REVIEW

Skylar & Plux: Adventure On Clover Island Review

by Rob Pritchard, June 5th, 2017

Within the modern game industry, many genres have had a moment in the spotlight, and then faded away once the next big thing has arrived. This happened in the 90s to the 3D platformer, with titles such as Spyro the Dragon, Crash Bandicoot and Banjo-Kazooie giving us fond memories of the times we spent collecting musical notes, Wumpa Fruits and miscellaneous treasure. The genre is now receiving a revival, courtesy of smaller productions and funded projects such as A Hat in Time, Funk Unplugged and Lobodestroyo. Skylar & Plux: Adventures on Clover Island is the latest in this line of new retro themed 3D platformers, and despite some minor faults, it is a highly enjoyable adventure that inspires confidence in titles produced without a triple-A budget.

Like many 3D platformers, Skylar & Plux has a loose plot that ties the game’s events together. After having her memories erased and then converted into a half feline half android hybrid by the villainous CRT, Skylar manages to escape from his space station to a nearby planet. When she lands, Skyler learns that CRT has stolen the three fuses that keep the planet alive. Determined to get back her memories and defeat the evil overlord, Skyler teams up with a cocky young owl named Plux to find the essential items and restore the planet to its original state. While it definitely won’t win any awards for originality, the storyline is filled with heart-warming moments, and amusing anecdotes from CRT and Plux whenever the need arises, such as a crude paraphrase of Charlton Heston’s famous Statue of Liberty scene from Planet of the Apes.

The gameplay of Skyler and Plux shares its roots with the 90s platformers, but it is actually closer in style to the Jak and Daxter franchise which began back in 2002. Each of the three fuses is hidden in a certain area of the planet, which consists of a snow topped mountain with a forest-like base, a desert-like world with volcanic pools and a technological base which has been created by CRT. The three areas feel expansive and full of life, and the vast amount of secret areas on offer will keep you coming back after the credits roll. Skylar’s move set is very similar to Jak’s, with the double jump, rolling leaps and spinning punches evoking a welcome sense of nostalgia.

Each of the three worlds also offers their own unique gadget, such as a rocket pack and the time manipulation device. Whilst these gadgets are mainly used to solve puzzles, they refresh the gameplay style at just the right time, keeping the player motivated to proceed. Aside from the start to goal platforming, there is a Rayman styled side quest where you must rescue the residents of the island from cages. Aside from being a fun distraction, finding them will enable you to increase your maximum amount of health, which will be particularly useful when facing against the larger enemies you will encounter in the later areas of the game. While the levels feel well designed, the whole experience does feel slightly short, coming in at just under an hour and a half from title screen to the end credits. This would seem unreasonable for a triple AAA release, but for a ten pound indie title, the amount of content on offer feels just about right for the price of admission.

Skyler & Plux is the latest in a long line of indie games to use Unreal Engine 4, and from a graphical perspective, this was definitely a wise choice to make. Both the character models and the environments are vibrant and colourful, with little anti-aliasing artefacts present from beginning to end. There were a few occasions where the frame rate dropped considerably, but it never becomes a consistent issue to break your immersion. The only major drop happens during the second world, when you are confronted by twenty minions at the same time. The music of Skylar and Plux is soft orchestration mixed in with some higher energy tracks, and for the most part these tracks blend well against the backdrops they are placed against. One of the definite highlights of the experience is definitely the voice acting, with the genre savvy CRT playing off perfectly against the optimistic observations of Plux, whilst Skylar decides to remains mute for reasons unknown.

Overall, Skylar & Plux: Adventure on Clover Island is a short enjoyable romp that is definitely worth the time you will invest in it. Its colourful graphics, charming voice acting and tried and tested platforming game play will keep you entertained throughout, proving that smaller indie projects can succeed, even against the AAA blockbusters which seek to steal their spotlight.

With it's colourful graphics and tried and tested gameplay, Skylar & Plux is an entertaining platformer that presses all the right buttons for the short time that you spend with it.