A parody platformer with a lot of hidden secrets

Lonk’s Adventure starts with a story every gamer has probably heard. There is a princess, and she was kidnapped. What sets Lonk’s Adventure apart from every platformer game out there are its endings. Lonk’s Adventure is a parody game that takes elements from classic RPG games like Super Mario Bros. or The Legend of Zelda and uses them to create absurd endings and deaths. With 100 of those endings to discover, Lonk’s Adventure will have players spending countless hours exploring every path they can find. Along the way, they’ll be able to use various equipment that will help them save the princess, or lead them to hilarious destruction.

More Than Meets the Eye

Playing this game for the first time, it looks pretty simple. There are only two main controls apart from the direction buttons: jump and weapon. There are no health bars and crazy status buffs that you have to worry about. As they say, looks can be deceiving. Beneath the game’s simple facade are a lot of hidden secrets. Players will have to be very creative in order to find them.

What will probably take up so much of the player’s time is looking for all of the secret passages in this game. There are a lot of dead ends that are there just to confuse players. There are some locations that require a special equipment or going through a hidden path to be reached. Surprisingly, this makes the world of Lonk’s Adventure pretty large despite seeming small initially. 

Though the premise of the game really is just that simple, the choose-your-own-adventure style of this game gives it a lot more depth and makes it more interesting and playable. As mentioned above, there are a hundred endings to discover in this game, most of them resulting from something unexpected and each of them accompanied by hilarious narration that teases the player about their stupidity. The humor, large scope, and replayability make Lonk’s Adventure highly enjoyable. However, nothing is perfect and this game is no exception.

Minor Gripes

There are a few aspects in the game that will affect the player’s enjoyability, but they are no deal breakers. The lack of music can make exploring the various locations in the game feel a bit empty. The game also has no save points. This is no doubt a deliberate design choice, but it would have been helpful to be able to save your progress. Graphics-wise, it’s clear that the designers were going for a retro pixelated design that echoes classic RPG aesthetics. However, the character portraits can be difficult to discern, and the wonky depth of field can make platforming more confusing than it was intended.

A Hidden Gem

Lonk’s Adventure is a game that’s founded upon discovery, exploration, and surprises. You won’t find every hidden secret unless you try every path and passage. Lonk’s Adventure is a game many will pass over when they first see it, but if they give it a try, they’ll find that there’s a hidden gem underneath all of its simplicity.