Rating:

Frozzd is a unique platformer game made in Gamemaker 7 that won Yoyogame\'s 2008 winter competition. It features a unique movement system that allows the player to hop between planets exploring the solar system and rescuing the frozen natives from evil aliens.

Full Review

Frozzd is a unique platformer game that utilizes the interesting concept of having a level made up of several blocks that each have their own gravitational field. The player then navigates amongst these gravitational fields by leaping from one block to another and allowing himself or herself to be attracted onto the surface of these blocks when close enough. It also features a peculiarly simple combat system in which the player collects projectile firing companions that he or she does not have direct control over, but can alterate between instructing them to fire at enemies or use their projectiles to release captured comrades.

Frozzd puts you in the shoes of an enigmatic astronaut who stumbles upon a strange message in an unknown language while exploring a distant planet. The message leads him onto another planet where he discovers from the planet\'s king that all his subjects have been held captive by some icy alien invaders, and that his help is required for their rescue. Although this plot definitely won\'t win any narrative awards, it serves its purpose well enough and provides sufficient motivation for the player to progress through the game\'s levels.

This game scores in the gameplay department due to its innovative design, providing a refreshing perspective on platformers by introducing multiple gravitational centers and a simple yet effective binary combat system. However, it is not without its flaws - the combat system remains one that is both easy to learn and master, which also means it exhausts its possibilities very quickly, and suffers from a lack of depth that heavily penalizes the game\'s replayability. You won\'t find yourself wanting to play the game a second time because its hard to picture an alternative way to beat the game.

The visuals of the game are simple but extremely polished for a game of this scale of production. Environmental artwork can get a little repetitive due to the excessive use of ice in the levels (all the levels are frozen), but the levels remain considerably fresh due to the variety of shapes and arrangement of the icy blocks. The game works fine with a remarkably low amount of character animation, because only the lead character has a walk cycle, while the rest of his enemies and companions float around leglessly.

The music in this game is surprisingly pleasant to listen to, and works well especially when a difficult level requires several attempts to beat - at least you have a good soundtrack running in the background. Sound effects, on the other hand, are merely adequate and serves their purposes well enough, but nothing really to write home about.

Conclusively, this game is worth your time for one playthrough, and being absolutely free for download over at Yoyogames.com, it is very worth it indeed. I highly recommend spending some time with this game if you are looking for something simple and easy to pick up.

Download the game from Yoyogames here.