An excellent addition to the "hard but fair" platformer genre. The save system is a meter that fills up based on performance and which lets you put save points wherever you like. It's genius. The art direction and character designs are great and it's got a female protagonist. What more could you want?

I wanted this game for a long time because I liked its style and presentation. When it went on sale I eargly grabbed it and...was just so disappointed. I was looking forward to a challenging plat-former with an interesting visual style. Well I certainly got something "Challenging" but for all the wrong reasons. The game is artificialy difficult. The whole thing is basically like those Super Mario hacks where the game is almost impossibly hard because the person put a lot of effort into making sure you get screwed over at every turn. I couldn't tell you how many times I died because something popped out at the last second from hiding, and would demand the reflexes of a coked up 8 year old to dodge on the first try. Which bassicaly turns large portions of the game into less of a plat-former and more of a memorization puzzle with the added difficulty of having to jump around.

The game employs a unique check point system, when you have absorbed enough blood you are allowed to drop down a check point which heals you and allows you to continue from that sport if you die. The only limiting factors are that you can't be moving, and can't be near a saw blade or an enemy. And because of those two factors a good portion of the time these check points were useless because the developers would place a random saw blade, or cover EVERYTHING in slippery goo to make sure you can't actually stop moving and drop a check point. Forcing you to do large portions of a level without being able to employ a system the developers put in. In some cases I wondered why the check point system existed because 80% of the level was created so I couldn't drop a check point at all. It's pretty frustrating to have that purple glow around you indicating you could place down a check point and take a breather, only to notice that there is NO where to drop it down.

Jumping is a big problem. Under normal circumstance the jump and double jump work fine but when you attempt to double jump off a wall, if you do it wrong, the double jump fails. As far as I can tell its a timing issue, you need to cling to the wall for the right period of time to be able to jump off it an then perform a second jump. It's only a fraction of a second difference between getting your double jump and not. Normally this isn’t a big deal but it you're getting into a groove, or you NEED to go fast to get past a part this becomes a huge problem. It turns some parts of the game into an annoying game of timing the wall jumps juuuuuuuust right so you're still moving quickly, but cling to the wall long enough to perform the second jump you need.

Combat can be fun at times; kicking an enemy into a saw blade is immensely satisfying. However this part of the game also is greatly flawed. the developers like to throw lots of flying enemies at you while you're performing difficult jumps. Which make sense in a game with combat, only they don’t give you any way to dispatch these enemies, forcing you to try and complete already difficult platforming while also dodign enemy attacks. Usually I had to get part way through a tricky jump situation, then double back so I could dispatch the flying enemy who followed me. It made difficult jumps tedious and frustrating. As for normal combat, everything gets the kick. Really, there isn't much more complexity to the game than that. Kick an enemy into a trap or kick them into the air and air juggle them. That's as complex as the game gets. Even when fighting multiple enemies just kick them all into a corner, kick them all into the air, and air juggle them all. At first combat was fun but after a while the lack of variety became really boring. Most of the time if I didn’t need a check point I avoided combat because despite how easy it can be sometimes to dispatch enemies, other times its really hard because of the broken controls.

The game has no invisibility frames so its not only possible you can get killed in a few seconds by one enemy who got in a bunch of hits or a trap you bumped into, its a guarantee its going to happen. And the knock back from taking damage is ridiculous. Its not so bad for enemies, but for traps it makes no sense and is extremely frustrating. If you land on spikes you jump up and way from them by about 3 pixels, meaning you will die on those spikes because the odds of being able to jump away are slim. Its pretty pathetic dying on a single set of spikes because being damaged by them doesn throw you far enough away from them to actually do anything about it. Saw blades are the total opposite, one of those babies touches you you go FLYING! and its pretty much a guarantee that if the blade doesn’t kill you, where ever it sends you will.

