Prison City is a really fun arcade style side-scroller with bright colorful lights, unforgiving platforming, and gorgeous pixel art. I am not someone nostalgic for this type of game, yet it managed to hook me immediately.

I really appreciated the non-linear level design: you choose one of 8 levels to tackle, and the level itself allows for exploration and has a map to reference.

The platforming and combat is brutal - on normal difficulty, one slip off of a platform and you have to start over at one of the few checkpoints. This happens a lot, enemies will pop up and ruin minutes of gameplay. This gives it a very retro arcade feel, but personally I chose to play on easier after finding it a bit too unforgiving,

Visually, the game really shines. It has gorgeous 8-bit art that is bright, bold, and colorful. It feels very genuinely retro, and perfectly executes the style. This is probably my favorite thing about the game.

There aren’t many negatives, besides the shortcomings of the genre itself. The game is pretty surface level - there’s not much story or dialogue, player growth, or meta-progression. It’s truly an arcade style game, for better or worse.

If you are a fan of the genre, it’s a no-brainer. I personally prefer the more Metroidvania side of retro platformers, but this one had just enough non-linearity to keep me glued throughout its 7 hour campaign. Highly recommended!