I love it when I get an email in my inbox asking me to check out a new Game Boy game. It's the kind of thing I dreamed about back when I was a kid, and now here I am, checking out a game called Skateland Adventures made by Kaiman Games that takes me right back to the days of the Game Boy Color.
I shouldn't be surprised about how good this game is; it's coming from Enrique, a member of the Pat Morita team who brought us Hermano, one of my favourite Game Boy Color games of all time. Kaiman Games is a parallel studio that Enrique has set up, and Skateland Adventures has already piqued gamers' interests on Kickstarter, with the campaign reaching over 80% of its funding goal in under a week!
As you might have guessed from the name of the game, skateboarding plays a huge part in this game. You can choose to play as either a snail in easy mode or a shades-wearing turtle in hard mode, jumping over vehicles, angry dogs, and using weapons to get enemies out of the way.
The game has a feeling of Mario about it with the level depth and platforms, and Wonder Boy with the scenery. The spring platforms remind me of Sonic blasting up through the air, and there's definitely a touch of Baby T. rex in there with the skateboarding element. It's vibrant, it's fun, and it's incredibly catchy too, with Enrique making some tricky parts to the demo level that have left me making the same mistake 5 times in a row before I've learned my lesson and managed to continue.
The soundtrack is awesome too, bringing in feelings of California Games and Cool Spot to the mix. You can check out the demo of Skateland Adventures on Itch, with the Kickstarter providing early-bird backers with an actual physical cartridge for €50.
Head to Kickstarter to find out more and to back Enrique's new vision
