Sigl – A fart for Melusina

Reviewed by Kieran

Developer: Sometimes You
Publisher: Sometimes You
Category: Action, Adventure, Platformer
Release Date: 09.07.2018

Full of hot air

When I initially started reviewing video games, not for one second did I believe that I would be writing a review with the word fart in the games title. For this reason, I am questioning whether, as a 30 something year old man, my life has panned out exactly as I once forsaw. Nonetheless, Sigl – A fart for Melusina needs to be spoken about.

That is to say if I can muster anything other than long winded sentences.

I’ll see myself out, it’s been a pleasure writing for y’all….

Gone with the wind

Lets be perfectly clear, Sigl – A fart for Melusina, is a very basic package. Essentially what it has to offer is 20 slightly repetitive levels that offer little to no challenge whatsoever. That’s not to say it is a bad game, on the contrary what is offered is very much enjoyable. It clearly draws inspiration from Ghouls and Ghosts, Super Mario Bros. and Alex Kidd to name a few. The main problem is that it feels like the idea could have been fleshed out, expanded upon and delivered as a solid platformer experience. Consequently, what it actually is, is a game that can easily be completed in less than half an hour.

Story

The knight Sigl, whilst out one day in search of hot dogs, stumbles across a beautiful mermaid and instantly falls in love. However, due to his apparent IBS, he fluctuates wildly and blows her far, far away. Sigl must now travel across the land in search of his new found love. Considering how short the game is, I’m genuinely impressed that the developer went to any kind of effort with a story at all, albeit an incredibly cliched one.

Presentation

Sigl – A fart for Melusina does little to shy away from its inspiration, the aforementioned Ghouls and Ghosts. The pixel art is quite lovely and the animations are all fluid and smooth. Despite its brief run time, this is a colorful vibrant adventure that really pops off of the screen, in both handheld and docked mode.

It’s probably in the best interests of absolutely everbody to ignore the fact that Sigl looks like Mario in a suit of armour. You know Mario right?

Super Mario, Mario Kart, Mario Mario, It’s a me, Mario!! Lets a go.

I’ve digressed enough, my apologies. Lets get back to the topic at hand shall we.

The music is unfortunately a bit of a disappointment. Whilst the tracks used were perfectly enjoyable little numbers, there simply wasn’t enough choice and the assets were reused far to frequently. Because of this, they soon grew stale. The writing, which likewise is also very samey, did, at least make this helpless hack chuckle albeit very briefly.

As a side note, there is an issue that I’ve mentioned in reviews for Sometimes You games before. When playing this title in handheld mode you do have to remove your Joy Cons before starting the game. You can immediately put them back on again, which I find a bit weird. As I mentioned earlier, this isn’t the first time that I’ve noticed this.

Gameplay

From left to right, up and down, the formula is one we’ve all seen countless times. That’s right, Sigl – A fart for Melusina represents that most ancient and noble of genres, the humble platformer. There isn’t much by means of originality in this title, you can throw projectiles at enemies; of which there are numerous types, or you can jump on their heads. In every level there are four letters to collect, and just to clarify, they’re not K O N G, but more befitting of this title, S I G L.

At the end of every level there is a hot dog cart, of which our proud protagonist greedily eats from, before letting out a rather gruff fart. Whilst this might have appealed to my childish reasoning the first few times, after 20 levels of this same little animation, I was more than fed up of it.

The 20 levels that Sigl – A fart for Melusina offer are hugely under developed. There really isn’t much here that particularly stands out. All the standard traits of the platform genre are present and correct. You’ll find an abundance of crevices to jump over, platforms to navigate and coins to collect. As is now a staple of the genre, collect 100 coins, get an extra life.

Boss fights however are a real treat. Again, whilst not the most challenging of encounters, they do at least offer something a little bit different and change the pace of the game, if only briefly.

Verdict

Without being in anyway groundbreaking, Sigl – A fart for Melusina is, nonetheless a jolly little romp indeed. Nevertheless, it is difficult to look past the minuscule amount of content here, as well as the sheer repetitiveness of the experience. Be that as it may, if you take this at face value – a budget title and a well made platformer, its shortcomings can be overlooked. With this in mind, Sigl – A fart for Melusina can be viewed as a solid platform adventure, albeit a very brief one. If you find yourself with an hour to kill on a rainy autumnal afternoon, you could do far worse than check out this cheeky little number.

TL;DR

Charming platformer, not afraid to draw from its inspiration. Very brief, repetitive experience. Excellent boss fights. Silly, stereotypical British humour.