Once upon a time, Chili Pepper Knight set out to defeat the Death Bunny and get Princess Tomato.  In this game, you start out at the final boss, defeat it, and rescue the princess.  But once the credits roll, they stop and go backwards, and you have to play the whole game in reverse!  While this is yet another continuously running platformer, Spoiler Alert is one of the most original games in the genre ever.  And one of the few that actually held my interest all the way through.  In this game, you’ll run backwards right to left, un-defeating every enemy and un-collecting every coin you come across in order to avoid time paradoxes.  It’s available on iOS devices and Steam, but reviewed on iPad here.

In the game, you constantly run backward, so all you have to do is tap on the screen to jump.  You’ll have to avoid spikes and enemies, but you’ll also need to stomp on squished enemies you’ve already defeated, and collect faded out coins that you’ve already gotten, while avoiding coins and enemies you haven’t stomped or collected.  If you mess up, you’ll cause a Time Paradox and have to start the level over again.  Luckily, you get unlimited tries, and levels are only two to three screens long, so it never gets frustrating. You get a ranking based on how many times in the level you had to start over.  Sometimes, you may have to hit an obstacle to get a power-up that you lost.  For the next few levels after, you will have to catch fireballs or hammers that you threw, or roll under spikes and enemies, depending on what helmet you got.

There are three worlds with about 30 levels each, and you select them backwards, too.  There are even a few boss fights that you have to do in reverse as well.  The only problem I have with this game is that the power-up that lets you roll underneath obstacles affects the play control a little bit.  You tap and hold to use it, but it seems to want to activate when you want to jump, too.  Good thing you don’t have that power-up very long!  Some may find this game a bit short and easy, but I didn’t mind.  Once you finish the game, you unlock a more challenging bonus world and a speedrun mode that times how fast you get through all the levels!  And the surprise ending…er, I mean, beginning, is pretty funny, too!  This game actually reminds me of a backward shooter I reviewed a few years ago called Retro/Grade, which was actually a cleverly disguised music game.  It was better than this one, but both are still pretty fun and creative.  And Spoiler Alert is only 99 cents at the App Store, so it’s definitely a fun cheap diversion that’s worth the price!

Kid Factor:

Violence is only cartoony, as you’ll see squished and charred enemies to un-defeat.  So really you’re making them better again!  Reading skill is helpful for the text, but there are also picture cues and the game is pretty easy to figure out thanks to the one-touch controls.  Younger gamers may get a little frustrated and need a little help with some of the tougher levels, but luckily the levels are short and you get unlimited tries.

Tags: Game Reviews