It was with great excitement that one of our favourite publishers, Mega Cat Studios, announced three new games for old consoles. Super Fanger, Plyuk, and Old Towers were all released at the same time and are now available to purchase in physical cart form directly from Mega Cat Studios‘ website. We’ve tried all three games to bring you our initial impressions. Plyuk is an NES puzzle title that has a great hook involving the inability to jump, but being able to clone yourself upwards.
To finish a level in Plyuk, you must collect all the keys and guide our plucky hero to the exit. It sounds easy, except you can’t jump and instead must build blocks straight in the air to move around the level. The constraints on your abilities create some ingenious puzzles, with many having multiple ways to find the solution. As with all puzzle games, you will get stuck from time to time and simply press the start button to reset the current level. Each puzzle requires a well-thought-out strategy, and some of the harder ones will require some trial and error.
After a block of levels is completed, the scenery changes to add some variety, and new obstacles are introduced. As you progress, the levels become more and more devious with some very clever elements added. To make things more difficult, most of the levels also have a limit to the number of blocks you can stack, and there isn’t anyway to destroy ones already placed. Several times we thought we had solved the puzzle, only to be dashed at the very last hurdle and having to restart. Not having a way to rectify mistakes certainly adds a layer of extra challenge.
The gameplay is solid, as are the puzzles, and there is a certain satisfaction to clearing a particularly difficult one. Plyuk is a well-made title that has clearly had a lot of thought put into it and extensive playtesting to create a fluid experience. Our only gripe with the game is that a few of the puzzles feel a little the same, but this is a real nitpick, given that many of the puzzles are very clever and go beyond the usual lateral thinking many of these kinds of games rely on.
Graphically, Plyuk is what you would expect from a homebrew NES title with bold sprites that have a few nice animation touches. The levels are very clear, and things such as tunnels, switches, and obstacles are clearly marked. There isn’t an awful lot of variety in the stages; most of the variety is in the colors of the blocks, but there is a constant flow of mechanics being introduced as you progress, which keeps the presentation interesting enough. The music is decent and captures the NES chiptune sound perfectly, although we would’ve liked a couple more tracks.
Overall, Plyuk is a well-made puzzle game that plays to its strengths to create an engaging, entertaining, and delightful experience. The difficulty curve is quite gracious, which means it isn’t the kind of hair-pulling experience it could’ve been, and there is real satisfaction in working out the puzzles. It may not satisfy arcade fans or those who want something a little more fast-paced, but those who enjoy stretching the old brain muscles and pixel art will have a blast with this one.
