Game review: Enemy 585

Enemy 585 is a puzzle-platformer game by Nitrome.The player's role is as a movable platform, helping to guide the last remaining henchman safely through levels.

Summary of analysis
Interesting but somewhat ineffective new player experience, challenging gameplay experience with potential replayability for optional objectives, simple and effective interface and controls, appeasing graphics, satisfying background music and sounds.

Tutorial/New player experience
There are a number of tutorial elements that will help the player master new skills in order to progress, though they're easily missed given that they're pop-up dialogue boxes that occur during active gameplay. Thankfully, it's easy enough to figure out the basics of the game through trial and error.

Gameplay experience
Reflexes and spatial reasoning are the most important things in progressing within the game. The player's block character has various shapes that will need to be manipulated in order to pursue completion of levels as well as the optional objectives or coins or time scores.

Interface & Controls
Keyboard directional controls and space bar rotation control scheme. There are tracking interface elements in addition to the level completion summary window, but nothing particularly distracting during gameplay moments.

Graphics
The game features an interesting graphical style that's fun, even though it's a little difficult to empathize with Enemy 585 given a complete lack of emotive capaqcity, though the platform will show moments of it when bearing the weight of the henchman.

Music & Sound
There's background musics reminiscent of Nintendo Entertainment System era video games, both well done and nostalgic for those old enough to have played on the system. The sound effects are also quite effectively accomplished in aiding the player experience.

Commentary
It's interesting to see a less directly controlled game design. The player has to compete with the challenges present in the environment and the automated movement scheme of the important objective in order to progress and pursue objectives. I would be ecstatic to see more user reviews and be able to study the specific player demographic appeal of this manner of game in detail.