Originally released on Steam, Dark Minute: Kira’s Adventure is a literal dark platformer now available on the Switch eShop. Unfortunately, its main gimmick, platforming in the dark, is just as tedious as it sounds.

Through an 8-bit sprite-based visual presentation, the player has sixty seconds to find three energy cells and reach the exit otherwise the lights go dark and Kira will be left wandering with minimal light. The problem is most stages are rather large with several branching paths. Without a radar or map option, players are left to blindly navigate tunnels and hope they luckily pick the correct path.

The press release I received says there are over 100 levels available. However, going to be honest here, I rage quit on level four and have no desire to go back and try again. After aimlessly wandering in dimly lit caverns for twenty minutes, making no progress and just getting more frustrated, I reached my limit. Even if I found all three batteries, it sucks having to backtrack through the entire level again to reach the exit. 

Giving the player anxiety with a strict 60-second time limit and having to suffer through a dark maze with dastardly placed spikes/pits, the main gameplay gimmick, never makes the game more fun; it only makes it more frustrating.

Also Play: Blindy (Switch)

Not As Fun As: Hillbilly Doomsday  

Don’t Forget About: Why Pizza?

By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com

Twitter: @ZackGaz

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