Nitrome's Cheese Dreams: New Moon is a bouncy physics platformer where the moon (quite literally made of cheese!) has been kidnapped by a race of greedy space mice... and since you're the moon, you'll have to save yourself before you get turned into fondue or a decorative holiday snack platter! The moon bounces continually, and all you have to do is use [WASD] or the [arrow] keys to move it around. Take two hits in a row before the moon can recover from the first damage and you're done for, booted back to the last Sonic-the-Hedgehog-style checkpoint you activated, but wait for its face to turn back to normal and you'll be fine. Space mice are on patrol, but if you can bop them on the head twice (once to shatter their helmet, and again before it restores) you can take care of them easily.
For most people, the controls are going to be the hardest part to make nice with. The continuous bouncing movement is one thing, but how ridiculously springy the moon is is quite another, and having it go zinging wildly around because you got too close to the wall can be frustrating. With all the hazards strewn around, it makes for the type of game that calls for a combination of patience and reflexes, so despite its gorgeous style and animation it's definitely going to be something that appeals more to a niche than not. Elements like moving platforms, wheels that need to be spun in a certain direction, and more are infinitely more difficult just because of the incessant movement. If you're steady of hand and pure of heart, however, there's a lot to appreciate about Cheese Dreams: New Moon. It's a beautiful, quirky, colourful game that strives to be creative with the new elements it introduces throughout, and a challenging experience to boot.
With any other developer, these controls would be a nightmare.
With Nitrome, they may be difficult, but they're a dream once you understand how it plays. Smooth, bug-free, and fun.
Top-notch work, and an innovative and work. Hard, yes, but GAMES SHOULD BE HARD. Otherwise where is the satisfaction in getting through it?
My favorite part so far? Bouncing on cheese!
Heads to my book...
I can't in good conscience rate this any higher than 1 star with those controls.
I'm sorry, but challenge or no challenge, this game apparently is for the 0.1% of gamers, and I really don't see how it could be described as "casual" gaming.
@Rangeet:
Perhaps you're right...although infinite lives and only a slight death penalty sure sounds like "casual" to me.
I don't remember hearing that casual = easy. Sure the game is hard, but it's also easy to pick up for a level and come back to another day to play more.
Personally, if I come across a game where so much care has been put into the pixel graphics, retro music, stable physics, innovative gameplay, and overall fun....I'm not going to care if it's "casual" or not.
Heck, it could be like the old Mario games, and give you limited lives and make you start from the beginning each time you play it.
Personally, this is one of those games I'd love to take back in time and show Nintendo, "This is FREE in 2013." just to see their faces.
"Casual", as LightWarriorK points out, has nothing to do with difficulty and means different things to different people. :) One person's laid back fun differs wildly from another's, and all we do is provide a wide variety of QUALITY games for those different people to try.
God, where do I start?
I haven't played Nitrome since 2008, when I was an obsessed 10 year old.
Six years later, I stumble across this and thought I'd indulge the preteen inside.
I'll say this: it's hard. Very hard. I haven't actually gotten past level 3. I do like the bouncing on cheese though!
I remember the very steep learning curve from several years ago, games such as Skywire or Snow Drift. But this is another thing entirely!
I do prefer the original Cheese Dreams, maybe it's just my sentimental side speaking on that one, but this is just, too hard.
~ "Visitor"
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