2D has made a remarkable comeback in recent years. Games like Rayman Legends and Oddworld: New n Tasty are not only stellar titles but have successfully catapulted their respective series back into the limelight. They took the original formula and innovated it It’s truly heartwarming to see icons of a bygone age gifted with the prettiest graphics money can buy, but one such mascot is still withering away in MegaDrive land.

Let’s face it guys, we all want a new Earthworm Jim game.

Even if you don’t know who Earthworm Jim is (If so, shame on you), his legacy in gaming is still going strong, despite that awful transition into 3D. He’s a cult favourite but Jim has yet to resurface. However his creator Doug TenNapel has returned to the gaming world following a very successful crowd-funding campaign. Teaming up with animation company Pencil Test Studios, he has created a spiritual successor to his lesser celebrated games; Neverhood and Skullmonkeys. I haven’t played either of them, but after getting my hands on the beta for Armikrog, I’ll be rectifying that pretty soon. TenNapel’s work shows a knack for surrealism, utilising various forms of animation to create unique aesthetics. In the spirit of his previous work, Armikrog puts players in control of space explorer Tommynaut and his canine sidekick Beak-Beak who crash land on strange planet full of hostile creatures; and that is as far as my understanding of the plot goes.

It’s your traditional point-and-click adventure game full of tricky puzzles that require lateral thinking. The interface is simple; you move from screen-to-screen clicking where you want to go and what to interact with.  You’ll also spend your time picking up items and interacting with other characters; it’s fairly standard for the genre. You can also switch between Tommy and Beak-Beak at will, Tommy is the more able of the two, being bipedal and all, so most of the puzzle solving is handled by him. Beak-Beak however can use his small stature to access areas that Tommy can’t. He is a dog after all, so we also get to see the world through his eyes, which is necessary for finding clues to solve puzzles. When Beak-Beak is separated from Tommy, all colour drains from the environments and is replaced with a mix of greyscale and negative that let’s you see things that Tommy can’t. It’s a neat little addition but quite jarring at first.

The gameplay overall is solid and true to form, but the real appeal however is the visuals. Using clay-mation and green screen, the majority of what you see on screen was hand-made, then photographed and scanned into the game. A labour of love if there ever was one, it shows great commitment to a vision on the creators part.  The plasticine models add a lot of character that I immediately warmed to and the mishmash of textiles found littering the many rooms adds to that whole hand-made vibe.  From what I gather it’s the creator’s trademark, TenNapel’s previous works used this same motif, but system limitations of the time never let it realise it’s full potential.  Thankfully we’re now at the point where these kinds of bold artistic choices are feasible and us players get to see them in full 1080p glory.

The creators are very much aware that audiences won’t be swayed on pretty graphics and puzzles alone. Accompanying the game is a surreal sense of humour and a series of hidden vignettes that offer brief insight into the game’s story. It’s these small details that really sell the world of Armikrog, from the smooth character animations to the real lighting effects. A lot of time and affection has gone into its creation an the money raised through Kickstarter has been utilised in the best possible way.

The money is mostly definitely on-screen with this one.

Now we have to remember that this is a Beta of the game, so there will be issues; and I’m sad to report that there are a few. The main offender is the lack of background music and diagetic sound. At first I thought this was an issue with my computer, but after some research it seems that’s just the way the Beta is. Whilst it’s forgivable in the grand scheme it doesn’t bode well during long sessions, even more so when you’re faced with a tricky puzzle. Despite the visuals being fantastic, they alone aren’t enough to fully immerse you in Armikrog’s world. The lack of sound is genuinely off-putting and with a game of this nature, you want to grab an audience immediately. It’s a barrier to entry that will obviously be amended in the full release, but here it is quite disappointing. 

On top of that there are a couple of control issues and the odd time in which Tommy will randomly get stuck and be unable to move. This wouldn’t be so bad, but you aren’t offered any checkpoints or save points, so I’ve found myself starting the game from scratch several times when I’ve become stuck. There’s also no indiction of where to go and what to do, so it can be all the more frustrating when you figure out where you need to go and the game bugs out.

There’s not really a great deal more to say about Armikrog, this small snippet that I’ve had the pleasure of playing has got me truly excited. It’s quirky and a little bit creepy in places; two factors that I automatically engage with in any medium so points for effort there. The puzzles can range from completely obvious to very opaque but with a steady incline of difficulty to get you warmed up. The approach to storytelling is amongst my favourites, forgoing lengthy cut-scenes in favour of player driven discovery. Our protagonists are also instantly likeable and their dynamics in gameplay compliment each other very well.

There’s still some time until the finished product is released, but the beta shows a lot of promise. I’m intrigued by the characters and I’m eager to learn more about the planet the game is set on. The beta may have its shortcomings, but again, I can’t be too harsh on something that isn’t finished yet. I can say with no reasonable doubt that Armikrog will be the darling of the cult scene on release, but it’s distinct visuals and commitment to humour may see it become a success if it gets enough of a push through Steam.

We have no official release date as of yet, but the game will be coming to Playstation 4, Wii-U and Steam in Quarter 3 of 2015. Just enough time for me to play through Skullmonkeys.