The platforming genre is one of the oldest around, so it’s no surprise to discover developers going to great lengths to implement innovative mechanics to keep things fresh. Just as a dash of garlic is enough to give a mid-week dinner a spicy kick, the 8-bit inspired platformer Garlic will also leave you tingling.
Our bulbous-headed hero is one of the nimblest of recent times, allowing for remarkable feats of precision platforming. They’re able to dash through the air in eight different directions, use said dash to slam into enemies, and also treat flying foes as impromptu platforms. Together with the ability to slide down walls – vital for line-up daring air dashes – and temporarily cling to horizontal surfaces, Garlic demands your attention constantly, with little leeway for miscalculated jumps.
The level design also has been created with the intention of keeping players on their toes, featuring bite-sized stages that scroll in all different directions, with hazards both precariously and shrewdly placed. Then to induce even further variety, a handful of comical bonus-stage style levels feature, including a scrolling shoot’em up and an isometric strip of hazards to avoid. There’s a tricky chase sequence too, which sees the sense of urgency increase tenfold.
Garlic falls into the ‘hard but fair’ camp of precision platformers. This is where the mastery lies – it never throws you into the thick of it, gradually introducing new challenges along the way. This means when the difficulty dial is eventually cranked to its fullest, you’ll always have a good grasp on what kind of acrobatic feats must be performed to progress.
It isn’t punishingly difficult either. Checkpoints are usually a minute or two apart, most hazards have a pre-warning – an exclamation mark, usually – and it’s possible to recover from minor damage. This feature, again, showcases great genre mastery. There will be lots of instances where it feels like death is unavoidable, only for Garlic to recover and keep going. This calls for a touch of skill as if the dash gauge is drained, you’ll only have basic movement – and a few seconds – to land safely before hoping nothing nasty happens while the gauge recharges.
Even during the handful of challenging boss battles present, set against super-sized gormless-looking characters, you may be able to catch a second wind and emerge victorious. Some boss battles require ‘out of the box thinking’ to defeat in addition to rote memorisation of attack patterns, and battles can also commence when you least expect it, not necessarily appearing at the end of a zone.
All of this is wrapped up in a package that’s surprisingly humorous. There’s a story to give a sense of purpose, with the caped crusader trying to conquer a tower to win the heart of a Goddess. Her debut comes around an hour in, introducing a love meter – a running joke for the rest of the experience, tied into some of the mini-games. Cut-scenes feature comical meme-like facial animations, resulting in some genuinely amusing sequences. The pixel art too is pleasing, with each location having its own distinct colour scheme and sly nods to retro games of yore.
I’d also say that Garlic is a little deceiving, albeit in a positive way. Every achievement (and Trophy, presumably) can be unlocked in around an hour, but the runtime far exceeds this. Depending on your platforming mettle, you could be looking at a good ten hours to see the ending. So, while the £14.99 asking price may seem steep at first, especially when compared to other Ratalaika Games releases, it’s also a lot longer lasting. It is, however, a little light on extras with only a Rush Mode to explore once the credits roll. Rest assured though that this is a flavourful journey that you’ll want to savour.
Published by Ratalaika Games and developed by SYLPH, Garlic is out now on consoles. It first launched on PC in 2021.