A precision platformer, Sockventure doesn’t bring anything new to the genre but offers some short-burst entertainment thanks to a more approachable difficulty factor.
Not nearly as difficult as Super Meat Boy but more challenging than the hardest Mario stages, Sockventure never reaches annoyingly high levels of frustration. Sure, you will die but each mistake is your own and the game eases the player into each new mechanic. For example, in time the player will need to learn how to wall grab and will unlock a double jump and stomp ability but the stage design calls for these tasks in rightful ways. Movement is also slower with much longer and floatier jumps so this isn’t a twitch, reaction platformer.
Stage design can occasionally be misleading as paths can branch but without warning the player which way is a dead end. This trial and error can be annoying since there are dozens of optional coins to collect in each stage and if you go the correct way the first time, you’ll need to replay the several minutes long stage again if you want to see it all. In fact, the game wants to replay stages as it checks a box if you beat the stage under the par time, beat the stage without dying, and finished the stage when collecting all the items. It is pretty much impossible to do these tasks the first time you play, let alone complete all three in one go, so the game artificially tries to increase replay value.
The entire Sockventure campaign takes place within a hazard filled clothes dryer. From a story stand point, this makes sense as everyone know driers eat socks. But who knew that dryers are filled still stereotypical traps like lasers, spikes, moving platforms, and pits? The sock character also has a creepy running animation and each time he jumps the words “yeah” and “cool” literally appear below his feet. It is a different for sure but these comic book pop-ups are a little distracting when you’re trying to make that tricky jump.
If you like precision platformers, there is no reason why you wouldn’t enjoy Sockventure. Even with its typical been-there-done-that gameplay, it is a decent and playable title.
Not As Good As: Sir Lovelot
Better Than: Geki Yaba Runner Deluxe
Wait For It: Glam 2
By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com
Twitter: @ZackGaz
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Rating
Our Rating - 6
6
Total Score
An approachable precision platformer that is never overly difficult but doesn’t do anything new.