The game is challenging, yes, but because of bad design. The entire game is just a test of how perfect you are able to play the game, because yes, you HAVE to be perfect in what you do for many parts of the game. No room for error, or creativity. You have to do it exactly as the developer intended. It makes for a frustrating and boring experience. I’m glad I got it on sale and didn't waste more money on it.

To be clear, I enjoy this game. BUT. I would not recomend to most gamers.
I've played a lot of hard games, and enjoyed them, This game included.

However many of those games offered the difficulty as an option, for ranks, collectable and the like. There were usually various strats to meeting these conditions. Hidden routes, different usable mechanics, etc.

I've gotten about halfway though This game as of this review, and the levels are set up in such a way that there is little freedom as to how you play the game, The game offers you a ton of moves, but demands that you use them to traverse in such a specific way, to the point that I feel I'm no longer in control as a player. As if I'm trying to win at simon says, and the colors are encypted. This gets frustrating fast, demanding lots of dedication, just to make any progression.

Again, I'm not saying the game is bad, But I just simply cannot recomend it to the average gamer.
Its gets that frustrating.

Pros: clever level design, fancy fight moves, helpful checkpoint system, beautiful pixel art/animation, John-Carpenterish synthy disco music.

Cons: Finicky fight control and jump mechanic take some time getting used to; expect lots of misfired moves and missed double jumps until you nail it. Levels get tough real fast (being rectified by a rewrite as we speak.)

I usually don't care much for precision platformers, but TBP was a welcome exception. The main reason was, cruel as the game may be, it plays remarkably fair. The enemies and deadly traps communicate clearly to you with visual and aural cues, with anticipation time long enough for you to react. So when I died, I knew it was due to my poor judgement or execution, that I could do better next time. It reminded me of the first 2D Prince of Persia, in a good way.

Also, the dynamic checkpoint system comes in real handy - you can set one down anywhere (with reasonable limitation and cost,) which effectively split a level into shorter, manageable chunks that you can practice on. It's kept between game sessions as well, so you can always pick up just where you left off anytime. I certainly wouldn't have lasted without it.

And when all else fails, you can always unleash your trusty claws and vent your frustration on the nameless things that wander about in your way. Which also grants you more checkpoints then health refills, so it all adds up to a surprisingly encouraging play experience, despite all the bloodbath and body counts. Make no mistake; you *will* die often - and so will the enemies. It's all fair and square, and there's certain grim beauty to it.

I heartily recommend TBP to anyone with an intrepid mind who takes pleasure in the mesmerising recursion of experimentation, realization, and execution. Practice does make perfect!

Straightforward controls, straightforward physics, straightforward enemies.

The complexity of the game comes from the level design, and it's brilliant. Instead of making any one mechanic too complicated, they string together a series of simple and intuitive mechanics together to make something complex.

The difficulty on the first run is pretty stanard in the precision platformer genre. You die a lot as you get aquainted with the game, and the parts that seem hard are all because you're generally still improving. After you've done a section it gets significantly easier less because you've memorized the level and more because you've just gotten better at the game, although knowing a level layout doesn't hurt.

The game also handles replayability extremely well. You have two ways to play the game "better". Speed running and score running. Both require you to essentially give up on placing checkpoints, which help you survive in your initial runs. But how you approach a level in is vastly different depending on what you're going for.

Speed and score runs require memorization, but that's because figuring out what to do is half of it.

Speed runs are all about avoiding combat and getting through the levels quickly. Occasionally that means taking damage to rocket yourself across the screen, and actively avoiding the free point orbs.

Score runs, on the other hand, are all about forcing the AI to do what you want, then using the map to perform the most point intensive combos. The combos aren't obscure either, which is refreshing. Each attack has a clear job and is easy to perform, and the map is what decides the best combo.

My only gripe is that there's no map editor.

