Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Another World presents a challenging blend of side-scrolling action and light puzzle-solving, centering around your cyborg’s quest to collect and manage three distinct types of crystals. You’ll find yourself jumping across perilous platforms, dispatching mutated animals with precise shots, and unleashing screen-clearing smart bombs when the situation becomes overwhelming. The controls are tight and responsive—your cyborg moves, aims, and fires with an immediacy that’s essential when timing jumps and shots in cramped corridors.

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The crystal mechanic introduces an extra layer of strategy: green, red, and blue crystals each serve a unique purpose, and they must be carefully inserted into matching slots on the transporters at level ends. This isn’t just a fetch quest; you need to track crystal charges and ensure they aren’t mismatched, or risk blowing up the teleporter and losing progress. This system rewards careful planning as much as reflexes, making each level a little puzzle in its own right.

Combat encounters with mutated fauna vary from nimble mutated rats to hulking bio-monsters, demanding different approaches. Smaller creatures often fall to rapid-fire shooting, whereas larger foes may require timing your smart bomb to clear a path forward. Supply drops—health packs, weapon upgrades, and extra smart bombs—are well placed to keep pacing tight without becoming unfair. Learning when to conserve resources and when to burn them becomes a satisfying meta-game as you progress.

The level design balances linear progression with hidden nooks that house bonus crystals or power-ups. Each new stage introduces subtle twists—moving platforms, environmental hazards, and larger teleportation puzzles—to keep the gameplay fresh. While Some precision jumps can feel unforgiving, the overall challenge curve is thoughtfully calibrated, offering plenty of “aha!” moments when you master a tricky section or slot the correct crystal charge into its teleporter.

Graphics

Another World’s visuals lean into a minimalist, high-contrast art style that still feels striking decades after its original release. Character sprites are rendered in crisp lines and solid colors, making the cyborg and mutated creatures stand out against the often stark, industrial backdrops. The world’s contaminated landscapes—collapsed reactor cores, fractured underground corridors, and teleportation chambers—are evocative and distinct, each area carrying its own palette of grime and neon.

Animations are deliberately fluid, giving life to the cyborg’s acrobatic jumps and gunfire recoil. Enemy movements, from scuttling beasts to lumbering abominations, are smooth and immediately readable, which is crucial when split-second reactions are needed. Smart bomb detonations are accompanied by vivid explosions and screen shakes, lending each blast satisfying weight and visual impact.

While the game doesn’t rely on flashy particle effects or detailed textures, its use of lighting and color coding—especially for the crystals—ensures every interactive element is instantly recognizable. The teleporters themselves glow ominously, and mismatched crystal insertions trigger a brief but clear flash that warns you when things are about to go wrong. The overall aesthetic remains cohesive, marrying sci-fi grit with a retro platformer charm.

Story

Set in a post-quake San Francisco of 2016, Another World opens on a city devastated by seismic catastrophe and nuclear contamination. Survivors have retreated underground, clinging to the hope of escape via experimental matter transporters. This premise immediately stakes the stakes high: the world above is a lethal wasteland, and only precise crystal-powered jump-gates can save humanity.

You inhabit a lone cyborg whose survival instincts and combat upgrades make it the perfect candidate for surface expeditions. While exposition is minimal—delivered through brief cutscenes and on-screen prompts—the narrative setup is effective. It focuses your attention on the immediate goal of gathering crystals rather than lengthy dialogue, aligning perfectly with the game’s emphasis on action and exploration.

Each trip above ground, each transporter sequence, and each mutated enemy encounter reinforce the world’s hostile nature. The three crystal colors aren’t just mechanical tokens; they represent humanity’s last three pathways off the continent. The possibility of a transporter explosion due to wrong crystal placement hints at the disastrous stakes—one wrong move could doom countless lives waiting in bunkers below.

Though the story doesn’t dwell on character development, it provides a compelling backdrop for the relentless gameplay. Environmental storytelling—such as ruined subway tunnels, flickering reactor cores, and abandoned lab equipment—fills in the gaps, making every corridor feel like part of a larger, tragic world narrative. It’s a lean approach, but one that keeps the pace brisk and the motivation clear.

Overall Experience

Another World remains a gripping retro platformer that expertly balances action, puzzle elements, and atmospheric storytelling. Its tight controls and clever crystal mechanics create a gameplay experience that feels both challenging and fair. Even after multiple playthroughs, uncovering hidden crystal caches or refining your teleporter strategies continues to be rewarding.

The minimalist yet evocative graphics age gracefully, proving that strong art direction trumps flashy effects. Likewise, the lean story setup provides just enough context to keep you invested without interrupting the flow of exploration and combat. Every teleporter activation, smart bomb detonation, and near-miss jump add to a seamless sense of progression and urgency.

While some sections demand precision that may frustrate newcomers, the generous placement of upgrades and health drops ensures that perseverance pays off. Fans of classic side-scrollers and action-puzzle hybrids will find plenty to love, from the memorable enemy designs to the tense moments spent balancing crystal charges under fire.

In the end, Another World delivers a tightly crafted, immersive journey. Its blend of strategic resource management, atmospheric environments, and fluid combat makes it a standout title for anyone seeking a retro gaming experience with modern sensibilities. If you appreciate games that respect your skills and reward thoughtful play, this cyborg’s crystal hunt is well worth embarking upon.

Retro Replay Score

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