Title: Unlocking the Fun: A Deep Dive into Antonblast (Swap)

About a month ago, the Switch finally welcomed Pizza Tower, an indie action platformer that has received significant acclaim for how effectively it evokes Nintendo’s long-forgotten Wario Land franchise. Yet, developer Tour de Pizza wasn’t the only team inspired by Wario. Summitsphere’s Antonblast is a vibrant and exhilarating action platformer that feels like it could possibly become the next Wario Land game with a different aesthetic; its blend of speed, precision, and clever level design creates an incredibly engaging experience that is only hindered by its performance issues.

Antonblast features the main character, Dynamite Anton, whose exuberant, crimson appearance leaves Devil feeling jealous and unsettled about his title as “the reddest being of all.” In a petty act of revenge, he dispatches his minions to Anton’s home to steal what he values most: the Spirits that he keeps in his living space. Enraged, Anton seizes his hammer and embarks on a quest to retrieve what was taken and to impart a piece of his mind to Devil.

As you navigate through any level, the inspiration drawn from Wario Land 4 is immediately apparent. Anton (or his companion, Annie, if you prefer) charges through levels like an nearly unstoppable force of nature, smashing crates and blowing up foes as he leaps around with his hammer and powers through obstacles using his ‘Grab’ charge ability. There are numerous alternate routes to explore and collectibles to gather along the way, but the ultimate goal is to reach the bomb at the end of the level so you can initiate “Ecstatic Hour.” Once activated, a countdown begins, and you have only a few minutes to race all the way back through the level with the Spirit you’ve collected. These frantic dashes to safety are exhilarating, as you often have to take a different path back to the start and leave a trail of destruction in your wake on your return journey.

Simply completing a level isn’t enough to experience the full adventure; not even if you took your time to collect every item. After finishing each level, you unlock a time attack and combo chain mode for that level, and this is where the wonderful level design really shines.

In Time Assault, each level gives you a target par time to beat that requires you to master the level layouts and comprehend the intricacies of Anton’s abilities to optimize your attempts. Combo Chain functions similarly, but here you must maintain an unbroken combo by smartly smashing crates and defeating enemies, all without any health pickups to save you. We found both modes to add significant value to the gameplay, pushing you to engage with each level in a fresh way and enhancing the challenge and replayability of an already fantastic platformer.