Annalynn has got to be one of my favorite games to come out this decade; possibly ever. However, when I last reviewed this game on my friend’s Discord server, I feel like I didn’t really do the game justice. I mean, I barely even described what I liked about the game. So, on a whim, I decided to reinstall Annalynn on my Switch, not only so that I could finally 1CC the game, but also to give myself a chance to re-review the game.
Annalynn is a game that’s meant to pay homage to 80s 8-bit arcade games, and as someone who’s a huge fan of games like Pac-Man, Dig-Dug, and Galaga, I can confirm that Annalynn nails these games’ style perfectly, both in terms of art-style and gameplay. But even without being inspired by Namco games, Annalynn’s level design is still incredibly well designed. The game starts out simple enough, with you just needing to collect all of the coins in each level while avoiding the snakes that try to attack you, but as the game goes on it starts adding setpieces to the levels that really help them stand out and are used incredibly well. And while the game is really difficult (ESPECIALLY if you’re going for a 1CC), it’s also fair. If you die at any point, it’s still your own fault, and the game heavily incentivizes you to learn how to better route its levels and use the stage gimmicks, which makes 1CC-ing the game SO damn satisfying once you finally pull it off.
Annalynn is overall a really fun game that does challenge insanely well, but it’s also got a ton of love poured into it. The references to other arcade games made at the time like the ropes from Donkey Kong Jr. show that the dev team had a lot of appreciation for these kinds of games. There’s also a lot of really cool little details to the gameplay that you wouldn’t notice unless you really think about it. Like, Annalynn allows you the ability to perfect all of the levels by hitting all of the snakes, getting the bonus, and not dying, which grants you 10,000 extra points and is a great incentive for replayability. Well, if you Perfect the first round, you’re guaranteed an Extra life, and by perfecting the first 3 rounds, you’re guaranteed another. Like, it’s not mind-blowing, but things like these are really neat and show that a ton of thought and care went into this game.
Speaking of replayability, for a $5 game, there’s a really surprising amount of content. For beating the game, you get a random mode which puts all the levels in random order and gives you access to power-ups and minecart levels. You also get a set amount of achievements to clear, even in the Switch version, and these are also satisfying to go after. There are also palette swaps to give Annalynn as well, earned in a similar way to beating the achievements. The point is, there’s a lot of incentive to come back to this game if the fantastic gameplay already isn’t enough. And for only $5? I gotta say that’s a great deal.
In case you couldn’t tell, I absolutely adore nearly everything about Annalynn. In fact, I think it’s a 10/10 game. Yes, I’m serious. Now, it’s not PERFECT, I mean, no game is. But any reason I’d have to criticize the game would be so minor that it’s really not even worth going over in the grand scheme of things. At that point, I’d just be doing a ton of nitpicking. And for what Annalynn’s trying to go for, being a simple, fun, challenging yet rewarding platformer harking back to 80s arcade games, I think it does so with flying colors. I don’t think Annalynn’s a 10/10 game because it’s the pinnacle of gaming. I think Annalynn’s a 10/10 because if you love Namco-style arcade games, or even platformers in general, I legitimately think you’re missing out if you decide not to play this. So overall, I couldn’t recommend Annalynn enough. Definitely check it out, even if only for a little bit.
Annalynn is a game that’s meant to pay homage to 80s 8-bit arcade games, and as someone who’s a huge fan of games like Pac-Man, Dig-Dug, and Galaga, I can confirm that Annalynn nails these games’ style perfectly, both in terms of art-style and gameplay. But even without being inspired by Namco games, Annalynn’s level design is still incredibly well designed. The game starts out simple enough, with you just needing to collect all of the coins in each level while avoiding the snakes that try to attack you, but as the game goes on it starts adding setpieces to the levels that really help them stand out and are used incredibly well. And while the game is really difficult (ESPECIALLY if you’re going for a 1CC), it’s also fair. If you die at any point, it’s still your own fault, and the game heavily incentivizes you to learn how to better route its levels and use the stage gimmicks, which makes 1CC-ing the game SO damn satisfying once you finally pull it off.
Annalynn is overall a really fun game that does challenge insanely well, but it’s also got a ton of love poured into it. The references to other arcade games made at the time like the ropes from Donkey Kong Jr. show that the dev team had a lot of appreciation for these kinds of games. There’s also a lot of really cool little details to the gameplay that you wouldn’t notice unless you really think about it. Like, Annalynn allows you the ability to perfect all of the levels by hitting all of the snakes, getting the bonus, and not dying, which grants you 10,000 extra points and is a great incentive for replayability. Well, if you Perfect the first round, you’re guaranteed an Extra life, and by perfecting the first 3 rounds, you’re guaranteed another. Like, it’s not mind-blowing, but things like these are really neat and show that a ton of thought and care went into this game.
Speaking of replayability, for a $5 game, there’s a really surprising amount of content. For beating the game, you get a random mode which puts all the levels in random order and gives you access to power-ups and minecart levels. You also get a set amount of achievements to clear, even in the Switch version, and these are also satisfying to go after. There are also palette swaps to give Annalynn as well, earned in a similar way to beating the achievements. The point is, there’s a lot of incentive to come back to this game if the fantastic gameplay already isn’t enough. And for only $5? I gotta say that’s a great deal.
In case you couldn’t tell, I absolutely adore nearly everything about Annalynn. In fact, I think it’s a 10/10 game. Yes, I’m serious. Now, it’s not PERFECT, I mean, no game is. But any reason I’d have to criticize the game would be so minor that it’s really not even worth going over in the grand scheme of things. At that point, I’d just be doing a ton of nitpicking. And for what Annalynn’s trying to go for, being a simple, fun, challenging yet rewarding platformer harking back to 80s arcade games, I think it does so with flying colors. I don’t think Annalynn’s a 10/10 game because it’s the pinnacle of gaming. I think Annalynn’s a 10/10 because if you love Namco-style arcade games, or even platformers in general, I legitimately think you’re missing out if you decide not to play this. So overall, I couldn’t recommend Annalynn enough. Definitely check it out, even if only for a little bit.