GamerEscape

Back in 2001 (oof, that hurt to write), the Wario Land series made a bit of a formula shift in Wario Land 4. Without getting too deep in the weeds about it, it mixed up some core mechanics in an effort to distinguish itself from the first three games in the series. Because of the new platform and these changes, a lot of folks really enjoy playing Wario’s romp through the Shokora Pyramid. It’s unabashedly weird, it really leans into the Game Boy Advance’s hardware quirks in presentation and performance, and is just a fun game all around.

While it is a well-regarded entry in the series before it went dormant with Shake It, it seemed unlikely that Nintendo would revive the series at any point. Though, that’s the magic of indie games, and folks who really missed that Wario Land 4 style of gameplay were rewarded last year through Tour de Pizza’s Pizza Tower. I found myself really enjoying the flow of that game, and it’s a great playthrough in its own right.

However, developer Summitsphere wanted to put their own twist on the Wario Land 4 formula as well. While it hasn’t exactly been a straight line in terms of development (there have been delays), it’s safe to say that Dynamite Anton’s adventure is ready to make his smashing debut (on PC, at least). Releasing on Steam (PC) on December 3rd, 2024 and releasing on Switch at a later date (Summitsphere tweeted out a delay notification for that version), Joystick Venture is on tap for publishing duties for both versions. The Steam version (played on a Windows PC and Steam Deck) was played for this review.

Satan’s Seeing Red

Just like Wario Land 4 and Pizza Tower, the story premise here is pretty simple. Instead of a treasure in a pyramid or a pizza man trying to destroy your failing restaurant, you’re dealing with more of a Donkey Kong Country sort of plot. Namely, Satan asks his magic mirror who the reddest being is, and the mirror points out our alcohol-fueled demo man as the one who outclasses him. Not one to take such a slight lying down, Satan sends out his goons to raid Dynamite Anton’s stash of stolen spirits in an effort to supplant him as the Reddest of All.

Understandably pissed about the whole incident, Anton decides to take the fight to Satan to reclaim his ill-gotten goods and give him a good beatdown. Joined by Dynamite Annie and entering into a begrudging alliance with casino bartender Brulo (who places explosives at the end of each stage as a way to stick it to the Dark One), Anton smashes his way through Satan’s hordes to reclaim his spirits and beat down some really wacky bosses in the process.

This isn’t really a game that wants to bog itself down with story, and I do like that in my 2D platformers. If nothing else, Antonblast enjoys being light on story and heavy on the madcap silliness. It’s par for the course with its influence and indie forbears (go get the treasure, keep the evil pizza man from destroying your restaurant), and I’m totally fine with that. This isn’t supposed to be a AAA experience, and the game is having fun just being itself. Sometimes you just want an excuse to get right into the gameplay, and Antonblast is happy to do that.

That lack of story might be a bit of a sore spot for some, but that’s just how it is with many indie games. There are games from small developers that deliver a good, story-rich experience with their limited resources. This game isn’t one of them, and I doubt that was their goal. That shouldn’t deter you from just enjoying the silliness, though. Story is more of a side dish here, and it’s still tasty despite its diminutive portion.

A Hammer Time Hurtin’

When Pizza Tower dropped last year, many folks really enjoyed the speed-centric slant that permeated throughout every stage. Being a fan of Sonic games, I did enjoy the fusion of speed and action platforming that Tour de Pizza seemingly relished in. Momentum is a factor in your fight against Satan here, but it’s not as prominent as it is in its forbear.

Instead, much of the focus seems to be on bashing and smashing as much crap as you can from Point A to Point B and back again. Anton and Annie both possess a giant hammer and spiked mace, which takes to foes and environmental obstacles with relative ease. I often found myself using the Clutch Dash to power through those very baddies pretty frequently, which ends up charging into extra dashes with properly timed button presses. It’s not as full-tilt as you’d expect, but it keeps the momentum going well enough.

While dashing does help keep things moving smoothly, each character also shares similar moves that help keep things mostly fluid. Jumping and slamming down on the ground gives you a jump that can help you reach certain platforms that aren’t really accessible without the right stage design or moveset. You’ll be able to pick up the pace and smash foes with the dive bomb move known as the Antomic Blast. Other times, you can slide down an incline and destroy certain stage obstacles in a ball form. Certain stage-specific power ups and transformations will have you shifting your strategy to progress as well.

This semi-robust but focused moveset does complement the stage design well enough. This helps the core gameplay stay competent and move pretty briskly. Though, when things start leaning in a more precision direction, some will likely be frustrated with how precise you have to be in those situations. I was able to adjust well enough with my affinity for platformers, but casual players might end up frustrated when they aren’t able to adjust well enough in order to progress. Despite this, the controls are tight enough that the right amount of practice and adjustment should help. It’s just that some of those precision moments are a bit more twitchy than some would like.

