Antonblast Review – Crash Blasticoot

After being largely forgotten as a solid, story-driven third-person shooter for most of the last decade, the recent resurgence of platformers from developers other than Nintendo has been nice to me, and to anyone with good taste.

Starting in 2020, we've brought you bangers like Psychonauts 2, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Crash 4, Pepper Grinder, Gunbrella, RKGK, Astro Bot, and a list of other greats that show how much running and jumping life has left. This potential is best encapsulated in 2023's Pizza Tower, which brilliantly brings back the Wario Land formula that Nintendo hasn't bothered with since 2008.

Pizza Tower was such a powerhouse of a platform that I thought we wouldn't see another game of its caliber for a while. I was such an idiot. Antonblast not only delivers the same frantic Wario Land-esque energy as Peppino's Picnic, but for my money surpasses it thanks to its incredibly satisfying core mechanics, expertly designed levels, and a surprising amount of inspiration from Crash Bandicoot.

dynamite ed ed and heady

Antonblast stars the wonderfully named Dynamite Anton (along with his companion Annie) and sees him go on a quest to rescue his collection of souls after a ganged-up version of Satan targets the anti-hero for his ruby-red skin. As is almost always the case with my favorite genres, the story is pure cartoonish chaos, mostly a reason to run around and collect things.

Even though the demon's motivations are only superficial, Antonblast still has tremendous character and charm. The loud, chaotic and direct atmosphere is basically like the video game Ed, Edd n Eddy. This energy is matched by a beautiful, bold pixel art style reminiscent of 90s cartoons, with a similarly jamming track. Antonblast is for the real meat, potatoes and sensations before you experience the explosion.

Blast is the perfect word to describe this expertly crafted and unique platform. Like Wario Land and Pizza Tower, each level begins with Anton traversing through different areas with unique themes and special effects before running back to the starting point when 'Happy Hour' is triggered and the timer starts. Balancing a game that plays well back and forth is a tall order, but Antonblast delivers thanks to Anton and what the best platformers do best: perfectly designed stages that allow you to carve a path forward at maximum speed.

Antonblast is a challenging game in itself (especially towards the end), but the lack of level rankings makes it less stressful than Pizza Tower.

Wario Land receives healthy help from Crash Bandicoot

The typical Wario Land adrenaline rush is more satisfying here than ever (even if Nintendo doesn't seem to think so). But what makes Antonblast shine is how satisfying Anton and Annie's core move sets are. Anton and Annie's movements revolve around using their giant hammer and flail to smash enemies and objects and make them bounce at high speeds.

Anton also takes a lot of cues from the all-time great Crash Bandicoot. There's visuals, music, sound effects, and even level special effects, and one pinball level will take you straight back to Wrath of Cortex. But the most important thing is the game's core movement mechanic: gripping. Pressing the attack button will send Anton charging forward, and can be further strengthened by pressing the button at the right time. This is the same reason why Crash Team Racing is clearly better than Mario Kart.

Mastering the clutch and using it to manipulate levels is never boring, and being able to move at top speed while being enjoyable and easy to operate gives Antonblast an edge over similar platform games. Antonblast's basic skillset of hammer flicks and forward thrusts is never boring, but it's made even better by how unique and memorable each of the 19 stages are.

The only stage in the entire game that I didn't like is the greenhouse, which has some of the most annoying piranha plant-like enemies I've ever encountered. they killed me
many
.

The unique levels are a blast even when they make you furious.

Each level has the same Wario Land-like layout, but with a bomb-focused mining level, an urban area with lots of grind rails (my favorite), and a sewer level with rideable sharks. Combine this with levels coming in and out of the foreground regularly and you'll never get bored. No matter how familiar you become with Anton's abilities, something new always unfolds before your eyes.

It all culminates in a multi-stage boss fight that will test both your skill and patience. These challenging battles are the highlight of the entire campaign. Even if several challenging sections in a row can sometimes veer a little too close to controller-destroying rage. The final battle in particular was so incredibly epic that I was glued to the screen despite it taking me almost an hour to finally clear it.

This level of frustration becomes very common towards the end of Antonblast. That's because you'll find some nasty difficulty spikes and intentionally obfuscated collectibles. As much as I enjoy a challenge in a platformer, hunting down some of the optional skins and music tracks can feel borderline cruel, preventing me from going 100% back to a game I might otherwise have stopped thinking about.

One good example is the spray paint can in the first level. These cans will make you realize that the little ramps in the corners turn into bowling balls that travel backwards through the level. God helps those who try to find everything without any help.

Even in the most difficult and frustrating moments, I couldn't help but admire how well all aspects of Antonblast came together. The surprising sense of humor, bright, bombastic style, and endlessly rewarding platforming mechanics make this one of the best platformers I've played in years, and I hope it's a strong start to a series I'd love to see continue in the future. As the name suggests, it's absolutely explosive.