Jack Axe

I have been pretty excited about Jack Axe for a while now. I do want to tell you that there is a free “taster” version of this game called the trial that is a speedrunner style of game that lets you have a taste of the fun game mechanics. This is a retro style platformer that may have a kind of old-school charm about it, but it has a lot of heart and soul poured into it and some clever gameplay ideas that make it one of the more interesting 2D platformers to be released this year.

Girl Power In A Fantasy World!

In Jack Axe, we play as a feisty lady called Jack who has an axe and she is out to save the land. The setting of the game is this very cool fantasy world that is inspired by Norse and Filipino mythology. Jack is trying to rise up and prove that she can do whatever a man can do, even if there is this crummy old god that thinks otherwise.

Being The Master Of The System

One of the first things that drew me to this game was the way that it looked. It has a retro style to the presentation, but what is interesting about it is that I get some major Sega Master System vibes from the way that the gameplay in Jack Axe looks. Sure, a much higher end Sega Master System game, but that is the vibe I am getting. It is nice, bright, and has some fantastic and charming pixel art that is done very well.

The Power Of The Axe

The gameplay on offer here is that of a 2D platformer. You need to make your way through each challenging level, using your platforming skills as you go. Your axe is more than just a powerful weapon to smack things over the head with. You use your axe to do a cool axe and dash thing that propels you along, kind of like in the classic game, Rocket Knight Adventures. There is wall jumping, which reminded me of Super Meat Boy and there are even barrels that you need to blast yourself out of, kind of like in Donkey Kong Country. There is far more variety to the gameplay than you would think here and it is challenging, but also a lot of fun.

Who Rules The World? Girls!

I was pretty surprised to see that Jack Axe offered some pretty substantial multiplayer offerings to. You can play this in multiplayer with up to three other people which I am sure is going to be fun (once I get to do it) and there is also some party modes as well if you guys want to have a few laughs competing against each other too.

Pros:

• I love the retro art style the game has
• The platforming is tight and fun
• This is the kind of game that is challenging, but fair
• I enjoyed the story the game was telling

Cons:

• Some levels do take a while to get through and are trial and error based
• I did not get a chance to check out the multiplayer yet