Shmubedi Boo is an interesting game. It is a throwback retro style platformer that sees you pick one of 7 heroes to seek out and recover stolen apples, which sounds simple but sadly has some issues. For a platformer title like this game, there would be a need for absolute precision in order to pull off moves and accomplish goals. Sadly, the controls are floaty and cause the game to prove frustrating more than anything else. Everything starts to feel like an ice world and the looseness managed to throw me off numerous times.
Before I go any further, I do want to stress that the game is not all bad. The game uses minimalist story telling and a nice art style that definitely has a charm to it. The audio is also well handled and the levels are thought out well, its just that the controls are not the best fit for the game. This is a fast paced game with one hit kills, and the floatiness makes what should be a fun experience into a frustrating repeated loop of misery.
I do feel that if these controls could be fixed via a patch though, the game would have a lot more to it. There is a lot of potential here and the stages are designed in a way that you will understand what to do while still having a challenge, and without the control issues would be a much more fair experience. The game also has some interesting touches like a roulette wheel. that gives you the chance for extra lives in the form of 1, 10, 20 or nothing, and there are shops that let you find things to help. These include lives, extra health points and even more characters, while also acting as checkpoints.
The game knows what it wants to be and while Shmubedi Boo has issues, it is almost there. For a punishment platformer, all the basic concepts are right, and the game just needs a bit more polish on it. There is a lot to love here and I feel bad that it is held back by that control issue. The excellent visuals and audio help this stand out, and I do feel the game is not a lost cause. I would recommend it, if the developers would take some time and patch the issues to make things function better. If they did, the game would be a must play.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided