Adventures of Chris

 Switch
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No user score yet- Awaiting 1 more rating

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3

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  1. PositiveConcept
    Oct 24, 2020
    8
    Played on the Switch.

    Adventures of Chris is a fun romp through a Saturday morning cartoon landscape that captivates the imagination one's fondness for that bygone era of the 90s. This is in no way a bad thing. In fact, AoC doesn't heavily rely on pandering to nostalgia. Though I was personally reminded of my childhood during that time period (and in all the best ways), it didn't feel    Played on the Switch.

    Adventures of Chris is a fun romp through a Saturday morning cartoon landscape that captivates the imagination one's fondness for that bygone era of the 90s. This is in no way a bad thing. In fact, AoC doesn't heavily rely on pandering to nostalgia. Though I was personally reminded of my childhood during that time period (and in all the best ways), it didn't feel deceptive.

    When you boot up Adventures of Chris, you get a bit of backstory about where Chis comes from and what his lifestyle is like. He's just a nice kid that loves playing Super Nintendo! (I can relate.) Although the pacing takes a bit longer than needed to get to proper gameplay, once you get over that initial bump, the gameplay is riveting and the 2D hand drawn art style enticing.

    And that's what drew me to AoC--it's unique gameplay and art style. Reminiscent of those classic platformers of that bygone 90s era, there is an interesting mechanic where you can inflate and deflate like a balloon to get around and is your main means to explore the various levels. There is a nice sens of progression as you learn new abilities. However, the magic feels under-utilized and a major missed opportunity to interact with the environment in the levels. But the controls are responsive and you FEEL like a balloon, you know what I mean? (That was a joke.) But seriously, I didn't have any issues with the controls or gameplay and most deaths felt like the fault of my own. You also, at least in Story Mode, get to retry fairly quickly in each room a la Celeste or Super Meat Boy when you die or pop, so that's helpful to keep me engaged.

    Speaking of levels, you travel across the globe from the United States to Siberia to Japan, each region aesthetically designed appropriately to match our various real world cultures. The bosses also match the aesthetics in design, and it's really cool! As for aestheics, I can't think of too many indie games that go for the hand drawn art style (Hollow Knight and Cuphead come to mind) and I personally love it. While AoC isn't quite as strong on the art as something like Hollow Knight (frankly, some of the character and enemy animations could use more details and look less flat), I still adored the Saturday morning cartoon memories that came flooding back to me. But without nostalgia, does it hold its own? Yes, the animation is all very smooth and colorful. Just a bit of touching up could have made it stronger, but I know how these things go in small indie game projects.

    The music is FANTASTIC! Aside from the core mechanic of inflating/deflating and unique art, the soundtrack is perhaps my favorite part about Adventures of Chris. Some moments even reminded me of Final Fantasy Tactics' soundtrack and that is no easy feat to achieve. Regarding the story, I enjoyed it fine once the slow pacing eased up early on. It isn't the best storytelling or writing I've seen in a video game (the villain could be more clever and menacing, for example), but it still does its job well enough to keep me engaged. The humorous moments got plenty of laughs and chuckles from me, but I'm also a person who hasn't lost that sense of childlike wonder.

    And that's the thing that's great about AoC: Childlike wonder. As an adult, I got that sense of childhood imagination running wild coming on full force with my playthrough. The game isn't too hard on Story Mode and it doesn't waste your time. For an actual child, I think they would probably feel the same joy and wonder if not more so. (Children always need exposure to magical 2D platformers as far as I'm concerned.)

    My final thoughts: Both a child and an adult can be taken away to a land of pure happiness and joy with this magical 2D platformer. Adventures of Chris is a solid indie game and one I'm proud to have in my collection.

    8/10    … Expand
  2. callito
    Nov 2, 2020
    8
    I'm playing this on Switch, having a lot of fun! It's like those old platformers from the 16-Bit consoles, only with beautifully made "hand-drawn" graphics like out of a cartoon. Even though I was a Sega kid back in the day and Chris seems to prefer Nintendo, I forgive him, as his game is too much fun :D

    You can inflate like a balloon to float around and that plays really nicely. Can't    I'm playing this on Switch, having a lot of fun! It's like those old platformers from the 16-Bit consoles, only with beautifully made "hand-drawn" graphics like out of a cartoon. Even though I was a Sega kid back in the day and Chris seems to prefer Nintendo, I forgive him, as his game is too much fun :D

    You can inflate like a balloon to float around and that plays really nicely. Can't wait to see where the game will go next! Oh, and the music is really good, too!

    XOXO    … Expand
  3. CasualTap
    Oct 16, 2021
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Story

    You play as an overweight boy named Chris, who didn’t believe in himself. One day on his way home, he was pulled into a portal and turned by a vampire into a human balloon to decorate his birthday party. Somehow the boy managed to escape and he wanted to save some other kids that were also captured and turned into human toys. However, those kids had been given as a gift to other monsters from different places. As the main protagonist, you have to literally travel the world to save them.

    Mechanics/gameplay

    Imagine you were a human balloon. Yes, that’s how you would play the game. You could bounce on a surface and stay afloat in the air and be destroyed easily by sharp objects like spikes. The game also has some Metroidvania elements as you need to acquire some skills to reach a certain area.

    The game is area-based, meaning that you can visit any country (campaign) first. Although action platforming is the core gameplay, you are not limited to just jumping and floating. There’re more skills/abilities to learn too! Sometimes you do quests, while some other times you kind of explore an area. For some boss fights, you have to learn about their patterns, but for some other bosses, it’s more like a puzzle solving. I think there is a good variety to the game. However, also bear in mind that the game is very challenging. And you would die a lot.

    The dialogues are also interesting, and I almost never skipped any.

    Graphics/music

    The art style might look generic or just okay. But the effects (like attack/skills effects) are gorgeous!

    The music is not most memorable. However, it can be entertaining enough and serve its purpose very well.

    Conclusion

    The Adventures of Chris is not a typical action platformer! It is also challenging but in a good way, which gives me a sense of “im getting it. Just one more try!” The game has a good variety and very entertaining. It really kept me engaged. Surprisingly, I consider the gameplay to be as enjoyable as most AAA titles I’ve played this year.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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No score yet - based on 3 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 3
  3. Negative: 2 out of 3
  1. Pure Nintendo
    Nov 18, 2020
    40
    Adventures of Chris is a platformer with smooth controls but unforgiving gameplay that will leave you more frustrated than having fun.
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  2. NintendoWorldReport
    Nov 16, 2020
    70
    Adventures of Chris is not a pretty game to look at. Initially, it is slow, somewhat uninvolving, and ostensibly simplistic. However, for players who persevere beyond those opening levels, there are some genuinely clever and fun platforming elements to be discovered, adapting and evolving the 16 bit template. It’s just a shame that the first part of the game is so slavish to the formula. There’s fun to be had here, just at the expense of the legacy it evokes.
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  3. Screen Rant
    Oct 8, 2020
    40
    The Adventures of Chris is a fun little game for a short time. Its gameplay can be entertaining and its weird setting, characters, and enemies are a wild ride. Unfortunately, the game does little to set itself apart from other platformers of this style and can be a bit of a drag after long story segments. The Adventures of Chris would likely be a fun distraction for children, but won't appeal to anyone else for longer than an hour or two at most.
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