Dare you enter?
BlackHole is certainly not for the faint of heart but if hardcore platformers like Super Meat Boy or titles like Braid are your bag then this simply needs to be in your collection. It combines a surprisingly compelling storyline with lovely visuals and tough but satisfying gameplay to great effect, making it one to linger in the memory. The game thrusts you into the lowly role of the guy who makes the coffee on a space ship which has unfortunately just crashed on an alien world, and your only company is the sarcastic AI. You'll need to use its help to fix the ship, rescue your crew mates and get home safely but this isn't going to be easy, as the world is full of dangerous environments just brimming with challenging puzzles to solve. What follows is a multi-directional scrolling platformer which sees you exploring various locations and solving some truly head-bending puzzles (including ones set in zero-g) which watching out for traps and other hazards. It's a pretty fast-paced game for the most part, so you'll need quick reactions and quick thinking to survive, but it's this variety which is the game's main appeal. This is certainly a tough game so be prepared to die but if you can hack the pace, it's also hugely satisfying and never less than compelling, thanks to the sheer inventiveness of the design. The visuals are also quite lovely and there's even full voice acting with a genuinely witty script and a great storyline. There's plenty to keep you going here too, so really, if you're into platformers, you can't go wrong here.
