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Tumbleseed

Tumbleseed

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Tumbleseed might look like a simplistic gimmick at first glance, a strikingly modern reworking of arcade classic Ice Cold Beer, but just a couple of hours spent in its company reveals a challenging and engrossing game with plenty of depth and surprising variety. The premise is so simple, yet it leads to a truly unique challenge. This is Marble Madness meets Spelunky, where you have to balance your seed on a platform, carefully moving it up through obstacle-filled levels as you ascend a mountain in a story we forgot almost as soon as it was told.

The platform in question extends across the whole screen, and the seed can roll from one side to the other, with the player making slight adjustments using the respective analog sticks to raise and lower each side of the platform. Trying to stop you from progressing are various-sized holes in the ground, as well as a plethora of enemy types that are inspired by nature and often fantastically designed. Along the way, there are even additional challenges and mini-games to amuse you.

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We've been playing Tumbleseed on Nintendo Switch, but you can also pick it up on PC and PlayStation 4. There are two ways to enjoy the game, on Switch at least, and given how much better it feels to play on Nintendo's console in handheld mode, we have to stress that this is by far the optimal experience, and it works brilliantly on the small screen. The edges of the platform are easier to gauge when adjusting the angle of dangle on the handheld, largely because your eyes have more to take in when played on the big screen and it's easier to lose track. There is a handy spirit level built into the platform, but that is best used to make small, careful adjustments. However, during moments of panic, when you have to react to avoid an enemy or deadly drop, you'll often have to rely on your reactions, and it's when moving instinctively that having a better overview of the platform comes in handy. The other thing that sets Tumbleseed apart on Switch is the feedback offered by the JoyCon controllers, which is nuanced enough to genuinely enhance the experience.

But let's get back to the game itself, and the experience that everyone will have with it.

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The seed that you must balance comes in various different forms. There's a vagueness to this element of Tumbleseed's design that makes it needlessly hard to get to grips with during the first couple of hours, and it's not always immediately clear what each of the seeds actually does. You're given four basic types at the beginning and can grab new variants along the way, giving you additional options as you progress up the mountain. There are tiles dotted all over the place, and depending on the type of seed you have selected at any given moment, these tiles offer up different advantages, for example, the standard seed plants a flag that acts as a respawn point, but you can always switch it up so tiles drop crystals (the in-game currency, of sorts) or grant your seed defensive spikes that can help stop enemies from stealing your precious hearts.

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This variety all rests on top of the game's simple yet challenging central mechanic, that being the balancing act of keeping your seed out of trouble all the while pushing onwards and upwards. There are different zones that bring new enemy types, and in true roguelike fashion, no two play-throughs are the same thanks to procedurally generated levels that keep things fresh every time. There are no easy runs here, and each attempt will require a lot of dexterity, plenty of patience, and a dash of good fortune. Players must find the sweet spot between caution and decisive action, yet the simplicity of the core mechanic encourages you to try and rub a bit of flair into your play, because moving up the mountain at speed looks and feels great (although doing so almost inevitably leads you to screw things up). Having said that, a warning: this being a roguelike means that once you've used up your hearts, it's game over and you've got to start again, from scratch.

All told we're having a lot of fun with Tumbleseed, and we've still some way to go before we reach the top of the mountain. Time will tell whether it'll grip us for the long-haul in the way that Spelunky, Downwell and Crypt of the Necrodancer have done before, but it certainly has the potential to do just that. What we can say without a doubt is that roguelike (and even puzzle) fans should check it out, especially if you've got a Switch, because it's the perfect game to play on the console's small screen (and you can probably add a point to the score below if that's the platform you're on). Then again, even if you don't own Nintendo's new console, you should still consider picking it up because it's still very good even when played on a standard controller.

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Tumbleseed is the most punishing game we've played in some time, and the difficulty level may put some people off, but those who like a challenge will thrive on what's offered here. Despite a fairly ambiguous opening couple of hours, it doesn't take long to reveal itself as a deep and engaging roguelike, and it brings something genuinely new to the table thanks to its mixture of ingredients, which these days is a rarity worth celebrating.

HQ
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08 Gamereactor UK
8 / 10
+
Great central mechanic, challenging but fair, surprising depth, lovely visual style.
-
A bit vague at the beginning, not quite as impressive on the big screen.
overall score
is our network score. What's yours? The network score is the average of every country's score

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Tumbleseed

REVIEW. Written by Mike Holmes

"It's the most punishing game we've played in some time, but those who like a challenge will thrive on what's offered here."



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