{"id":1065303,"date":"2026-01-21T05:37:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T05:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=496953"},"modified":"2026-01-21T05:37:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T05:37:02","slug":"antonblast-plays-like-a-wario-land-made-by-the-devil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/antonblast-plays-like-a-wario-land-made-by-the-devil\/","title":{"rendered":"Antonblast plays like a Wario Land made by the devil"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A couple hours into Antonblast<\/em>, a new side-scrolling action-platformer that\u2019s inspired by Game Boy Advance-era Wario Land and Crash Bandicoot games, I wondered if I knew what I was really doing. Sure, I\u2019d beaten some of the game\u2019s hard-as-hell bosses and blasted through a handful of challenging levels, yet I felt like I was barely hanging on.<\/p>\n

Despite the visual assault of Antonblast<\/em>, and my performance playing it, I was having a, well, blast. It was like playing Wario Land 4<\/em> while riding a roller coaster and having a bit of a buzz on. Then at certain points, the game\u2019s frenetic mechanics started to click \u2014 in those moments, I felt like I started to speak the strange language of Antonblast<\/em>.<\/p>\n

This is a game that features a dedicated \u201cScream\u201d button<\/a>, after all. (Seriously, you just hold it down to make its main character scream loudly and endlessly.)<\/p>\n

Barely controlled chaos is the beating heart of Antonblast<\/em>, in which almost everything is resolved by smashing it with a huge hammer or blasting through it like the Tasmanian Devil. As Dyanamite Anton (or his similarly drunken coworker Dynamite Annie), I\u2019m sent into 2D levels that move in all directions, jumping and crashing my way through exploding crates, and getting into the flow of dashing and bashing stuff. There are moments of serious, hardcore platforming, during which I must try to avoid poisonous lakes and pools populated with electric eel-like machines. But most of the time, I\u2019m simply accelerating forward like a tornado, blowing everything to bits.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

At some point in each level, I find blasting machines, depress the plunger, and new sections open up. Some of those blasting machines trigger the finale of the level, during which Antonblast<\/em> screams at me that \u201cIT\u2019S HAPPY HOUR!\u201d and it\u2019s time to race back to the beginning of the level to exit it. Seemingly, the instruction is for Anton to go get hammered back at his home base, and in these levels-but-played-in-reverse moments, everything becomes even more manic.<\/p>\n

The reason Dynamite Anton\u2019s doing all of this is because Satan himself has stolen Anton\u2019s booze (which Anton had, in turn, stolen from someone else). The goal is to recover those sweet spirits and leave destruction in Anton\u2019s wake.<\/p>\n

Despite thick layers of chaos, Antonblast<\/em> is about platforming precision, paying attention to the game\u2019s environments to find secrets and hidden routes, and perfecting one\u2019s runs. That\u2019s evident from the game\u2019s first boss fight against a professional wrestler. From the very moment you jump into that fight, you\u2019re forced to react, read the wrestler\u2019s movements, and replay until you\u2019ve figured out the dance. Much of Antonblast<\/em> can be frustrating at first, but once you\u2019ve learned its language, frustration gives way to fun.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

While Antonblast<\/em> may play like the Wario Land games of yore, it has its own distinct visual style, drawing on graffiti and in-your-face \u201990s video games and cartoons. It\u2019s a wildly kinetic game, both in how it plays and how it\u2019s styled. At times, the visual chaos can become overwhelming; Antonblast<\/em>\u2019s substance suffers from too<\/em> much style.<\/p>\n

The devs at Summitsphere keep the noisy action of Antonblast<\/em> consistently fresh over its 12 levels, thanks to a variety of movement mechanics, enemies, and bosses. With plenty of hidden collectibles to find, and multiple ways to replay each stage \u2014 there are time trial and combo-focused run options \u2014 there\u2019s a surprising amount of depth to the game.<\/p>\n

Antonblast<\/em> is available on Windows PC via Steam (and plays great on a Steam Deck), and it just got a slightly delayed release on Nintendo Switch. Any fan of Wario Land or Pizza Tower<\/a><\/em> should probably check it out. <\/p>\n

\n

Antonblast\u00a0was released Dec. 3 on Windows PC and Dec. 13 on Nintendo Switch. The game was reviewed on PC using a download code provided by Summitsphere. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. You can find\u00a0additional information about Polygon\u2019s ethics policy here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A couple hours into Antonblast, a new side-scrolling action-platformer that\u2019s inspired by Game Boy Advance-era Wario Land and Crash Bandicoot games, I wondered if I knew what I was really doing. Sure, I\u2019d beaten some of the game\u2019s hard-as-hell bosses and blasted through a handful of challenging levels, yet I felt like I was barely hanging on. Despite the visual assault of Antonblast, and my performance playing it, I was having a, well, blast. It was like playing Wario Land 4 while riding a roller coaster and having a bit of a buzz on. Then at certain points, the game\u2019s frenetic mechanics started to click \u2014 in those moments, I felt like I started to speak the strange language of Antonblast. This is a game that…<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1065304,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1065303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-polygon"],"yoast_head":"\nAntonblast plays like a Wario Land made by the devil | Arcader News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A couple hours into Antonblast, a new side-scrolling action-platformer that\u2019s inspired by Game Boy Advance-era Wario Land and Crash Bandicoot games, I\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/antonblast-plays-like-a-wario-land-made-by-the-devil\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" 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