Leap Day - One thumb platforming dished up by a sadist
|
| Leap Day

Leap Day is all about leaping. A little yellow fat thing on legs auto-runs, rebounding off of walls, and you tap to leap.

Tap a second time and the colourful blob leaps while already in the air, like a reject superhero.

And then you stare aghast at the screen as the stupid yellow idiot gets impaled on a spike, electrocuted by a surprisingly violent octopus, or stomped to death by a ridiculously cute cartoon dinosaur.

Jump around

You will do a lot of staring, because Leap Day is not an easy game. To the point you'll swear blind various bits of the tall, narrow levels (one screen wide, dozens of screens high) are literally impossible. In fact, you'll just swear. A lot.

Then you'll have another go, crack the section you were stuck on, and feel like a boss, until you inevitably get killed approximately five seconds later and swear some more.

Fortunately, there are checkpoints at regular intervals ('paid' for using collected fruit or watching an ad in the 'I'm a cheapskate' freebie version). But even with checkpoints, completing a full Leap Day level can often be murderously difficult.

Jump up, jump up and get killed

Take a step back, and you'll eventually recognise Leap Day is as much about route-finding as fast reactions.

It's perhaps best to think of the game as a dexterity test combined with a puzzler, albeit one that's determined to smash your brains out with a piece of fruit wrapped around a brick.

As an added bonus, Leap Day offers a new challenge every day, mixing up enemies, traps and locations. This is handy if you've already embedded a half-dozen devices thanks to yesterday's level.

With all the subtlety of a master sadist Leap Day always notes your failure, adding your success (or lack thereof) to a built-in calendar.

It's tough, but rewarding. It looks and sounds great, too. Just don't expect an easy ride as your blob climbs to the top.

Leap Day - One thumb platforming dished up by a sadist

Simultaneously arduous and irritatingly compelling, Leap Day is another one-thumb cracker from Nitrome
Score
Craig Grannell
Craig Grannell
Craig gets all confused with modern games systems with a million buttons, hence preferring the glass-surfaced delights of mobile devices. He spends much of his time swiping and tilting (sometimes actually with a device), and also mulling why no-one’s converted Cannon Fodder to iPad.