Game Over: Bzzzt

I came across Bzzzt when the title appeared over here at GameGrin, where we had the opportunity to pick it up and review it. At the time, I was busy, so my co-worker Dylan Pamintuan had the pleasure of trying out the game instead. Though I was excited to try the title myself, his glowing review alone was one of the biggest endorsements I needed to definitively get the game. There was only one hurdle, though — time.

Now, it's been about two months since Bzzzt was released to the public and I finally had the opportunity to try it. Featured in Fanatical's Prestige Collection - Winter Special 2023, I was shocked to see such a well-received title make its way to bundles so early. Though it was a bit outside of my price range, a close friend of mine got me the title as a gift, and before long, I'd started my journey.

Taking control of ZX8000, you play through this nostalgic world in precision platforming through three alternative difficulties. While Easy and Normal give you the modern experience of being able to replay stages endlessly (with the former offering three lives per stage), I knew that coming into this, it was impossible for me not to go for the hardest — Insane, which only gives you seven lives throughout the entire playthrough.

My relationship with precision platformers has been growing exponentially over the last couple of years. Starting with Ori and the Blind Forest (a title you wouldn't normally call "precision platformer" until you suffer through the One Life run), I slowly grew more and more fond of these titles, even going as far as finishing Celeste 100% and rating it a 10/10. Though Extremely OK Games sets the bar high with their award-winning precision platformer, I was surprised to see that though I adored that title and held it to the highest of regards, Bzzzt didn't fall much more behind the prestigious indie.

Bzzzt's movements feel — quite frankly — too smooth to be made by a single developer. KO.DLL did a fantastic job at making the experience feel nostalgic while ensuring that there were both modern mechanics (such as easier difficulties) and tough-as-nails gameplay for those who yearn for the Battletoads era. I booted my game cautiously excited (currently bolstering 100% positive reviews on Steam), but I wasn't prepared for the experience I was about to have.

Not long after I'd finished downloading the game, I was engrossed. I found myself halfway through the title in my first play session and couldn't wait to play more — it's one of those titles that the deeper you get, the more enjoyable it is. After unlocking the dash and double jump (which happens relatively early into the 52-stage playthrough), Bzzzt played nearly as smoothly as Celeste and brought a similar feeling of joy while traversing it.

One of my main complaints when playing 2D platformers (especially the precision kind) is the movement options and heaviness. Not many games manage to nail the gravity setting whilst also giving the player all sorts of movement choices to traverse the levels at will, but thankfully, Bzzzt did manage to surprise in all of these areas. This made the experience very enjoyable, as nailing particularly tricky jumps or using more complex movements felt rewarding in a way that most modern platformers don’t quite get.

I finished the title shortly thereafter, but truth be told, Bzzzt was done with me before I was done with it — I booted up a second playthrough, selected the Insane difficulty, and started my journey across the game again. This time, I was only going to die seven times, and I was dedicated.

In total, I did manage to finish the game three times: the first time, completing all of the record times and getting the screws. The second time, playing one level ahead of my Insane difficulty save. And, well, my Insane difficulty save. After a couple of hours of repeating several levels and mastering them until I felt like a pro, I passed it all and finished it out the other side.

I have to say: I haven’t called myself a dumbass (and other more aggressive profanity) since the time I played Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. After over a dozen hours of playtime, my hands cramping up, and using any small breaks I have between play sessions and chores to grind out Bzzzt score, I reached the top 10 leaderboards. It’s a great title to play casually, it’s a great title to speedrun, and it’s a great title to master. Honestly, it’s easy to see why it hasn’t received a negative review.