Sunblaze Switch Review – Superhero in Training

Sunblaze is yet another indie precision platformer that will challenge its players with its difficult one-screen stages as you take Josie, AKA Sunblaze, on a journey through a broken superhero training simulator. The title has a strong connection to other indies before it, like Celeste and N++, and that is a great thing.

But does Sunblaze stand on its own as a top tier indie platformer? There’s only one way to find out…

The story of Sunblaze is a really fun idea that works great with the gameplay. You play as Josie, AKA the soon-to-be superhero Sunblaze, and it is finally time for you to do some deep training with your dad in his state-of-the-art superhero training simulator. This caters to the one-screen stages of the gameplay, and in the early sections, it is a proper teaching time between a superhero father and his daughter. The banter between the two is dorky yet heart-warming, but this interaction does not last too long, as the simulator begins to malfunction with Josie inside of it.

The change in the father’s demeanor is excellent, as he begins the game with this almost too-aggressive approach to “dadding” and trying to sound cool. However, once he realizes his machine has put his daughter in danger, you can sense playtime is over and even Josie notices that.

Thanks to the simple yet extremely effective setting, the story casually takes place inside the simulator until the finish, and it is a wonderful little journey all the way through. Although some of the dad-jokes are a bit too much, the game does a great job giving our characters substance, and it is even better watching them grow and evolve.

In regards to gameplay, Sunblaze starts off rather tame. It does a great job of coaching you through the motions and controls and helping you to understand the ins and outs of the superhero training simulator. However, after Chapter 1, things escalate tremendously. Chapter 2 through Chapter 6 will test your abilities to the max, and I would strongly not recommend this game for casual players if it wasn’t for the following:

Sunblaze has an amazing accessibility menu that allows anyone to play the game. You can turn on Invincibility, have infinite dashes and jumps, and do other things that make the levels just a bit easier. You can even access this menu within any stage, so if there is a particular one that is beating you up but you want to progress, you can use this feature to get past that stage so you can move on and get back on track. Right from the menu, too, Sunblaze offers a Zen Mode, which is basically an easier and shorter version of the main game, and it is clearly targeted towards those who are more interested in the story than the gameplay.

Across the 6 chapters, new hazards are introduced, which make the stages that much more difficult. Even more than the hazards, though, is the challenge of collecting all the Datacubes in a chapter to unlock some extra hard levels. These Datacubes make a challenging chapter even moreso, but they are optional and clearly targeted towards the masochistic platforming fans.

I would compare the gameplay to both Celeste and N++, as it shares the jumping and dashing mechanics of Celeste but also has the crazy hazards and challenges within a single screen like N++, especially the rapid resetting after a death. This is not to say that Sunblaze is the same as these titles, but clearly expresses some inspiration from other indie platformers before it.

As Josie works her way through the simulation, she learns that she can actually double-jump and dash as these are her abilities. She even picks up on some other fun mechanics like bouncing off certain objects to regain a jump/dash and even hopping on robotic enemies a la Super Mario.

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But one thing to note is the final boss, which is insanely hard. It is an excellent way to close out the game, but it is the final crescendo in a steady climb towards brutally high difficulty. However, thanks to the accessibility menu, this is made possible for just about anyone, so do not stress too much if you think some of the latter portions of the game will ruin the experience for you. You can still enjoy the ride while not being forced to pull your hair out.

Sunblaze is a wonderful precision platformer with adorable pixel art and a fun soundtrack to boot. There is a lot to like here, and collecting Datacubes and the addition of the Lost Levels after completing the game adds even more content for those looking for that extra challenge. There are even some puzzles at the end of the Lost Levels that are absolutely stellar and should have been part of the main game, but I am just glad they are included in the package.

There is a lot more value and gameplay here for those who enjoy a tough-as-nails platformer, but I still believe that casual gamers can find ways to enjoy this fun story and its unique gameplay mechanics without needing to invest a ton of time or become an elite gamer.

Josie is a fun protagonist, and her personality shines both in the story and in the gameplay. This may not be everyone’s cup ‘o tea, but the developers did a wonderful job trying to make this as inclusive and accessible as possible. I highly recommend Sunblaze, but if you are on the fence, it would be villainous to ignore this one when it’s on a sale.

Sunblaze Review provided by Nintendo Link
Publisher: Bonus Stage Publishing
Developer: Games From Earth
Release Date: June 3, 2021
Price: $14.99, £13.49, €14,99
Game Size: 414 MB