Slick

A game by Halcyon Softworks for PC and Xbox 360, originally released in 2012.

Slick is a game that you may not be able to complete, but the same can also be said for any number of 8-bit platformers that this game takes after. In both design and appearance, the game is modeled after a greyscale GameBoy title, except with much higher resolution, widescreen display, and no blur, similar to Ishisoft’s Treasure Treasure: Fortress Forage: Extra Edition.

The basic gameplay is simple, with only a directional stick and JUMP button at your disposal, but your mastery of these basic mechanics is constantly challenged across the game’s 100 levels. The difficulty curve is gradual, but its apex is high, requiring the firm application of old school skills, or at least the tenacity to stick with the game until you have acquired them.

Things start out very simply. World 1-1 is reminiscent of World 1-3 in Super Mario Bros., with floating blocks over bottomless pits, turtle-like enemies patrolling left and right, and (non-interactive) plateaus on sticks sitting in the background. The player is equipped with a higher than average 3x non-variable jump, and nothing else. No new skills are learned during the adventure, and most of what you need to know about the game occurs in the first few levels.

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 2012, Halcyon Softworks, PC, XBLIG, Xbox 360