Itching for a new high-octane 2D platformer akin to platforming powerhouses like Megaman Zero and Ninja Gaiden? Check out the Steam demo for Domesticated Ant Games’ Gravity Circuit.
Sentient robots inhabit Gravity Circut's futuristic world. Players take control of Kai, a lone commando, and venture through various highly stylized levels harnessing the mysterious power of the gravity circuit. Kai has a wide array of attacks that allow for inventive, breakneck combat. After dealing the final blow to an enemy, you can grab it before it explodes, and throw them at other obstacles.
Kai also possesses a hookshot that allows him to grapple to any surface or pull in weakened enemies from afar—not unlike the chain rod from Megaman Zero 2. The levels are fun to speed through, but there are also rewards for exploration. Off the beaten path, players will find robots asking for help and upgrades like increased health or energy. These upgrades enable players to perform special attacks called “bursts,” which range from spinning kicks to uppercuts to piledrives.
In classic Megaman fashion, the end of each stage concludes with a boss fight against an especially powerful robot enhanced by specific circuits like the power circuit or the optical circuit. The stage gimmicks are weaved into the stage specific boss fights to keep players on their toes. The demo places the final fight atop dangerous electrified floors that set these boss fights apart. At half health, the bosses also have unique desperation moves that display the game's flashy pixel art curated for 2D action in motion. After the boss fights, the level finishes, and players receive results detailing their performance. The better players perform, the more rewards they get, giving Gravity Circuit’s levels high replay value.
Gravity Circuit, with all the qualities of a great action platformer, evokes nostalgia for classics of the action platformer genre, and I am eagerly awaiting its full 2023 release.
Marcus Trawick IV is a freshman in the College and is currently undeclared.
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