Random Video Game Review - Horace

I love platformers. I think it's a great genre that has helped make many of the most beloved franchises as beloved as they are today. But some of us think that the genre is dying due to so many triple A titles taking a vastly different approach. I personally think they are still as strong as ever even though nowadays the most we get are Mario, Sonic and maybe some indie titles too. Which brings me to Horace. A platforming game full of nostalgia that pushes the genre to the limit and I got it from last month's Humble Bundle. So let's take a look:

So the story is about a robot who is given an English Butler voice and is dressed as a human being who navigates life thanks to the help of a wealthy old man and his family. But when the old man eventually passes away, Horace is in turn shut down. When he awakes, he finds the world he once knew is no longer and with no other purpose, chooses to do the job the old man set himself to do which is to clean up a million piles of rubbish. That and also find out what happened to the rest of his family. Although the start of the game is slow and largely a prologue with some gameplay, the rest of the game is quite literally picking up rubbish though a 2D platforming environment along with using some abilities like jumping, carrying and throwing things and walking on walls and ceilings. Where the nostalgia lies is with the pieces of music used which are largely well known classical pieces and 8-bit versions of theme songs such as the theme to the Halloween films. And yes there are bosses and other things too.

This is actually a pretty good platformer. Although the story does feel like the Robin Williams film Bicentennial Man in which a robot joins a family and navigates life, it's played out pretty well here. The platforming elements are done well (even though parts do feel like he is defying gravity) and yeah its a pretty good game worth playing. Particularly if you like nostalgia, retro feels and a decent story. 9/10