Title: Tinertia
Developer: Candescent Games & Section Studios
Release Date: 3/Sept/2015
Official Site: http://bit.ly/1KP49zp
Steam Page: http://bit.ly/1JGVlcX
Hey what’s up, Serpentine here taking a
look at the plat former, Tinertia, the first game developed by Candescent Games
with some outsourced help from Section Studios. After crash landing on an
unknown planet you will have to make your way through various different
environments using nothing else but your rocket launcher and boost pack.
The key feature of Tinertia is that it’s a
platforming game without a jump button or at least a traditional way to jump.
Instead you will have to take advantage of your rocket launcher to rocket jump
over obstacles and up the sides of walls. It is a little un-natural at first as
you have to aim the rocket in the opposite direction you want to jump easily
having you getting your directions confused during some of the faster paced
sections but after playing it for a little while you will become accustomed to
it. Speaking of fast, you can move extremely fast while chaining rocket jumps
to the point where you can jump skip quite a few platforms if done right. You
can also give yourself a little bit of directional boost that you can use only
once while in the air that will give you just a little bit more out of your
jump. Later on in the game this boost can also be used to time certain elements
better for instance these traps, they activate either from a rocket hitting
them or from you falling into them. Obviously you want the rocket to activate
the trap but without using the boost you may fall into the trap with it, using
the boost gives you that couple of seconds to allow the trap to close without
you in it. The only way to regen your boost is by landing on a platform for a
couple of seconds so again during some of the faster levels of the game you
will have to use it sparingly as there may be a jump that requires the boost or
you may just end up screwing up a jump, hitting the boost button and have
nothing happen while you fall to your death.
Each level of the game will have both a
rocket jump par and a time to beat to challenge yourself with if you’re up for
it but its probably best not to aim for these on your first run, more of a
challenge that you come back to later on. A lot of the rocket jump pars won’t
allow for the extreme momentum rocket jump chains that you can do and is an
alternative method of playing the game with precision as opposed to pure speed.
As with most games the difficulty in the first couple of levels is rather easy
however while you’re new to the rocket jumping mechanics even these early
levels are somewhat difficult for your first time through. Coming back to these
earlier levels and completing them for speed runs however will be much easier. Each
couple of levels will introduce new mechanics to work with like 1 hit plat
formers that will crumble under you when shot or lasers that turn deadly when
activated. All these new mechanics culminate in the last couple of levels in
the stage just before the stages boss fight.
The boss fights in Tinertia, at least for
the first few stages, are time based with something chasing you, attempting to
kill you weather that be rising sewage water or a robots hand with chainsaw
fingers. There is usually another mechanic hidden in these fights too but I
won’t spoil any of that for those that end up picking up the game. It will be
trial and error for a while before you learn the right path and what angle to
rocket jump at for each section, luckily the game offers an extremely fast
reset so there is no waiting around for your next attempt on the boss or any
other level for that matter.
Other features of the game include a speed
run mode that allows you to play through a whole stage uninterrupted, so
instead of receiving a time for each level at the end of the level you now only
receive a time after you defeat the stages boss, if you die during a run you
will still be respawned at the current levels checkpoint so you won’t have to
do the whole stage again. Once you complete a run your time will be posted on
the leader boards with a worldwide leader board and a friends list leader board
for a bit of friendly competition. Finally there is a boss rush mode that
allows you to take on all the bosses in the game 1 after the other. I do
suggest playing the game with a controller as the game isn’t really designed
for mouse and keyboard requiring directional inputs for some of the mechanics, feeling
really odd when trying to do that with the wasd keys.
Altogether Tinertia is the kind of plat
former that requires precise movements and speed rather than puzzles to solve
or enemies to defeat. It is definitely an ideal game for any speed runners out
there and is actually quite similar in difficulty with simplistic mechanics as
Super Meat Boy. If you enjoy the challenge associated with games like Super
Meat Boy where you have to be almost pixel perfect while still moving very
quickly through the levels then Tinertia is definitely a game to check out.
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