This cute little game popped onto my radar, and I couldn’t resist the chance to play it. I’d heard it was an easy 1,000 Gamerscore, and I do enjoy racking up the achievements on my Xbox. I figured I may as well do a review, because so many ‘quick and easy achievements’ games are a nightmare. Some of them are so poorly developed and awkward to play that it’s barely worth it, so I wanted to see how this title fared in that respect by doing a Sunbeam Feast review.
Before we dive into the full review, I will say that it definitely does what it says on the tin. This is not some deep, immersive game full of thrills, nor is it claiming to be. As far as I could tell, it doesn’t even have a trailer. In case you’re wondering the genre, it’s a simplistic 2D platformer. Also, this review will be shorter than usual since the game itself has very little content. There’s also no real story to speak of, so I’ve got nothing to add on that front. You play as a cute little splodge that looks kinda like a bunny rabbit crossed with an Among Us character, and you collect glowing orbs to open a portal on each level. Right, let’s get into it!
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Gameplay
There are 3 ways to move as your little character: walking left and right, jumping, or using your jet-pack. Honestly, the jump mechanic is probably only there to fulfil a genre expectation, because I barely used it. What would be the point, when you jump so low? It was a really harsh cap for the jump. Not only was it barely enough to clear even your own tiny height, but it wasn’t a smooth animation. It felt almost like you were hitting a physical ceiling, rather than just reaching your peak and then being affected by gravity. The jumps were so weak that they were useless for over 90% of the platforms.
That was fine, though, as Sunbeam Feast is really all about the jet-pack. You get a limited amount of power, which quickly replenishes once you’re back on solid ground. It allows you to soar through the air relatively smoothly, although the movement controls could probably do with being a bit neater. They weren’t prohibitively bad, though, so it doesn’t lose too many points for the slightly jerky in-air controls. The amount of power was well-balanced, allowing you to get to the platforms you need to whilst still making the timing somewhat of a challenge.
Features and Obstacles
The level designs filled exactly one screen each, so you could see the full level no matter where you were standing. I actually rather liked this aspect, it reminded me of the platformers I’d secretly play during IT lessons at school. It also allowed you to plan your route. Most of the time it was pretty self-explanatory where to go, but sometimes you had a few different choices for the order.
Every few levels, a new feature or obstacle would be introduced. And then often, after a few more levels, they’d just go away again! Hitting an obstacle or falling through the bottom of the map would reset you at the start of that level. The features were:
- Spikes. Very easy to avoid, just jump over them, or use your jetpack. They were easy to see, and placed in fairly convenient places for the most part. They rarely posed any real challenge.
- Bouncy Trees. Or bushes, I’m not entirely sure what they were meant to be. Either way, you’d jump on them, and they’d repeatedly bounce you into the air until you moved away. A fun little addition to make the game feel varied.
- Spiky Stars. By far the toughest obstacle, these were super annoying to avoid. They’d float through the air in a loop, wrapping around to the other end of the screen. Their height above the platform would vary, and it was hard to tell whether they’d hit you or not, until it was too late.
- Falling platforms. These were platforms that would fall down dramatically almost immediately after you landed on them. Probably would’ve posed more of a challenge if you were limited to jumping, but with the jet-pack, these weren’t a problem.
Audio and Visuals
One thing about me is that I appreciate when developers know their limits. I despise when indie studios choose an art style that they have neither the skill nor the budget to do justice to. As such, I’m perfectly fine with simplistic artwork, and that’s exactly what Sunbeam Feast brought. Sure, it’s not gonna win any awards, but it was perfectly pleasant to look at whilst playing through each level.
It was clear what every item was supposed to be, there were distinct colour differences, and the overall scenes were cute and vibrant. Nothing overly memorable, but I’m not gonna knock it either. I actually found the character itself to be rather cute, and I applaud the design. It’s so simple, but so effective.
The music and sound effects worked really well, too. They sounded a bit like stock music, and I don’t know whether it was something the developer made/ commissioned for the game, or whether it was royalty free music they bought to use, but either way, it was well-curated. There was a satisfying chime when you collected the orbs, and I liked the pitter-patter of your feet when you moved. The background music was upbeat without being annoying. Honestly, no complaints whatsoever with the appearance or sound of the game.
Miscellaneous Thoughts
Given the short length of this review, I’m just gonna bundle some of my random thoughts into this one section. I couldn’t think of where else in this Sunbeam Feast review they would fit. Enjoy!
- This game is super short. I didn’t think to track myself, and sadly the Xbox’s stat tracker didn’t work, so I don’t know my exact time. However, it was definitely under 30 minutes, my best guess would be around 25 minutes to finish it. Honestly, most of that time was waiting for notifications to disappear from the bottom of the screen so I could see where I was going. Between the screenshots I was taking for this review, and the constant stream of achievements, there was always something!
- Incredibly easy Gamerscore. There are 35 levels in Sunbeam Feast, and you receive an achievement for every single one. This makes the game excellent for getting a very quick 1,000 Gamerscore, but also for racking up quantity, for those of you who count the number of achievements you’ve gained.
- Weirdly difficult middle section. In pretty much every platformer game ever, the levels will start easy, and then become more difficult over time. Not here. Instead, the levels in the middle are by far the most difficult. This is when the spiky stars get introduced, and the level design is genuinely a real challenge. Then, we move straight on to something else, and once again, the game is easy-peasy.
Verdict
Deciding what score to give for my Sunbeam Feast review was tough. I obviously can’t score it too highly since it’s short, really simple, and not all that interesting. But at the same time, it would be harsh to score it too low as it’s not pretending to be anything other than it is. It doesn’t set itself lofty goals and fall short. It sets itself really mediocre goals and hits pretty much all of them.
Would I recommend this game as a game? No. There are so many better games you could be playing. Would I recommend this game as an easy achievement game? Yes, absolutely. It’s super quick, and way more enjoyable than a lot of similar titles. So ultimately, it depends on what you’re looking for.
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Sunbeam Feast
£4.19
Pros
- Quick and easy 1,000 Gamerscore
- Cute and colourful graphics
- Movement is self-explanatory
Cons
- Incredibly basic gameplay
- No story or connection to the characters
- Jumping feels a bit unnatural
