So I Tried… Freedom Planet

Each edition of So I Tried… I will try a game that I have never tried before. Will I find something new to love? Will I find something new to despise? I'll take a full half hour, no matter how bad it gets or how badly I do, to see if this is the game for me. This time I went for the PC version of Freedom Planet.

What I thought it was

A 2D sideways scrolling platformer, which has been compared to an awesome Sonic The Hedgehog game -- just not starring the SEGA mascot. As a fan of 2D platformers -- ones based on Sonic The Hedgehog in particular -- this was on my Wishlist the instant I heard about it. However, I don't know much about it. It seems to be enough for people to say it's "The best Sonic game ever", without elaborating too much... I've had it in my library for a few months now, and figured it was time to crack it open.

What it actually is

It's got everything that the best Sonic The Hedgehog title does, and more. Of course, "the best" is subjective, but you're wrong if you don't say Sonic 3 & Knuckles... I'll be honest, GalaxyTrail Games need to get hired by SEGA, and that's how I feel after only having played half an hour of Freedom Planet. You play as either Lilac or Carol, and they have to stop the Kingdom Stone being stolen by an invading alien race. It's not much in a nutshell, but it certainly evolves throughout the game. The levels are fantastic, and the characters are presented perfectly in the cutscenes (admittedly voiced better than some SEGA products)... The character you choose to play as will vary how you play through each of the ten stages, and then which parts you can play, bringing with it replay value outside of collectables. However, the collectables mean you will want to keep playing just to unlock more of the wonderful soundtrack.

Will I keep playing

23 minutes: that's how long I spent on the second level, after almost 10 minutes on the first. Needless to say, I went over my 30 minute time limit because of this -- I like to get to a save point ASAP after my alarm goes. Despite only playing two levels, I'm eager to return to it. Although I'm annoyed that my wired Xbox 360 controller doesn't work natively, I can read up to try and find a workaround if needs be. I actually do want to, because I get the feeling this is supposed to be played with a joypad, and I really want to get the most out of Freedom Planet.