Good handheld side-scrolling platformer titles are hard to come by nowadays. We miss the NES days when we could pop in and play games like Mega Man and Super Mario. Sure we have modern day iterations of those titles, but we all wish we could get a taste of what we used to play. Fractured Soul aims to give you that nostalgic feeling while adding in some unique platforming elements.
Fractured Soul, developed by Endgame Studios, is a side-scrolling action platformer available via Nintendo’s eShop on the 3DS. But does Fractured Soul offer enough content to warrant the $12 purchase? Here are the Hots and Nots of Fractured Soul for the Nintendo 3DS.
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Fun Platforming On Two Screens
The main attraction in Fractured Soul is the platforming gameplay that has you switching between the top and bottom screens in order to overcome obstacles found in the game’s 30 levels. The dual screen concept in something that we have seen before in games such as Chronos Twin and Divergent Shift. You will also be tasked with killing any robot that gets in your way as you progress through those levels. You can also collect secrets within the levels that will affect the overall rating you receive when you complete it. The game includes leaderboards for those competitive players out there who are set on showing the world that they are the best there is at this game.
Level Design Provides A Challenge
The levels in Fractured Soul are designed to gives players a light challenge…in the beginning. As you progress further throughout the game, the levels get increasingly harder to complete, and we will get into that more later. The first half of the levels give off a challenge that feels rewarding after you complete the them and give players a coll platforming experience that fully utilizes the screen switching mechanic in the game. The graphics in the game are decent for a $12 downloadable title and are good enough to keep you interested until the difficulty becomes too much.
Some of the levels have you fighting a boss character as well. These make clever use of the switching mechanic to provide for puzzle-like boss fights that are fun to play. There are also levels that have you switching between the two screens in order to prevent the character from burning alive. One screen will have a heat gauge that shows how long you can remain on that screen before you become a crisp. In order to survive you must utilize the switching mechanic to cool down and get through the level.
