Slime-san Super Slime Edition (Xbox One) Review

Beginning with gameplay and level design, Slime-san feels very similar to Super Meat Boy, each level is a self-contained room, with a specific platforming challenge, which can be something akin to the "floor is acid" scenarios to bosses. The levels have a simple goal, run from one side to the other and do it fast enough to outrun the digestive acids of the giant worm (more on this later). The control scheme allows for three main moves and these moves are tested extensively by each of the levels. This is done via obstacle placement, and a reasonably good variety of enemies.

Overall the design of the levels is excellent, and provides a fair challenge - however, one of the major problems that rear their head every few levels, was the enemy placement, a big downside of the level design. The enemies are interesting and challenging, but some levels will put the player in an area that's way too small to avoid enemies while moving fast enough to complete a level, and while some will say that the way to get past this is through dying and learning, this doesn't feel like the case in the few levels that suffer from the issue.

So why is Slime-san in the worm? Well, as the story goes, Slime-san was "sliming around" in the forest, minding his own business, when he got swallowed up by the titular worm. He decides to run so he doesn't get digested, and to try and save everyone else the worm has eaten on the way out. This is why the levels have time limits, and, to be honest, it's nice to have a reasons for them however, this is as deep as the story goes.

The characters that the player can speak to are interesting, but them being optional interactions, there isn't a lot to see in them during the sections where talking is possible. These parts, called 'towns,' are where the player gets a break from the frantic platforming action. These breaks are essential as breaks between blocks of levels for players to catch their breath and for the game's pacing to be set correctly.

Gameplay is simple and relies on three core skills: jumping; dashing... and "slime-ing." Jumping is satisfying, and can be used to scale walls; wall jumping up the side of an individual wall is possible. Dashing gives the player a very quick movement that can be used to avoid obstacles and enemies or to extend a jump, something that this relies on heavily in earlier levels. "Slime-ing" is done when you have Slime-san pass through certain platforms. This is a key mechanic and leads to some levels requiring on-the-fly strategy and planning to succeed. The rest of the gameplay features are built to compliment these core mechanics.

Movement is speedy and responsive, extra powers are inventive but not overpowered, like, for example, a one-hit shield power-up. Most interestingly, the game operates with a camera that spans the entire level and if "Slime-ing" this goes into slow-mo, and the camera comes in close to allow for precision platforming which is intensely satisfying. The overall feel is great, though it's again hampered by occasionally questionable enemy placement. There are optional collectables but they are only for the bravest of players. The positioning combined with time limits and the simple moveset can lead to some hair-raising moments. There are some variations on the typical levels including underwater levels, and these change up the speed of the gameplay, but can be pretty frustrating in a way only water levels can be - the sluggish controls in this do portray the feeling of moving through substance, but at the cost of the responsiveness needed to fairly avoid enemies and traps.

Visually the game goes for a retro look, with lots of filters, pixels and... splatty-ness that others might not have. Slime-san, much like Meat Boy, leaves a trail behind him when he moves around marking walls and platforms the player touches. Each platform and enemy type is well communicated visually by colour and design. For example the Slime-ing platforms are green, and appear almost girder-like, which makes them stand out from the environments. The visual design can sometimes appear messy from the distance between the player and screen but bigger TV sets will negate this, and players who have trouble with this can make more use of the slow motion zoom feature.

The visuals are accompanied by atmospheric and suitably retro music, which has a pretty varied suite to keep the experience interesting throughout. The sound design isn't all good though - while the majority of effects and music are great occasionally, the environmental sound can be irritating or downright off-putting. For instance, some levels have big grinding machinery in them, and the sound it creates is not only too loud but it really distracts from the level, especially if it takes the player a few attempts, thus elongating the time being assaulted by the sound.