Treasure Adventure Game (2011)

This is an ok side-scrolling, action adventure game, which has relatively plenty of contents for being a simple-looking debut of the developer. You play as the young adventurer who sails between islands to collect the 12 treasures that are connected to a legend that your father's team attempted to uncover.

The free-roaming feature grants some nonlinear gameplay, allowing the player to figure out where to go next, the new areas that can be accessed and treasure maps to discover. Despite all that, the story doesn't grip me quite and it's hard to be immersed by the pixel graphics when I for some reason can't play on full-screen. I have some minor issues with the clunky physics and maneuvering, especially when the controls are not as intuitive.

That's not to say that it isn't worth playing for the niched players. The music is tolerable and catchy to some extent. You can play it for free on GOG and Steam but those who prefer, there is a remake called Treasure Adventure World to check out, if you want go for a more modern take.

Artistic Value: Graphics are simple and uninspiring. The style and ambience are very plain. The setting is somewhat diverse and transmits a childish feeling, which is not necessarily a bad thing because it goes well with the overall theme and motifs. Run-of-the-mill music and really rough sound effects. Bosses music themes are OK but nothing really stands out as great. Rating = 4/10 for mediocre.

Gameplay: The controls are simple and easy to get used to. It does a good job of introducing mechanics to the player (with the exception of a certain item in the game and its purpose). Physics feel a bit clunky though. Puzzles and missions/quests are not very hard to figure out and are fun to complete. The items and powers obtained throughout the game are fun to use. The user interface is OK and unobtrusive. Rating = 6/10 for good.

Fun Factor: Seems like the engine on which this game was build is very poorly optimized. Even if the game looks like it should run smooth on a low-end PC, I had some framerate issues with my mid-end computer. No bugs that stand out though, just some minor clipping issues. The story has some twists here and there that make it enjoyable. The difficulty is just right (leaning towards easy). The characters are charming though forgettable. The game never feels like a drag, although it seems like it intends to appear epic and fails in this regard. Very low in the originality department. Rating = 5/10 for average.

Final Verdict: A small and fun indie game with a childish feel. Rating = 5/10 for Average.