Beep (2011)

I had a ton of fun playing Beep, and while it seems like a tautology, I kept getting the feeling that it is exactly what I want from a game like this. Everything is simple, but well done and downright enjoyable.

It's a platformer that'd I'd call more "casual" than others. The puzzles aren't intensely difficult, the enemies aren't hardcore, but it's still a very fun and pleasurable experience. The controls -which rely heavily on physics- take some getting used to and are a large part of what makes the game both unique and fun. I found myself able to play Beep for any amount of time: playing 1 level which took maybe 15 minutes, to playing a world for a few hours. It never got old and even managed to introduce some new mechanics up until the end of the game.

The list of problems I had was short and inconsequential. The start screen is rather simplistic, with a simple "a/b/c" for game saves. When first dropping into a level the text for "Control the BEEP ship" would linger for a few seconds. Occasionally the graphics would glitch out and black box(es) would be appear on the screen - usually after an explosion of some kind. None of these are remotely significant.

The only true problem I found was the ending, which I found somewhat abrupt. I can let it slide except that this game has 96 PIECES OF ANTIMATTER. WHY WOULD YOU NOT ADD A 25TH LEVEL AND MAKE IT AN EVEN 100. I JUST UGH. WHY. WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME.

Anyway I can't recommend this game enough. The physics-based jumping shooting gameplay is a ton of fun, you get to collect things and use a gravity gun, and the little robots have cute little high-pitched squeaky voices. It's adorable and fun and everyone should play it.