Stage design does take cues from certain mechanics in the Wario Land series. Anton or Annie will often be flipping back and forth between the background and the foreground, and the aforementioned transformations are present here as well. I personally didn’t mind it, as the transformations and other elements were executed in a way that it felt like more of a tip of the hat than an outright lift. The focus on destruction does help the game pull away from its influence a bit, but eagle-eyed players will likely point out the extent of that aspect. The game largely succeeds at the “hurry up” section of the game when Happy Hour is triggered. Certain stage gimmicks did get in the way for me at times when this happened, but the mad dash back to the start was frequently a fun experience.

The same unfortunately can’t be said for some bosses here. Many of them are well-designed and often ridiculous in scale. But there were times when certain boss fights don’t really give the player enough space to plan and execute on the fly. The tolerances for certain windows for damage in said fights can be ridiculously short, and that can be annoying at times. This is alleviated somewhat with Brulo often tossing health at you when you’re down to your last hit, but sometimes things get so busy and chaotic that having to grab that health can be a challenge all its own. However, it isn’t completely unforgiving. Many of these fights have different forms, and the accompanying checkpoints with each part of the fight does help tamp down the frustration.

Finicky annoyances aside, the core gameplay and everything surrounding it is solid enough that many can endure them to some extent. The bulk of the gameplay does lean into its influences quite a bit, but the total gameplay package ties it together well enough. It might not latch onto folks like some who really sunk their teeth into games like Pizza Tower, but it’s still a solid enough gameplay experience in its own right. Just be ready to deal with a few rough edges here and there.

Devilishly Spirited

Anyone who lived through or watched animation from the 90s will often talk about how certain shows really reveled in just being hideous or just really, really weird. Some folks have also latched onto the peculiar graphical art style and sound design that came from handhelds like the Game Boy Advance. Antonblast takes cues from both of these influences and wears it like a cozy blanket. Honestly, some people might look at this and mistake it for a GBA game if they weren’t looking closely enough.

This ugly 90s animation style is prevalent throughout the game. If it isn’t Satan looking suspiciously similar to Red Guy from Cow and Chicken, a lot of the presentation seems like it was pulled from deliberately ugly shows. Almost like something from a Klasky Csupo cartoon (Duckman immediately comes to mind), Ren and Stimpy, or even Beavis and Butthead‘s early episodes.

That art style translates well to the 2D environment, and it isn’t afraid to play with the color palette. Though, that focus on destruction often makes the environment incredibly busy and occasionally difficult to figure out where your character may be on the screen. This does happen in boss fights sometimes, and it does get annoying.

Maybe I found myself enjoying the art style as a consequence of my generation. But I largely enjoyed when the game was in constant motion, despite how it occasionally interrupted the gameplay at inconvenient points. It revels in its ugliness, but done in a way that is unique in comparison to its forebears. Being distinct from them is important, and it does succeed at that for the most part.

Antonblast’s fusion of the 90s animation aesthetic and GBA sound font is prominently prevalent in its sound design. The music, while not entirely filled with bangers, definitely leans pretty hard into music that wouldn’t be out of place in some unreleased GBA sequel to Wario Land 4. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it would be an outright copy of said music or even certain sound effects, but everything here would feel right at home on that handheld. There is some light voice acting, but it’s mainly relegated to the beginning cutscenes and Satan taunting you before each stage. Those who enjoy that GBA vibe will definitely get that here, and stepping out of those limitations with any amount of voice acting is a nice touch in context.

Honestly, I found a lot to like about the presentation here. Much of it captures a lot of the madcap weirdness of the animation era that it pulls from, while also making the audio presentation work as well as it does. Those visual aspects that get in the way of the gameplay at times are annoying, but fans of crude 90s art and early aughts game audio will find a lot to like here. It wants to be madcap and ugly, and it comes together pretty well in that regard.

Smashing and Solid

I’ll admit, I was a little bit worried that Antonblast was going to pale in comparison to its forebears when I first saw it in action when it was making the pre-release rounds. It seemed like it would be a pretty compelling platformer that could go toe to toe with some of the indie scene’s best examples of their take on the overall genre. Never mind it being a competent complement of the influences that it pulls from.

I was relieved to find a fun and funky game that just wants to have fun and let the player wade in its weirdness. It might have its annoyances (of which there are a few), but Antonblast is a fine example of a solid indie action platformer. It doesn’t hit many of the heights of its influences and contemporaries, but is a game that’s worth plowing through in its own right. If you can handle some of the rougher aspects of the game, this is something that I can reccommend. Platformer junkies, indie fans, and people who enjoy weird and wacky platformers will find Antonblast be something worth blasting through.

~ Final Score: 7/10 ~

Review code provided by Joystick Venture for PC (Steam). Screenshots taken by reviewer. Featured image courtesy of Joystick Venture