AQUILLANTO

Gameplay

"Aquillanto" is a charming old school platformer that really tests your reflexes and sense of timing.

Controls

• The controls are simple. You can run, jump, climb and shoot.
• As far as movement is concerned, everything feels really smooth and you can move around effortlessly.
• The smooth controls makes the game fun to play.
• You aren't knocked back when you're hit by an enemy but instead will just stand there losing health until you press the controls to move away. This can complicate things for the player but IMO the benefit is that when you take a hit, you wont be knocked off a platform or towards a greater danger as usually happens in games of this genre.

Visuals

• Visuals are an interesting combination of hand-drawn art (backgrounds and tilesets) and 3D models (game objects like enemies, traps and collectibles). I felt this combination really works well.
• A minor issue is that the same background and tiles are recycled across several levels. Would have been nice to see more variety in background art, I guess.

Sound

• Has crisp SFX and a nice background score that isn't too distracting. But there should have been more background tracks.

Enemy Design

• The enemies you'll be fighting are giant insects, strange animals and other weird monsters. They are nicely rendered in 3D and feel alive.

Level Design

• There are around 40 levels. And each level is of the right size and length, neither too long nor short. So the game has a fairly long playtime and is worth the money.
• When you beat a level, it becomes unlocked permanently and you can revisit it anytime you wish (unless you delete your save file).
• Although the levels are linear, there are sometimes multiple paths to make it to the level exits. Other areas are hidden and contain collectibles and health or serve as useful shortcuts. • There are lots of spike traps, stationary and otherwise that you'll need to get past. Timing and reflexes matter when it comes to overcoming them.
• Sometimes walls of spikes block your way and can be removed if you kill certain enemies that carry a key. This adds variation to the level design.
• There are numerous types of moving platforms each with it's own mechanism. Some move in a set pattern. Others descend when you stand on them. Yet others can be controlled by the player. Still others have spikey contraptions attached to them, so if you aren't careful, the platform becomes a death trap.
• There's a good balance between platforming and combat. Enemies, traps and platforms are all strategically placed so as to create a challenge for the player. In this regard, the level layouts are very well done.
• More save points would have been useful, especially in the later levels.

Weapons and items

• Instead of a gun, you use a magic pen that squirts ink. The "pen-gun" can be upgraded and enhanced with different types of pen parts.
• There are various things you get to collect in each level: gold coins (used to play special missions), crowns, fruits (restores health) etc.
• There are also power ups that temporarily enhance your abilities (air jumps, stop time, extra damage etc). IMO, those could have been permanent upgrades for the player.

Final Thoughts

As someone who grew up playing platformers, "Aquillanto" immediately caught my attention the moment I saw the first gameplay video on twiter. After an hour or so into the game, I feel this was a good purchase. If you're a fan of 2D platformers, "Aquillanto" would definitely make a fine addition to your game library. Highly recommended.

(Posted: 03/08/25)

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See this game's Steam Page.

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