8.5/10

A great game that pushes your reaction and planning skills to the max. Great level design and non stop threats to keep you on your toes. A good grab for anyone looking for simple, yet complex,

The game is not a hack and slash platformer as one might assume by the theming and combat tutorial placed at the beginning of the game, which is a shame because combat is fun and well-designed. It's actually about 90% monotonously difficult precision platforming. Reviews claim that it is "easy to learn, hard to master," but this is not the case. There is no difficulty curve whatsoever- after the third stage the game rapidly increases challenge to rediculous levels, and requires far more patience and effort than can be balanced by the meagre early game exposition in the way of motivation.

Or, to put it simply, it offers too little and demands too much.

I quite lkike this game. It's fun, challenging and entertaining, however no cheeply so. If you make a mistake it eassily allows you to go back to your last checkpoint to start again, and everything I've come across within the game has been more than do-able, however tricky it may have been. Overall a very fun game.

This game was an experience on a level that exceeds Super Meat Boy by a few magnitudes. It was incredibly fun.

I also never want to play it again. This game is hard. Harder than SMB easily. It's difficult to the point where I got kind of stressed out and frustrated at about my 300th death. You'd think checkpoints placed wherever you want (mostly) and combat would make things easier. It doesn't. It makes things harder because with those two features the level designer has no reason to not be downright sadistic with you.

You have 3 hearts of health but given that the mercy invincibility is about 2ms long if you fall into a spike or hit a saw you're pretty much done for.

I know this sounds like I'm being critical but I'm really not. We all know what we sign up for when we get these insane platformer games. You get them for the feeling of accomplishment when you win, and oh boy does it provide it.

I made a video wherein I navel gaze about what constitutes a lovecraftian mythos and the nature of insanity here.

The ♥♥♥♥in' squids

Great platformer game with awesome graphics and soundrack. The gameplay is also great, but the combat can get repetive. The story telling is well made, level desing, well... could be better, but it offers secrets and different ways.
Also the final level is ridiculously hard.

Kinda like dark souls with more blood and less blocking.

I died 235 times trying to clear level 3-2!

235 TIMES!!!

Still a good (but mercilessly brutal will-make-you-shriek-at-your-screen) platformer.

This game is a lot like Dark Souls in that it will kick your butt 100 times over, but you'll always feel responsible for your mistakes. You'll never feel like the game is overly punishing you for your mishaps, and after each one it picks you up, dusts you off, and pushes you off the cliff once again.

It will totally screw up your blood pressure though--fair warning.

I haven't played much of this game, that's because I hate it.
My progress with this game is esentially a reminder of my own incompetence.
10/10 would play for another 80 minutes then devour ice cream while crying again.

Your fingers will bleed after playing this game.

Best Indie Platformer after Super Meat Boy!
Awesome 1 Button fighting skills
Awesome Music
10/10

Sidescrolling beat-em-up with a simple story and cool custom levels, a cute/gory/awesome gallery and generally cutesy eldritch style. Worth some pocket change.

This game is so good! 1.5 hours isn't much but I'm working in game maker and it takes most of my time away from playing games. If you like pixel art then this game is for you. It's hard but not too hard and it's satisfying when you make progress. When on sale, it's a must buy hands down.

I recommend this game, first and foremost, to people who want an unfair platforming challenge. You will die. A Lot. I'm not JUST saying that because I died a lot, but because the games platforming and level design is such that you won't always know what lies ahead. Some quick reflexes may save you in most situations, but it's likely that the game's architecture changes at that one critical moment to make you slide instead of stop, or have floating enemies chase after you through intense buzz saw blade platforming elements.

I had fun though. I tried to get all the pages, but around chapter 3 they start placing them in unkown sectors of the level and you'll have to send your little girl flying out into a bed of spikes to try and find where they placed it. Still, if you like that kind of platforming challenge, the control and execution in this game is really technical and can satisfy that urge to "get it perfect" and a lot of the levels, though they took me a half hour to get through, can be beaten in under 5 minutes.

So yes, I recommend this game, It's fun, well built, has that unfair platforming design, but some people like that. I did, until I just couldn't take it anymore.