Indie 2D platformers are ten a penny these days. Reventure, from developers Pixelatto aims to stand out from the crowd by doing something different.
You’ll reach the end, that much the game guarantees you. The fun is in finding the 100 different endings. There are so many ways for you to end the game, it ends up being something completely different to a simple platformer.
Within the first moments of the game I accidentally killed a friendly guard. This led to my first ending and the realisation as to what this game actually is.
Strip away the basic gaming mechanics, the simple platforming and battling and you are left with a clever little puzzle game. Not a puzzle game in the traditional sense, but a puzzle game all the same.
The game itself is a joyful experience that controls fantastically well. With tight movement and very simple actions for fighting and traversing the world. Simply two buttons to do it all.
In much the same way the great games, such as Super Monkey Ball or Tetris keep the controls simple and allow the game to do the talking. Reventure does the same.
Now it isn’t up there with those titles. Those are all time classics. But Reventure does this superbly well and adds to an outstanding experience.
How good? I started a quick play at around 11PM. Suddenly I found myself finally putting it down 3 hours later. I had only found a minor selection of endings.
I went in blind and was expecting something I’d play for a short while and move on from. Yet what I found was something else entirely. I was between wanting to progress the game forward, or finding other endings.
Not every ending was via a death, some are really imaginative. Such as an early one with your character going fishing and ignoring the quest in hand for instance.
Reventure does a cracking job in subverting expectations. I initially went looking for obvious endings, but then found myself trying to see what else was possible.
Most games I play I am looking for ways to progress forward. In Reventure I did so wondering if I’d missed something and looking forward to my next ending.
Presentation is well done in this respect. After each ending I was presented with a gallery picture which showcases each of the 100 endings found. It is a very clever mechanic, as it clearly shows how much you have found. The layout also feels like it gives clues as to where you should be looking.
I felt I had missed some early endings and would experiment. Doing further searches in areas I’d already been. Do I go via the sidetrack from a previous run? Or is that a waste of time? Do I ignore it? Does ignoring it mean I miss something else, if I do that last thing a bit different?
This really is a game that is the sum of its parts. Pleasantly coming together to produce one of my biggest surprises of 2019! Reventure isn’t going to touch many Game of the Year awards lists (if any) but it is one I implore you to pick up and try. It is a fantastic experience from start to finish!
