you completely forget, thank you. Well, if you’re anything like me, your first guess will likely be “a complete mess of a game that no one asked for”. And just like me, you would be wrong, because that game is Goliath Depot, and it is surprisingly excellent.

Released in 2023 on PC and ported to Nintendo Switch in 2024, Goliath Depot puts players in the role of a warehouse worker who discovers that machines in the warehouse have come to life and turned hostile. What to do? Well, shut all the doors and windows, obviously! Wait, what? Yeah, this game doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but that hardly matters when the gameplay is good, and thankfully this is.

Each of the game’s single-screen stages tasks players with shutting all of the doors and windows within a time limit and then making it back to the door at the start of the stage. Players can shut the doors and windows in any order as long as they get to all of them, and shutting one of these also has the added effect of creating a shockwave that can stun nearby machines so you can knock them out. There are also coins to collect, and as you progress you’ll be able to spend these coins on additional moves and upgrades for your characters, or for buying continues when you lose all of your lives.

Your initial move set is pretty limited – you can only jump, climb ladders, and open and shut doors and windows. However, movement and jumping is satisfying here, and what really makes this game shine is its outstanding level design and variety, which keeps coming up with clever ideas as you play further into the game, with new enemies, new obstacles, and new level elements that introduce different gameplay mechanics. It’s so well put-together and enjoyable to play that I found myself repeatedly deciding to play “just one more” level to see what new gameplay element or challenge would be introduced next.

Another key to the success of Goliath Depot is the presentation, with 2D pixel art visuals that hit the sweet spot of perfectly straddling the line between the classic look of 80s Arcade games with a more modern level of detail. This is joined by a really catchy chiptune soundtrack, though unfortunately I don’t have any examples to share with you.

If you’re the sorta’ gamer who longs for the sort of games we saw in the early days of videogame arcades, but without the stiff and unforgiving gameplay that games in that era had, Goliath Depot is for you. If you’re a Platformer fan looking for something with a simple premise that grows and evolves as you play through the game, this game is for you. In fact, I would say that if you enjoy Platformers in general, Goliath Depot is absolutely a game you’ll want to check out.

tl;dr – Goliath Depot is an Arcade-style Platformer that combines classic arcade-style single-screen game design with superb gameplay mechanics, gameplay variety, and level design, all in a game about shutting doors and windows in response to a machine uprising in a factory. This is the perfect game for those craving a retro-style Platformer with modern sensibilities.

Grade: B+

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2024 Game Awards:

Runner-Up: Best Platformer, Best Value, Most Underrated

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