A few days ago, I was looking for something new to play on the Nintendo Switch. After all, our islands can only be worked on for so long before you just need to put it away. A random email asked me to try a new game from Quantum Astrophysics Guild. I get dozens of emails a week asking to try new games, but when you call your game #FUNTIME, you’re putting forth a big promise. One I had to test for myself.
#FUNTIME
Developed by: Brandon Robinson (One Guy Games)
Published by: Quantum Astrophysics Guild
Available For: Nintendo Switch (reviewed), PS4, Xbox One, PC Steam. (July 16, 2020)
#Funtime is probably best summed up as an explosion. Between the pulsing neon, fast-paced flying, and intense 360-degree combat against other colorful blocks and aliens.
So far I’ve played through over 25 of the game’s more than 50 challenging scenarios. #Funtime mixes the feel of games such as Space Harrier and Missle Command with the sensory overload of the world of Tron.
A game developed by a single person is likely going to be thin on premise. Most of the focus and reward is in the gameplay’s balance of directional shooting and puzzle-solving. You pilot the ship in every direction on the board making hairpin turns and avoiding the dozens of enemies firing at you. Threats can only be neutralized by the same color, which your ship can change at the push of a button. Sometimes enemies will have several shield layers you’ll need to match the color to on the fly. Other times mechanics such as whipping with a laser tail will come into play or surviving a disaster by navigating through lasers that change color to destroy you.
#Funtime is daunting, sometimes to its own detriment. Players can get the basics of the game rather quick but you’ll need to put in serious time to recognize and master the strategies it’s demanding of you. Fortunately, it’s an actual…well…fun time; so it rarely feels like a chore to repeat levels in order to earn three-star ratings. As you progress, you’ll also get to unlock ship power-ups and new types of challenges such as survival and where you basically control the tail of a wrecking ball.
What’s most impressive is how balanced the elements that make up a game are for it being made by just one person. The visual presentation is striking yet there are audio components just as vibrant. Levels are synced to the beat of the composed EDC dream soundtrack.
While the game is perfect for Switch portable in terms of its stop-and-go ability but for some on the small screen, it’s taxing on your eyes definitely caused a strain after a while. I’d recommend playing bigger screen versions even if it might be harder to keep track of everything on the screen.
If you’re looking for an inexpensive game to eat up your quarantine time or if you’re in need of a stylized trip of a game you’ll definitely find #Funtime suits your needs.
