Game Reviews

Sky Tourist Blitz Trip

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Sky Tourist Blitz Trip

The original Sky Tourist introduced a really cool new control concept. The main character was suspended on a piece of string, and you pulled either end of that thread to move him through an obstacle course.

It was a lot of fun, but the novelty wore off before you got too far into the game's 75 stages.

Sky Tourist Blitz Trip, the new entry in the series, adds 60 more stages of rope-dangling challenges, but doesn't mess around with the formula too much. It's the same game we've played before, just in new situations.

Floating through the sky

Once again main protagonist Petey is hanging on to a rope with a rocket at each end. You're tasked with moving the rockets up and down so Petey can slide from one side of the screen to the other, collecting tiny little bugs called Cubelets and a jewel called a Moon Crystal.

There are enemies to avoid, platforms to move around, and other obstacles to overcome in your quest to collect Cubelets.

Getting caught on a piece of scenery and causing too much strain on the rope will make it snap, forcing you to restart the level.

Stormy skies ahead

The biggest problem with Sky Tourist Blitz Trip is the movement. It's not always consistent, creating some frustrating moments.

You might position the rockets in a way that will send Petey quickly from one side of the screen to the other at the start of a level, but later on that exact same position will barely move him at all.

Other times you'll go to re-position your hands and one of the rockets will instantly shoot to the other edge of the screen, creating a lightning quick movement that ruins the flow of the stage and ultimately ends in a snapped rope.

Then there are times where Petey must move blocks to clear an obstacle or open up a path. For whatever reason, Petey needs two blocks to shove one off of an edge, he can't do it himself.

He can move blocks around a platform with no difficulty, but as soon as they hit the edge they become immovable, which boggles the mind.

This inane problem makes some puzzles longer and more frustrating than they need to be, especially when you snap a rope trying to bring the other block down.

For the birds

For the first ten stages or so the game feels too simple. You'll consistently score a perfect three stars on every level.

Then all of a sudden the difficulty ramps up to obscene levels, making that three-star rating near-impossible to achieve. There doesn't seem to be any middle ground, the game is either too hard or too easy.

The difficulty spike is immediate and maddening, and it may well cause some players to abandon ship.

It's not all horror and anger with Sky Tourist Blitz Trip though. There are a few stages with some really creative puzzle designs, and it delivers some great "A-ha!" moments too.

When the controls are working properly the game is a lot of fun. Figuring out a stage's layout and conquering its many trials does make your brain feel good.

Sky Tourist Blitz Trip has a neat central concept, but technical issues, a lack of really new features, and an insane difficulty spike keep this trip grounded.

Sky Tourist Blitz Trip

Sky Tourist Blitz Trip is fun, but it's tempered by a lack of original ideas, and some really frustrating difficulty spikes
Score
Jason Fanelli
Jason Fanelli
Jason is a freelance writer based in the US.