Playing with gravity in platformers is nothing new; Super Mario Galaxy is a prime example of the concept done right, but limbo also did a commendable job in the later stages of his short campaign. However, is it possible to control gravity throughout the entire game? That’s a pretty new one (shh, Gravity race And VVVVVV fans), but if our hands-on time with the demo gives Reggie: The Game If anything, we’ll be in for a treat when it officially launches in 2025.
To use its full name, Reggie, his cousin, two scientists and quite possibly the apocalypse is a 2D platformer from Dutch developer Degoma in which you navigate levels by flipping the world’s gravity, allowing you to effectively dash up to the ceiling and back, or even run zig-zag in mid-air, hitting the enemy (or their) head. back) as you go. It’s quite similar to VVVVVV in some respects, but the ability to overturn gravity while in mid-air and use physics to manipulate your momentum makes this quite unique.
We recently sat down to speak briefly with Degoma founders Gloria and Frank Garcia and tested four of the game’s 25 levels via an early PC build. Despite only testing a small portion of the full game, we came away feeling pretty excited and optimistic about Reggie, though we also have a few minor concerns that we hope will be put to rest early on before its full launch in 2025.
The first thing we noticed was its incredibly charming presentation. The visuals are reminiscent of modern animated films like Adventure Timeand this is reinforced by the catchy, upbeat soundtrack. We did notice a slight inconsistency with the quality of the music from level to level, although we suspect this may not be representative of the final product. Additionally, we were immediately captivated by Reggie himself; his design is simple but bursting with personality, and we suspect he will continue to have a long life beyond this first title.
There are also sometimes surprising cinematic effects. For the most part, the environments and backgrounds are largely static, but the second demo level shows a giant red whirlpool sucking in rocks and trees while warping the setting. It’s both magical and epic, and we’re looking forward to seeing what Degoma has in store for the full game.
In terms of gameplay, the gravity feature feels intuitive enough that anyone can easily grasp it, but you’re still capable of moving through levels at exceptional speeds once you’ve mastered it. familiar with how physics works. There’s no limit to how often you can flip gravity, but if you use it to effectively float in the air, your momentum will gradually slow until you can’t move forward at all. again. Therefore, it’s great that you can cover greater distances, but you’ll have to be careful not to lose momentum when there’s no platform above or below you.
Surprisingly it was very challenging, especially in the later stages. By default, you have three ‘leaves’ that represent how many times you can take damage before dying. Enemies are numerous, so you need to be careful about where you land, but there are also many opportunities to fly off the map. What’s nice, though, is that there are funny, tailored death animations depending on how you die, so we found ourselves intentionally getting hit just to see how Reggie would die.
Our main concern at this stage is the lack of variety. The levels are visually unique enough, but we worry that without interesting puzzles to solve along the way, the game might just be a rehashed version of the original. Flappy Bird. The visuals and unique charm were enough to keep us entertained for the duration of the demo, but we hope there’s more to come in the final game. Thankfully, those who enjoy co-op play will be delighted that one more player can join in as Reggie’s cousin, which will add spice to the casual gameplay.
What about the ridiculous game title? Gloria Garcia said that Degoma hopes the game is successful enough to spawn a sequel. Thus, since the first game essentially told a story, the potential sequel would revolve around this theme with its own unique name. Makes sense to us; Here’s hoping Reggie, His Cousin, The Two Scientists and Possibly Doomsday succeed – if only to hear what the sequel will be called.
We would like to thank Gloria and Frank as well as Kit and Krysta at Never A Minute for setting this up.
Reggie, his cousin, two scientists, and quite possibly the end of the world are aiming to launch on Switch in 2025. Do you have Reggie on your Switch wishlist? What makes for gravity-defying gameplay? Leave a comment with your thoughts below.
